Rugbrød – Dark Rye Bread January 14, 2013 by mydanishkitchen Rugbrød - Dark Rye Bread Rugbrød – Dark Rye Bread Rugbrød is a staple in, dare I say, all Danish households and it is the foundation for most pieces of Smørrebrød (open-faced sandwiches) whether it be the elaborate pieces bought in restaurants or the common pieces found in the daily Danish lunch box. What makes Rugbrød super healthy is that it is very low in fat, has no oils, no sugars and it is typically loaded with whole grain and fiber. That being said, there are many different versions of Rugbrød, some packed with seeds and grains, others with only the basics. Sour Dough Starter Sour Dough Starter Speaking as a Dane living in the US, the lack of Rugbrød can be a source of frustration and so you have to adapt. Either you go without, or perhaps you are lucky to live close to a place where they sell a dried-out version of Rugbrød or you bake it yourself. And let me tell you that baking it yourself is worth every bit of effort you put into it, I promise! Baking Rugbrød is not difficult at all but it takes planning. It’s sometimes difficult to gather all the special ingredients required and hopefully you have the special size bread pan that everyone in Denmark possess. If not, it can be purchased on Amazon. And for all the special ingredients I use Bob’s Red Mill products because they carry everything I need. Sometimes I’ll get lucky and find some of the ingrediens at the local supermarket but I usually have to buy the rest online (once again, thank you amazon). Making Rugbrød Making Rugbrød I would like to note that Danish Rugbrød is different than the German Pumpernickel bread and the two words are often a source of confusion when translating the name into English as Dark Rye bread. Pumpernickel is darker in color, stronger in flavor and it is steamed for a long period of time to allow the ingredients to caramelize. Poke holes into dough to allow steam to escape.Brush with water/oil mixture. Baked Rugbrød. Place warm bread in plastic bags to soften crust. Poke holes into dough to allow steam to escape. Brush with water/oil mixture. Baked Rugbrød. Place warm bread in plastic bags to soften crust. How do you maintain your sourdough starter? If you talk to ten different people you’ll likely get ten different answers. This is how I do it. To continue feeding your sourdough starter add 3 oz (1 1/2 deciliter) Dark Rye flour and 5 oz (1 1/2 deciliter) water to remaining sour dough starter, mix and allow to bubble up before storing in refrigerator. Continue to feed starter once a week while in fridge. As a general rule keep it cold when the sourdough starter is resting and at room temperature when it’s getting ready to be used for baking. Remove starter from refrigerator 24 hours before baking your bread and feed it twice (every 8 hours) at room temperature before using. Feed your Sour Dough Starter. Keep at room temperature until it bubbles up and then refrigerate. Feed your Sour Dough Starter. Keep at room temperature until it bubbles up and then refrigerate. Rye Sour Dough Starter Ingredients: 2 teaspoons active dry yeast 10 fl oz water (3 deciliter) 6.2 oz Dark Rye flour (3 deciliter or 175 gram) Directions: Day 1: heat water to 100-110 degrees F and remove from heat. Sprinkle yeast over water, give a quick stir and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir Rye flour into yeast mixture until smooth. Cover bowl loosely with a lid and let sit out on your counter at room temperature. Day 2: add 2 oz Rye flour and stir (1 deciliter or 60 gram) Day 3: stir dough. Day 4: stir dough. Day 5: in the morning or evening mix 1/2 of the sour dough starter with the following ingredients. Rugbrød (makes 1 loaf) Ingredients: 1/2 of the sour dough starter (approx 7 oz or 1 1/2 deciliter) 9.7 oz Dark Rye flour (275 gram) 11 oz Cracked Rye (Bob’s Red Mill) (5 deciliter or 315 gram) 10.5 oz Whole Wheat flour (300 gram) 2.8 oz Flaxseeds (1 deciliter or 80 gram) 24 liquid ounces cold water (7 deciliter) 1 tablespoon molasses 1 1/2 tablespoons sea salt Directions: Oil a 13 x 4 x 4 inch bread pan and set aside. Mix all of the ingredients together, stirring to make sure there are no dry pockets left within the dough. Pour into oiled pan and smooth top of dough. Cover pan with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 10 to 12 hours. Before baking, pierce the dough with a skewer 20 times. Brush top of dough with an oil/water mixture and bake in a 400 degrees F preheated oven for 1 hour 15 minutes. After baking allow bread to cool in the pan on a baking rack. When bread is still a little warm place in a plastic bag. The condensation inside the bag will help soften the very hard outer crust. Once completely cooled remove the bread from the moist bag, wipe the bag dry before placing the bread back into the bag. The bread is now ready for slicing or freezing. Enjoy! Recipes: Baking that dark, sour bread (Rugbrød) The Danes are world famous for their love of rugbrød. This particular kind of nutritional brown rye bread can be found in all supermarkets and local bakeries across Denmark. What makes this bread so special is that it’s very low in fat, contains no oil or sugar and is rich in whole grain and dietary fibre. It is considered by many Danes as a much healthy alternative to whiter types of bread. This takes time and dedication, but once you’re hooked, you’re most likely going to keep baking. Making a rye bread sour dough starter 250 gram of rye flour 4 deciliters of water Generous pinch of salt 2 tablespoons of honey 2 tablespoons of yogurt Mix the ingredients to a mud-like consistency in a bowl. Cling film but punch some holes in the film, so that the sour dough can breathe. Leave for 2 days, on the third day, put some extra rye flour ad water in, and leave for a day or two, until it starts bubbling. Now it’s ready. You can store sourdoughs in the fridge for up to two weeks or more. To keep them alive give them a little fresh rye or wheat flour once in a while. Rye bread with seeds (2 breads of 1 kg) For the first day: 500 grams of sour dough 250 grams of rye grains 50 grams of linseed 150 grams of wheat flour 5 deciliters of lukewarm water 1 tablespoon of salt 1 ½ tablespoon of honey For the second day: 1100 grams of rye flour 3 tablespoons of salt 1 ½ tablespoons of honey 9 deciliters of water A little corn oil for the baking tins On day one stir the first-day ingredients together, leave for next day under a wet cloth. On the second day, take the dough from the previous day and knead together with second batch of ingredients for 10 minutes. Take away 500 grams of sour dough for next time you’re baking, put in a plastic container in the fridge. Rub a little oil in two large baking tins and pour in the dough that should be the thickness of heavy mud. Leave to rise for 4 – 6 hours and bake at 170 degrees for 1 hour ad 45 minutes. Then take out of tins and bake for another fifteen minutes. Let cool completely before cutting in thin slices of approx 4-8 millimeters.