Lithuanian Bread

Ultimate Lithuanian bread recipe. It's relatively easy to make and the taste is just unbelievable!!! It tastes exactly the same as the bread I sampled at an artisan bread stall during regional food fair in Cracow. It's utterly delicious with home cured bacon, ham or air-dried Lithuanian or Polish sausage.

Ingredients:

Day 1

200 g wholemeal rye flour

1 tbsp caraway seeds

100 g tepid water

200 g sourdough starter

• Mix the ingredients in a bowl using a wooden spoon.

• Cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place for 12 hours. It should double in size.

Day 2

 100 g wholemeal rye flour

120 g all-purpose wheat flour

3 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp honey

2 tsp salt

1 tbsp powdered rye malt

• Transfer the dough from day 1 and the rest of the ingredients into a bowl of a stand mixer and knead for 5 minutes using a hook attachment.The dough will be sticky but quite firm to the touch.

• Then tip the dough onto a floured wooden board and knead it by hand for a minute.

• Shape the dough into a circle or  cylinder (depending on the shape of the proofing basket that you want to use) and transfer it into a well floured proofing basket.If you want to simplify the whole process ,you can also place the dough in a well greased loaf tin.

• Leave to proof for about 3 hours until it doubles in size.

• When the dough has risen dust its top with some flour, place a baking stone in the oven and heat it for 45 minutes at 250 C. If you are using a loaf tin, just pop it into the oven preheated to 250 C.

• Put some ice cubes on a tray placed at the bottom of the oven to create humidity and steam  for the bread.

• Transfer the dough onto a bread peel bottom side up, flip it onto a hot baking stone and bake at 250 C for 15 minutes.

• After 10 minutes, open the door of the oven to release the steam and lower the temperature to 200C. 

• Bake for a further 30 minutes or longer if you want a darker crust. Remove the bread from the oven using the bread peel and place it on a cooling rack. 

• The bread can be sliced after a few hours, otherwise it will be  sticky and difficult to slice. 

Enjoy :)