Swedish Limpa

Friday, May 27, 2011

Hello loyal follower(s)

  Unhappy with the “Rye” bread made yesterday. Mr Nut embarked on a search for a better “Rye” bread.  Most recipes seem to have only about 25 % rye flour, which was what was in yesterday’s loaf. 

Mr Nut’s wife (Cyndy) recommended Swedish Limpa (from Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary:  Limpa is rye bread made with molasses or brown sugar.)  from the Family Fare recipe book  compiled many years ago by Susan Martin.  The recipe was her grandmother’s (think circa 1910 ).   

Thus began another misadventure for Mr Nut.  First the techniques of putting together  the ingredients was different.  In 1910 all mixing was done by hand, today we have macho machines to do the grunt work.  Then the amounts of the ingredients had to be changed to yield a large (10 inch) round.  Mr Nut had never worked with molasses before, and therefore did not count it as part of the liquid when figuring the 5 to 3 ratio of flour to liquid.   

Also, the baking time was a mystery but that what makes this a misadventure.  

The dough has just finished the second fermentation.  The light spots are Soy flour that Mr Nut used for dusting.

The bread dough was ready for the heat.  Mr Nut was ready to dump  the dough into the HOT dutch oven.

It took 60 minutes to get the dough  to a temperature of 203℉ an at that point Mr Nut thought the bottom of the loaf was burned, but it turned out it was just the molasses that made It dark.  The temperature was monitored every ten minutes until it was finally done after one hour and forty minutes.  It turned out to be a FIVE pound loaf.

The crumb looked great, small even air bubbles which was what would be expected of a will kneaded dough.

To Mr Nut the bread did not smell appealing, but as toast it was good.  Cyndy said it tasted like she remembered from her childhood.  Mr Nut just can’t envision ham on rye with this bread.

At this point Mr Nut stopped typing this blog and went and made a ham on rye,   what a surprise it was very tasty and a good match in ingredients.

Mr Nut has made the necessary adjustments for the following recipe.   It is possible that you may choose to reduce the amount of molasses and replace the amount with water. 

Definitely an interesting bread.  The next time Mr Nut makes this bread again, he will probably try using long fermentation (18 hours) and move towards minimal mixing to obtain a more rustic texture.

Recipe follows:

À bientôt,

Mr Nut

Swedish Limpa 

 5-27-2011 revised June 6, 2011

(Rye Bread with molasses)

Based on Cyndy’s Great Grandma Verna Miller recipe

Written with a 7 quart Cuisinart heavy duty Stand Mixer

With speeds of 1 thru 12

Yield one 10 inch round, about five pounds

Ingredients:

3 cups (15 ounces; 420 g) Rye flour

3 cups (15 ounces; 420 g) Bread flour 

1/4 cup dough enhancer (see blog April 5, 2011)

1/4 cup Vital wheat Gluten

2 teaspoons instant dry yeast

2 teaspoons Sea salt

3 tablespoons anise seed (this cost $3.50)

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 cups warm water 110-115℉

1 cup light or dark molasses

1/4 cup regular Smart Balance

Directions:

1. In the bowl of the mixer using the Chef’s Whisk at speed one mix blue ingredients. 
2. Switch to the Flat Paddle at speed 2 and add the red ingredients to the blue ingredients.
3. Using the Dough Hook on speed three knead until a knife inserted into the dough comes out clean.
4. Fermentation: Move dough to an oiled bowl and set in warm place to ferment for about 20-30 minutes. 
5. Deflate dough:  Gently press down on center of dough to deflate. Holding edge of dough with fingertips, fold dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. Turn bowl quarter turn; fold again. Turn bowl and fold dough 6 more times (total of 8 folds). Form a round and let it rest for about ten minutes.
6. Prepare Oven: place oven shelf in the middle position and place a pizza stone on a shelf in the bottom  position ( a heat sink). Place the Dutch Oven on the middle shelf and pre-heat the oven to 400℉.
7. Second Fermentation: Set out a 15-inch square of baking parchment paper. Spray it with nonstick spray, then generously dust it with flour. Invert the dough into the center of the parchment. Generously dust the dough with more  flour. Smooth out and round the surface to form a round shaped, domed loaf; it may be sticky, so flour your hands, and sprinkle more flour over the top as needed. Using the parchment paper as a sling, transfer the loaf to a skillet or  bowl just slightly smaller in diameter than the dutch oven to be used. Tent the bowl with nonstick spray-coated foil.  Let it ferment for about 40 minutes, until the dough doubles from the deflated size.

1. Prepare Oven: 20 minutes before baking time, put a rack in the middle of the oven with the dutch oven; preheat to 400°F. If you have a pizza stone place it near the bottom of the oven it will act as a heat sink. 
2. Final Dough preparation: Sprinkle or spray the dough top generously with water. Using well-oiled serrated knife or razor, cut a 1/2-inch-deep, 3-inch diameter circular slash in the dough center. Using the parchment paper as a sling, carefully lift the dough into the pot; take care not to touch the hot pot. Immediately top the pot with its lid.
3. Baking: Bake on the lower rack for 60 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350℉, Remove the lid and bake for another five minutes. Using the parchment paper, lift the loaf from the pot and place on a piece of aluminum foil. Pull the parchment away from the loaf sides so they are exposed. (If the top is well browned, cover it with foil.) Bake for about forty minutes longer, until a skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out with just a few crumbs on the tip (or until the center registers 200°F on an instant-read thermometer). Then bake for 5 minutes longer to ensure the center is baked through. Note: the appearance of the loaf is more important in determining the doneness of the loaf than the internal temperature (from Cook's illustrated magazine, May-June 2011 page 31).  Cool  thoroughly on a wire rack.