Most people associate rye bread with dark, heavy Scandinavian and Germanic-style breads such as pumpernickel. However, when you blend strong white flour with the rye flour, it lifts and lightens the texture, giving a really tasty, rustic bread that offers a wonderful base for ingredients like olives, fruit, nuts and spices. If you like your rye bread darker still, then just increase the ratio of rye flour to white, or if you prefer it lighter, you can increase the percentage of white flour.
400g Strong white flour
100g Dark rye flour
10g Yeast (fresh if possible)
10g Salt
350g Water (350ml – but weighing is more accurate)
Preheat the oven to 250ºC. Mix the two flours together and rub in the yeast, using your fingertips as if making a crumble. Add the salt and water, then continue according to the method, but check your recipe to see if you need to add any other ingredients at this stage.
I sometimes make this with a combination of walnuts and dates (while prunes have a natural affinity with wholemeal bread, dates are perfect with rye – raisins are good, too). If you are going to use fruit, reduce the quantity of walnuts to 150g, and add 125g chopped dates or raisins.
Quantity: 2 rings
Preparation: 30 minutes
Resting: 65 minutes
Proving: 1 hour
Baking: 20 minutes
1 Batch Rye dough
200g Shelled walnuts, crushed using a rolling pin or pestle and mortar (when broken unevenly they release their oil into the dough more easily)
Flour for dusting
To make
• Make the dough following the method in here, adding the walnuts at the end of working by hand or mixing in the mixer and continue working/mixing until they are evenly distributed. Shape the dough into a ball, put it into a lightly floured bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to rest for 1 hour. With the help of the rounded end of your scraper, turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide into two. Shape each piece into a ball, cover with a tea towel and rest for a further 5 minutes, then remould the dough into a tight ball. Press the end of your rolling pin into the centre of each ball until you reach the work surface and make a hole. Flour your hands and then open up the hole to form a ring – the hole should be at least the size of a fist to prevent it from closing up as the dough rises. Lightly flour a tea towel and place the bread rings on top. Cover with another tea towel and leave to prove for about 1 hour until the rings have nearly doubled in volume. Transfer to a peel or flat-edged baking tray and, with a razor or sharp knife, make three cuts at equal points around the ring. Open the preheated oven and mist with a water spray. Quickly slide the rings onto the baking stone, turn down the heat to 220°C, and bake for 5 minutes, then turn down to 200°C and bake for a further 15 minutes. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
This bread is inspired by the beautiful little pain de campagne-style loaves you find, filled with dark olive paste, in the markets of Provence – stunning.
Quantity: 3 loaves
Preparation: 40 minutes
Resting: 1 hour
Proving: 1 hour
Baking: 18–20 minutes
1 Batch Rye dough rested for 1 hour
100g Olive paste
Flour for dusting
To make
• With the help of the rounded end of your scraper, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into three pieces. Take the pieces one at a time, and flatten them with the palm of your hand into a rough rectangular shape. Spread about 2 tablespoons of the paste over the dough. Then fold and form into loaves.
• Place the loaves (seam-side-down) onto a lightly floured tea towel, flour the top of the loaves and pull the tea towel into low ridges in between the loaves so that they do not end up touching as they rise. Cover with a second tea towel and leave to prove for 1 hour or until the loaves have nearly doubled in volume.
• Transfer the loaves to a peel or flat-edged baking tray and make a single cut down the middle of each loaf with a razor blade or sharp knife. Open the preheated oven and mist the inside with a water spray, then quickly slide the loaves onto the preheated baking stone or tray and close the door. Bake them for 18–20 minutes. The loaves should sound hollow when tapped on the base with your finger. Cool on a wire rack.
Drain and remove the stone from 180g Picholine (Provençal) olives (or similar). Put into a food processor with 2 teaspoons herbes de Provence and 20g extra-virgin olive oil and blitz until you have a coarse paste. You can store this in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. Alternatively you can freeze the paste for several weeks, defrost it at room temperature and add a few drops of lemon juice to refresh it when you need it. This will make 200g.
Rye and caraway are a classic combination, and the raisins just add a sweetness which works really well with cheese, especially blue cheese. Caraway is a favourite of mine – I love the aroma of the seeds when the bread is baking – but you can reduce the quantity if you are less partial to it.
Quantity: 2 loaves
Preparation: 20 minutes
Resting: 70 minutes
Proving: 1 hour
Baking: 30 minutes
1 Batch Rye dough
250g Raisins or sultanas
1 teaspoon Caraway seeds
Flour for dusting
To prepare
Mix the fruit and caraway seeds together.
Make the dough following the method in here, adding the fruit and caraway shortly before the end of working by hand or mixing in the mixer. Continue working/mixing until they are evenly distributed. Shape the dough into a ball, place in a bowl, cover with a tea towel and rest for 1 hour.
To make
• With the help of the rounded end of the scraper, turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide into two. Mould each into a ball, cover with a tea towel and leave on the work surface to rest for 10 minutes.
• Mould each ball into a tight loaf shape of about 20cm length. Lightly flour a tea towel and place the loaves onto it, seam-side-up, making a pleat in the tea towel in between each one, so that they do not touch as they rise. Cover with another tea towel and leave to prove for 1 hour until they have nearly doubled in volume.
• Turn the loaves over and transfer to a peel or flat-edged baking tray and cut a leaf pattern (one cut down the centre, with four cuts fanning out on each side) in the top with a razor or sharp knife. Mist the inside of the preheated oven with a water spray. Slide the loaves onto the baking stone or tray and quickly close the door. Turn the heat down to 220°C and bake for 30 minutes. The loaves sound hollow when tapped on the base. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
Smoked bacon and red onion are a great combination, which make a beautiful loaf to slice for sandwiches, or to serve with something like a chicken liver salad. Make sure you use good bacon, preferably dry-cured in the traditional fashion. The balsamic vinegar is only a dash to deglaze the pan, so it doesn’t need to be the best quality – or you could use a tablespoon of red wine or red wine vinegar instead.
Quantity: 4 small loaves
Preparation: 30 minutes
Resting: 70 minutes
Proving: 1¼ hours
Baking: 20 minutes
1 Batch Rye dough
1 tablespoon Olive oil
8 Thick slices Smoked, dry, cured bacon, snipped into strips
1 Large Red onion, finely sliced
1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
Flour for dusting
To make
• Preheat the oven to 250ºC. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the bacon over a medium heat for a couple of minutes until it starts to brown and crisp, then add the onion and cook for another couple of minutes. Deglaze the pan by pouring in the vinegar and stirring well over the heat for a further minute or so, scraping all the bits of bacon from the bottom. Transfer the bacon, onion and juices into a dish to cool.
• Make the dough according to the method, adding the bacon mixture towards the end of working by hand or mixing in a mixer and continue to work/mix until it is evenly distributed. Form the dough into a ball, put into a lightly floured bowl, cover with a tea towel and rest for 1 hour.
• With the help of the rounded end of your scraper, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into four roughly equal pieces. Mould each into a ball, cover with a tea towel and leave on the work surface to rest for a further 10 minutes. Reshape each of the pieces into a tight ball again. Lightly flour a tea towel (or two) and place the balls, smooth-side-up, on top. Cover with another tea towel (or towels) and leave to prove for about 1¼ hours until they have nearly doubled in volume.
• Transfer to a peel or flat-edged baking tray. Make a circular cut on the top of each loaf with a razor or sharp knife. Mist your preheated oven with a water spray, quickly slide the loaves onto the baking stone/tray and bake at 220°C for 5 minutes, turn down the heat to 190°C and bake for a further 15 minutes. The loaf should sound hollow if tapped on the base with your finger. Cool on a wire rack.
This was a bread I made to celebrate our move to Bath to set up my cookery school – using Burrow Hill Cider from Julian Temperley at the Somerset Cider Brandy Co. instead of the Breton cider I used to use for a similar bread in France. Adding cider, or ale, is a very traditional thing to do, and it lends the bread a real ‘country,’ rustic note, while the flavour is deepened by the addition of some fermented rye dough. This is a bread that is fabulous with some cured ham or a proper, traditional Cheddar. In this bread, I suggest you make a larger quantity of dough, as I feel the ferment works better with more bulk.
Quantity: 4 loaves
Preparation: 20 minutes
Resting: 4–6 hours for the ferment 1½ hours for the dough
Proving: 1¼–1½ hours
Baking: 45 minutes
For the ferment:
½ Batch Rye dough left to ferment for 4–6 hours
10g Yeast (fresh if possible)
750g Strong white flour
250g Dark rye flour
20g Salt
450g Good-quality dry cider
150g Water (150ml)
Flour for dusting
To make
• Use your scraper to scoop the ferment from its container into your bowl, all in one piece, and add the rest of your ingredients (adding the cider with the water) and follow the method in here. Shape the dough into a ball, put it into a lightly floured bowl, cover with a tea towel and rest for 45 minutes.
• With the help of the rounded end of your plastic scraper, turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and reshape into a ball, place it back into the bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to rest for 45 minutes.
• Using the scraper, turn the dough out onto your lightly floured work surface and divide it into four equal pieces. Lightly flour a couple of tea towels. Mould the balls of dough into loaves and place two on top of each tea towel, making a fold in the fabric between them to stop them touching when they rise. Cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for 1¼–1½ hours, or until they have nearly doubled in volume.
• Turn the loaves over, place on a peel or flat-edged baking tray and make one cut lengthways along the top of the loaves with a razor blade or sharp knife. Mist the inside of your preheated oven with a water spray and then slide the loaves onto the baking stone or tray. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn down the heat to 200°C, and bake for about 35 minutes until well coloured. The loaves should sound hollow when tapped on the base with your finger. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
I love aniseed – particularly in pastis, and since I’m told that ‘Black Velvet’ can be made either with Champagne or pastis and Guinness (for which I have also developed a taste since coming to Britain), this seemed to me to be the perfect combination of flavours. I think it is brilliant served, Irish style, with seafood, especially oysters, and a drop more Guinness – cold, and in a glass, this time.
Quantity: 3 loaves
Preparation: 30 minutes
Resting: 3 hours 35 minutes
Proving: 1½ hours
Baking: 30 minutes
25g Yeast (fresh if possible)
700g Guinness, at room temperature (700ml) 250g Dark rye flour
750g Strong white flour
20g Salt
1 tablespoon Pastis
Flour for dusting
To make
• Whisk the yeast into the Guinness in a large mixing bowl until it has completely dissolved, then add the rye flour and 400g of the white flour and whisk to obtain a thick batter. Cover with a tea towel and rest for 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 250ºC. Add the rest of the ingredients to the batter, mix well and make the dough following the method in here, until the dough is supple, elastic and no longer sticks to your hands. Shape into a ball and put into a lightly floured bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to rest for 45 minutes.
• With the help of the rounded end of your scraper, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and reshape into a ball, place back in the bowl, cover with the tea towel and leave to rest for a further 45 minutes. With the help of the scraper, again turn the dough out and divide it into three equal pieces. Shape each into a ball again, and leave on the work surface, covered with a tea towel, to rest for a further 5 minutes. Lay a couple of tea towels on a baking tray and lightly flour them. Mould the balls into loaves and place them on the tea towels, leaving a good space in between them. Cover with another tea towel and leave to prove for 1½ hours, or until they have nearly doubled in volume.
• Place the loaves on a peel or flat-edged baking tray, and make two diagonal cuts on the tops with a razor blade or sharp knife. Mist the inside of your preheated oven with a water spray and slide the loaves onto the baking stone/tray. Bake them for 5 minutes, reduce the heat to 220°C and bake for a further 25 minutes until they are a rich dark colour. They should sound hollow when tapped on the base. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack.
Think of pain de campagne as sourdough’s little brother. Sourdough is enjoying a huge renaissance in popularity; however, making it in the traditional fashion is a serious breadmaking event: a long process in which a ferment is made without commercial yeast. The idea is that it attracts the natural, wild yeasts that are in the air all around us, allowing the dough to ferment very slowly, giving the bread its characteristicly robust flavour. In France the classic pain de campagne is used in a similar way to sourdough. You buy it to keep for a few days, as its flavour matures – and it lends itself beautifully to toasting and rubbing bruschettastyle with garlic and/or tomatoes, then adding a topping of your choice.
Quantity: 2 loaves
Preparation: 30 minutes
Resting: 4–6 hours for the ferment 2½ hours for the bread
Proving: 1¼ hours
Baking: 30–35 minutes
For the ferment:
½ batch rye dough left in a bowl (covered with clingfilm) to ferment for 4–6 hours, or overnight in the fridge and then brought back to room temperature
500g Strong white bread flour
100g Dark rye flour
5g Yeast (fresh if possible) 15g Salt
400g Water (400ml)
Flour for dusting
To make
• Use your scraper to scoop the ferment from its container into your bowl, all in one piece, and add the rest of your ingredients. Make the dough following the method in here and work it until you have a smooth dough which should be soft, supple and elastic, and shouldn’t feel sticky. Form it into a ball and place in a lightly floured bowl, covered with a tea towel, to rest for 1 hour.
• With the help of the rounded end of your scraper, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a ball again, put back in the bowl, cover and leave to rest for a 1 hour.
• Repeat the above step, but rest for 30 minutes. Using the rounded end of the scraper again, turn the dough onto a well-floured work surface and divide it into two pieces of about 600g each. Shape each into a ball. Lightly flour two wicker proving baskets or line bowls with tea towels, well dusted with flour, and put a ball of dough into each one, seam-side-down. Cover with another tea towel and leave to prove for about 1¼ hours, or until they have nearly doubled in volume.
• Place the loaves on a peel or flat-edged baking tray, seam-side down, and cut a circle in the top of each loaf with a razor blade or sharp knife. Mist the inside of the preheated oven with a water spray. Quickly slide the loaves onto the baking stone or tray and bake for 5 minutes. Turn down the heat to 220°C and bake for a further 25–30 minutes until they are dark brown. The loaves should sound hollow if tapped on the base with your finger. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
This, again, is a slightly more complex loaf, boosted with extra flavour from the ‘poolish’. While all bread should be allowed to cool before eating, dark rye bread, such as this one, can be especially indigestible if you eat it while still warm – so try to be patient and let it cool down properly for several hours, before cutting into it.
Quantity: 2 loaves
Preparation: 30 minutes
Resting: 3–5 hours for the poolish 95 minutes for the dough
Proving: 1 hour
Baking: 45–50 minutes
For the poolish ferment:
6g Yeast (fresh if possible)
275g Tepid water (275ml)
250g Dark rye flour
200g Dark rye flour
210g Strong white flour
15g Salt
115g Tepid water (115ml)
Flour for dusting
To prepare
To make the poolish, whisk the yeast into the water until completely dissolved, then add the flour and whisk to obtain a thick batter. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rest for at least 3 but no more than 5 hours. The poolish is ready to use when it forms a dome and then begins to flatten slightly. Once it reaches this point use it quickly, as if you leave it any longer, it will start to collapse. Add the poolish to the rest of the ingredients and work/mix following the method in here. Shape the dough into a ball and place in to a lightly floured bowl, covered with a tea towel, to rest for 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 250ºC.
To make
• With the help of the rounded end of your scraper, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and reshape it into a ball, place back in the bowl, cover with a tea towel and rest for a further 45 minutes.
• Again using your scraper, turn the dough out onto your lightly floured work surface and divide the dough into two equal pieces. Shape each into a ball and leave on the work surface, covered with a tea towel, to rest for a further 5 minutes. Line two proving baskets or bowls with well-floured tea towels. Mould the loaves into tight balls and place them, seam-side-down, on the tea towels. Cover with more tea towels and leave to prove for 1 hour or until they have nearly doubled in volume.
• Place the loaves on the peel or flat-edged baking tray, seam-side-down. Make four cuts in the top of each loaf, in each direction, to form a criss-cross pattern. Open the preheated oven and mist with a water spray, then quickly slide the loaves onto the baking stone or tray. Bake them for 5 minutes then turn down the heat to 200°C for a further 40–45 minutes. When the loaves are done they will look quite dark and sound hollow if tapped on the base with your finger. Remove and cool completely on a wire rack.
