Dutch Oven Sourdough Rye

"While the Cat's Away..." Part I

My wife went out of town this weekend, so I took that as an opportunity to cook a couple of things that she normally doesn't like very much, but which I, myself, really love.  One of those is a big ol' loaf of Dutch Oven Sourdough Rye Bread, so I can make my infamous braunschweiger and cheese sandwiches.  The other is the Dutch Oven Kofta bi Tahini that I cooked up soon after starting up this blog.

I really like a nice, sweet, flavorful white bread, but once in a while, I get rebellious.  I love the edgy, sharp flavors that a good rye bread brings.  Add some good, tangy meat and sharp cheddar, and you get a sandwich that bites back.  Yum!

While I pretty much followed the original recipes in the links, there were a few things I did differently.  As a result, I'm going to rewrite the recipes and processes here in these posts. As always, I recommend reading my Dutch Oven Bread Baking Lens fiirst, for good basic information.

Dutch Oven Sourdough Rye Bread

12" Dutch Oven

10-12 coals below
18-20 coals above

The "Sponge"

• 1 Cup Sourdough Start
• 2 Cups Dark Rye Flour
• 2 Cups White Bread Flour
• 1 1/2 Cups warm water (just almost hot to the touch)
• 2 Tbsp Vital Gluten
• 1 Tbsp Dough Enhancer (optional, but I always add it)

The Dough

• 1 Cup plain Yogurt
• 1 Egg
• 2 Tbsp Molasses
• 3 Tbsp Oil
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 2 Tbsp Roasted Drink Powder (like coffee, Postum, Cocoa, or Pero)
• Liberal shakes of caraway seeds
• 1 cup white bread flour

• Up to 1-2 additional cups white bread flour during kneading

It started up the night before, when I took my sourdough start out of the fridge.  I poured off the "hooch" and mixed in some more flour and water.  I needed to "feed" it to reactivate it.  A few hours later, it was frothy and bubbly with yeast bugs.  I scooped out about a cup, and put the rest back in the fridge.

I put the frothy start in a bowl and mixed in all of the ingredients in the sponge set.  If you check out the original recipe you'll notice one change.  I moved the yogurt to the dough phase.  I've been hearing/reading that fresh (unscalded) milk and milk products contain enzymes that can inhibit the rise.

I covered it with plastic wrap and set it aside on my kitchen counter for the night.

The next morning (not too early, though), I mixed in all the ingredients of the dough set.  I used Pero for the roasted powder.  I really like the flavor of it.  I like the flavor cocoa brings, as well, but this time I chose Pero.  Postum is good, but I think it's not being made any more.  Between the rye, the powder and the molasses, it gets a nice, rich, dark color.  Not black, just a deep brown.

Then, I kneaded it on a floured tabletop, and kept adding flour until it got to the right stickiness, and until it made a good windowpane.  I set it aside to rise, oiled and covered in plastic wrap.

I'm getting this pattern established when I'm making bread and I go to set up the bake:

1. Let it rise, and watch until it has almost "risen enough".  Usually, they say to let it rise until it has doubled in bulk, so just before it gets there, I go to the next step, which is...
2. Go outside and light up the coals.  Mix them occasionally to make sure they all light pretty evenly.
3. While the coals are lighting, I come in and degas the bread dough, and shape it.  Now, most of the time I'm making a boule, so there's not much "shaping" going on, but sometimes I'll do rolls or four smaller boules.  I used to like doing a braided wreath, but it's been a while since I've done that. 
4. Oil the inside of the dutch oven and set the bread in to proof.
5. Once the coals are ready, I take the dutch oven lid outside and pour a lot of coals on top of it, and set it aside to preheat.
6. When the dough is proofed in the dutch oven (meaning it has risen some more), I do any decorating or topping, and slicing of the top.
7. Finally, I take the dutch oven out. I take some of the coals off the lid to make the undercircle of coals and I set the dutch oven with the bread on the circle.  I put on the lid, and mark the time.
8. Every fifteen minutes or so, I rotate the lid and the oven to prevent hot spots.  I check the temperature by holding my hand over the top of the oven and use that as a guide to see if the coals need replenishing.  I'll check the underside coals to see how they're burning.
9. After about a half hour of baking, I'll open the lid and check on it.  At that point, I'll usually stick a thermometer into it and close up the lid.  I try not to have the lid off for very long.  A few seconds really.
10. The next time I rotate the lid, I'll lift it for a few seconds and check the bread's internal temperature.  180 is "gettin' close".  190-200 is "done!"

So, I followed the pattern, brought it in, and let it cool on my new cooling racks (I don't know how I did bread before I had those).  Delicious stuff!  Just check the pictures!






Mark has discovered a love of Dutch Oven Cooking. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including MarkHansenMusic.com and his MoBoy blog.