Finnish Archipelago Bread Sourdough Recipes

FINNISH RYE SOURDOUGH | MY VINTAGE COOKING

Steps:

• The Rye SpongeUse 180g of the flour and 300ml of water from total to build the rye starter. In the late afternoon, mix 60g rye flour with 100ml warm water in a medium-sized bowl. Keep it covered in a warm spot and whisk occasionally. Give it two feedings (60g+100ml) during the next day. Whisk air in between feedings. In the next morning, the starter is ready for baking. The sponge has runny porridge-like consistency. It taste sour and has lots of tiny bubbles on surface to show activity.
• Building the rye doughMeasure the rest of the ingredients, and build the dough in a bigger bowl. Whisk water into the sponge and add more rye flour little by little. When the dough is too heavy to be mixed with a whisk, let the dough rest for a while so that the rye flour will set. Then, add more rye flour and continue mixing with a wooden spoon. Give the dough a second pause. Finally, add the rest of the flour with salt but don't forget to take a piece of unsalted dough aside for your next bake. Store this fresh dough in an air-tight box in the fridge, it's fresh up to 2 weeks.
• Now, knead the wet dough carefully and patiently by hand (5-8 minutes will do). Give the dough 2-4 hours rest at room temperature to build volume. The dough should double its size before shaping & baking. The old fashioned way is to press a cross over the dough to bless the bread. This cross sign will also communicates when the dough has risen enough.
• Shaping the rye doughDust your working desk properly with rye flour. Shaping the wet dough into a pyramid-sharp boule is a challenge and you should be quick not to let the dough stick. Flour your hands multiple times and lightly add more flour whenever needed. Decide whether you bake 1 or 2 loaves and dust one or two more spots on the working surface where you place the shaped bread to rise (dusted parchment paper as a good assistant to load a loaf into the oven). If baking the loaves in a tin, prepare them with parchment paper.
• Dust the bread surface lightly with rye flour, cover with a kitchen towel and let it/the loaves rise for an hour. In the meanwhile, preheat the oven to 225-240°C/437-460°F with a baking stone at least 45min in advance.
• Baking the 100% rye sourdoughThe surface of the bread now shows crackling and the pyramid like boule shape has flattened. Now we want to emphasize the crackling a bit more:press the top dome down lightly while supporting the bread from the sides.
• Do not score the bread. Instead, prick the surface of the loaf multiple times before loading into the oven.
• Bake on a baking stone for 40-60 minutes (lower rack). After the first 10 minutes, adjust the temperature to 200°C/392°F. Smaller loaves bake in 40 minutes whereas a bigger loaf can take over an hour depending on the oven.
• You know the bread is done when the knock on the bottom sounds hollow. Let the loaf rest on a cooling rack for a while (10 minutes) before tucking it in a kitchen towel. Let the rye sourdough rest covered and tucked in the tea towel overnight before cutting slices.
• How to store 100% rye sourdoughThe rye sourdough gets better and better the longer it sits on the table. Store it tucked in a tea towel in a cool place. The bread is good up to a week. Alternatively, you can freeze a loaf. Cut the loaf in half or slice it and freeze in plastic bags.

FINNISH BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add whole wheat flour, 2 tablespoons of butter, brown sugar, salt and 2 cups of flour; beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch the dough down. Shape into two 6-in. rounds; place on a greased baking sheet. Cut slashes in top with a knife. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 40 minutes. , Bake at 400° for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with remaining butter.

FINNISH ARCHIPELAGO BREAD (SOURDOUGH)

Steps:

• 1st Day: 1. On midday mix the dark sourdough, rye flour and water in a bowl. Knead it even. 2. Cover the bowl with a cling film and let the starter ferment for about 8 hours in room temperature.
• 1. Before the bed add the buttermilk, salt and molasses to the active sourdough. 2. Mix in the rye malt and wheat bran, then the wheat flour. The dough should be sloppy and sticky. 3. Finally, make sure that the sourdough starter is not in the dough as pieces but mixed or kneaded in evenly. 4. Grease the 2-3 bread tins for about 4 liters in total (I do not do this because I use tins made of silicone). Put them on the oven rack. 5. Divide the dough into the tins with the help of a large spoon and even them out. 6. Cover the tins with a cloth and allow them to leaven overnight.
• 2nd Day: 1. Heat the oven to 175°C and put a steel dish on the bottom filled with water. This is meant for creating steam. 2. Bake the breads for about 2 hours. 3. After putting the breads in the oven spray them with water twice - I do this at half an hour from the start and half an hour before the end. Even if the breads taste good at once it's better for the texture to allow them to set and cool down.