Let’s talk about sourdough rye bread. First of all Polish bread isn’t any particular sort of bread, but rather alludes to the quality, taste and techniques used for bread making in Poland. The more modern, obviously, bakeries have been utilizing machines for quite a while, yet it’s each one of those chemical rising agents that make “western bread” so awful, but it just looks pleasant.

Polish Sourdough Rye Bread
(Chleb Zwykly na Zakwasie)

 

Here’s what a Polish wiki site mentions about for zakwas (sourdough):

Sourdough (leaven) – a small amount of rye dough, left from the previous baking or prepared sourdough from rye flour and containing propagated lactic acid bacteria and wild yeast used to make the dough.

Bacterial fermentation (lactic fermentation), which by, that it takes a sufficiently long time (several hours), causes the decomposition of phytic acid, which allows the formation of absorbable forms of micro-nutrients which are among others in cereal grains and legumes.

     Sourdough is essential in the making of rye bread. The use of sourdough fermentation is a tradition and part of the heritage of the rye growing areas in almost all Eastern European countries such as Poland, the former Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and Slovakia), Russia, Hungary, Germany, the Swiss, and Baltic states. Of course there are others.

     Bread made from a mixture of wheat and rye flour is very common in the Slavic regions and the use of sourdough is used to enhance the sensory properties of the bread if just using about 20% rye flour.

Writing in the Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology (1 April 2014) Michael G. Gaenzle writes:

“The origins of bread-making are so ancient that everything said about them must be pure speculation. One of the oldest sourdough breads dates from 3700 BC and was excavated in Switzerland, but the origin of sourdough fermentation likely relates to the origin of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent several thousand years earlier… Bread production relied on the use of sourdough as a leavening agent for most of human history; the use of baker’s yeast as a leavening agent dates back less than 150 years.”

     Bread made from 100 percent rye flour, which is very popular in the northern half of Europe, is usually leavened with sourdough. Baker’s yeast is not useful as a leavening agent for rye bread, as rye does not contain enough gluten. The structure of rye bread is based primarily on the starch in the flour, as well as other carbohydrates, however, rye amylase is active at substantially higher temperatures than wheat amylase, causing the structure of the bread to disintegrate as the starches are broken down during cooking. The lowered pH of a sourdough starter, therefore, inactivates the amylase when heat cannot, allowing the carbohydrates in the bread to gel and set properly. In the southern part of Europe, where baguette and even carbohydrates were originally made with wheat flour and rye flour, sourdough has become less common in recent times; it has been replaced by the faster-growing baker’s yeast, sometimes supplemented with longer fermentation rests to allow for some bacterial activity to build flavor.

History of bread in Polish history…

     Polish bread has been a part of Polish cuisine and tradition for centuries. Being the important source of living for the Poles since ancient times, this food has been considered the most respected food of the cuisine. However, the increasing variety of breads easily available in the local bakeries and groceries has largely affected the worth of bread in Polish cuisine.

     Since past ages, the rye and wheat are the two commonly used grains for bread-making in Poland. The intense aroma, crunchy crust with not-too soft interior is the highlighted feature of the traditional polish breads. Some other traditional as well as modern bread ingredients in Poland are buttermilk, egg, nuts, raisins, fruits and potato.

     Although its very tricky to tell the exact origin of the bread in Poland, it is believed that this humble food has been the vital part of Polish cuisine since the Slavic tribes had inhibited Poland around the area between the Bug and Oder Rivers. People from these tribes used to eat a pulp made by boiling the dried and ground grass seeds and eventually that meal had evolved into the most prominent meal of the tribes and later developed into bread.

     Bread making in Poland is a very traditional task that involves home-made breads as well as breads made in bakeries. Homemade breads are generally prepared with a sourdough starter that requires two-day fermentation.

     Whereas most of the modern day bakery breads are fermented with yeast and baking powder, as these products produce quick rise of dough. If part of the recipe uses lard or butter it is generally combined with the dough after the fermentation process is finished. Other ingredients would also be mixed in the dough with butter or lard. Usually, dough is brushed with egg yolk in order to provide a shine to the baked bread or left alone for an artisan look and retaining a crispy texture. Caraway seeds, sunflower seeds or chopped nuts can be sprinkled over the dough to give nice touch to the recipe.

For this recipe…

     I used a sourdough starter that I purchased online and have been keeping alive by routine weekly feeding. When I received it I needed to begin the ‘feeding’ process and properly make this starter happy and active. This takes about 3-5 days at room temperature to get the starter bubbly and rich with growth. The starter I bought is said to be from a batched of naturally occurring yeast and beneficial bacteria that was started over 275 years ago in New England. Sound crazy? Not at all. In many European countries, starter dough is handed down from generation to generation. And remember, commercialized baker’s yeast has only been around in recent history.

Maintaining a new starter…

     You need to feed it and make it happy…
 

The Conversion into rye…

     If your starter has been in the fridge being idle, remove it and allow to come to room temperature for at least 4 hours. Because the original starter is a white flour starter I needed to remove about half and transform that into a rye sourdough starter. I use an organic white unbleached all purpose flour to get the starter growing real well. But I needed to increase the volume.

     So when feeding the saved white flour sourdough starter, instead of disposing half and feeding the remaining, I removed half and used it in the next step. Then fed the remaining with equal 8 oz amounts (by weight) of organic white unbleached all purpose flour with 8oz of water (water equals the same weight as to volume so 1 cup of water equals 8 oz by weight, per instructions – not the same with solids such as flour). It is best to use a kitchen scales. I placed that back into the fridge. This is how to begin the conversion:

     Put the new non-metallic container with the removed sourdough starter on a scale and tare it out to zero. Now add 8oz by weight of each white unbleached all purpose flour and water. Mix well, loosely cover and set aside for 8-12 hrs in a warm area in your kitchen. This will double the bulk needed. After time has passed and a vital culture is observed you can proceed to the next step.
 
     Now, with the approximate 16oz of active starter in a non-metallic jar or bowl, add 8oz of water and mix well to make it soupy. Then add 8oz of dark (or whole) rye flour and again mix well. Set this aside at room temperature (over 72°F) for 8 to 12 hrs. After and the new rye starter is showing a good amount of growth and activity, remove and discard about 8 oz of starter. While on a scale add an additional 8 oz each of rye flour and water. Allow to stand for 24hrs at room temperature.

     Repeat this for 2 more days or longer until you have a very active and happy looking rye starter with a distinct odor of sourness or even alcohol aroma which may resemble that of a strong beer. The starter dough will also show the broken-down rye flour when using a spoon to stretch it out of the container. With the combination of the gluten from the white flour and now the rye, the starter takes on a property of its own.

     Now use what you need for the recipe, save about 4 oz of the remaining, feed that with 4 oz water, 2oz white, 2 oz of rye flour and place in the fridge to be used for another time you will need a rye sourdough starter. Just like the other, this rye starter will also need to be feed weekly. Discard anything left over which isn’t used in the following recipe.

     Before you begin the recipe you will need to purchase additional items ahead of time which will increase the taste and texture of your bread. Unless you do a lot of various bread type recipes baking you might not have these items in your pantry. If you don’t know where you can purchase the items click on each below and you will be directed to a site which I used to buy them.

1. Instant Yeast (not active dry)
2. Molasses
3. Rye Bread Improver
4. Vital Wheat Gluten

     The Rye Bread improver and Vital Wheat Gluten are not required but if you want that distinct flavor and a well risen bread you would be amiss if you omitted them. Rye flour is very low in gluten so adding the wheat gluten would increase your success.
 
 

 

 

• 
  The beginning of the sponge
• 
  Adding the initial ingredients to make the sponge
• 
  The sponge will be as thick as waffle batter
• 
  Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature
• 
  Prepare the remaining dry and wet ingredients.
• 
  Add the eggs and molasses
• 
  Slowly add the remaining dry ingredients
• 
  Allow first rise as a dough at room temperature.
• 
  Form into loaves and allow to rise per instructions
• 
  Place in preheated hot oven with high humidity as per recipe
• 
  Allow to cool for about 1/2 hr before slicing

Here is the recipe for my version of Polish Sourdough Rye Bread. But keep in mind, kneading, whether by machine, by hand or how I do it, by using both machine and manual kneading, it is important not to under knead. Because this contains whole grain four, gluten must be built into the dough. Good luck, but you will not really need it.

I try and give as much detailed information with making this (or other) recipe. Do NOT look at this recipe as something difficult and don’t get discouraged if the first try isn’t what you expected. It took me several tries to get this right and duplicate my results. This is the reason I include such detailed instructions.