MAKES 3 LOAVES
This Icelandic rye bread has a bit of a personal story to it. The year before I opened Destroyer, I took a trip to Iceland. I arrived at the airport at six a.m., got the rental car, and was in Reykjavík an hour later. The entire city was still asleep. I was pretty tired from the flight, so I decided to pull over on the side of a random street and take a nap in the car. About an hour later, I was woken up by some noises outside. There was a line forming on the sidewalk next to the car. It turns out I’d accidentally parked in front of the best bakery in Iceland, Brauð & Co. I went in and ordered one of everything. I noticed the super-dense seeded rye breads that are typically some of my favorite things to eat in Scandinavia, so I ordered a few loaves to sustain me for the entire week. The owner/head baker has a friend who lives in Los Angeles and he gave her a bottle of natural starter from his rye doughs to bring to me as a gift. The rye starter that he gave to us is still the same starter that we use in our Icelandic rye today—just be aware that the starter takes about two weeks to ferment.
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons warm water
3 cups rye starter (recipe follows)
3¼ cups rye flour
1 rye kit (recipe follows)
3 tablespoons salt
For the rye starter:
2 cups rye flour
2 cups warm water
For the rye kit:
4 cups rye berries
1 cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
⅓ cup dark-roasted malt powder
5 cups water
For the rye starter: Mix the rye flour and water together and let sit at room temperature for 7 to 10 days until you notice it bubbling and smell a sour, lactic acid scent. Throw away 80 percent of the mixture and replace it with the same amount, equal parts water and rye flour. Repeat this process for at least 5 days in a row until the starter is ready to be used.
For the rye kit: Soak all the ingredients in the water for 24 hours.
For the bread: Mix together the water and the starter until dissolved. Mix in the flour and work with your hands until it is fully incorporated. Add the rye kit with all its liquid. Add the salt and mix again by hand.
Portion the dough into three loaf pans that have been sprayed with cooking oil. Cover with plastic wrap and leave overnight in the fridge.
Remove from the fridge and let the bread proof for 2 hours.
Make a vertical incision along the top of each loaf with a wet knife. Bake at 400°F for 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 300°F and bake for another 15 minutes. Check for doneness—the internal temperature should reach 205°F.