Romanov Russian Black Bread

seattlelove's Note:

Delicious traditional Russian black bread

• Total Time: 1 hrs 5 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 15

Yield: 1.0 loaf

• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1⁄3; cup dark corn syrup
• 2 (¼ ounce) envelopes active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 5 cups dark rye flour

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the warm water and corn syrup. Sprinkle the yeast over the top, and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. Add 2 1/2 cups of the rye flour to the yeast mixture, and beat until smooth.
3. Stir in the salt. Set bowl in a warm place, and cover with a cloth or towel.
4. Let rise for 30 minutes.
5. Stir in more flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough is stiff. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead in more flour by hand as needed to form a stiff but slightly sticky dough. You may use less or more flour. Form dough into a ball. Clean the mixing bowl, and lightly grease it. Place the dough in the bowl, and cover with a towel. Place in a warm place to rise until doubled. This may take as long as 2 hours.
6. Turn the risen dough out onto a floured surface, and press out the air bubbles. Roll dough into a loaf, and place into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.
7. Turn the loaf so that the seam is on the bottom. Cover the pan with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Remove plastic wrap from loaf pan.
9. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Bread will not brown very much.

Reviews

[FireRaven]

I had a mixed experience with this bread. It turned out one dense, dark loaf, but it was paradoxically dry and yet, undercooked. It may have to do with my higher altitude and/or my oven temperature, which I intend to check in the morning. That said, this is a hearty, heavy, nutritious bread. "Peasant bread," my Mom called it -- as a compliment. It's delicious in it's present state with butter, or smeared with cream cheese and topped with smoked salmon. I followed the recipe quite closely, with only one substitution and one minor addition. I didn't have the dark corn syrup, so used the same amount of blackstrap molasses instead. I also added 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa for color. Other than that, there wasn't much in the ingredients to fool with -- and often, simple is best. I did use the stand mixer to knead the rye four into the sponge. Made my life much easier. I shaped it by hand, and after the third rise, *I* was ready for it to go in the oven! I will try making this bread again next week, and will post a revised rating & review. Thank you for posting!