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 :)

Lithuanian scalded dough country rye bread

I love the specific taste of Lithuanian bread which is dark, made with rye flour and very rustic. Sweetish - and with a hint of caraway. This bread is made with scalded dough, as a result of which it's moist and  lasts longer. A real treat !!!

Ingredients:

Day 1

500 ml wholemeal rye flour

1 tbsp caraway seeds

500 ml boiling water

250 ml sourdough starter

• Tip the flour and caraway seeds into a large bowl and mix with boiling water. Stir vigorously for a few minutes to avoid lumps.

• Cover the dough with clingfilm and leave to cool for 1-2 hours.

• When the dough is cold, mix it with sourdough starter. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon and make sure it's evenly mixed. Cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place for 12 hours. It should double in size.

Day 2

250 ml wholemeal rye flour

250 ml 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 ingredients into a bowl of a stand mixer and knead the bread dough 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. 

• 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. 

• 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 shovel 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 shovel and place it on a cooling rack. 

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

• Enjoy :)

 

Sourdough rye bread with beer and fried onions

I got this recipe from my best cousin, a great cook, an avid baker and a foodie. The bread has a moist soft crumb and an interesting delicate aroma of fried onions and beer. 

Ingredients for 2 loaves:

Day 1

60 g sourdough starter

200 g fine rye flour (type 720)

180 ml water

Mix everything and leave to ferment in a bowl covered with clingfilm for 8-12 hours or overnight.

Day 2

starter from Day 1

800g fine rye flour (type 720)

650 ml wheat beer 

2 large onions ( roughly chopped and sauteed in 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and cooled)

2 tsp salt

• Mix everything well in a stand mixer or by hand and leave to proof in a bowl covered with clingfilm for 8-12 hours at room temperature.
• Grease two 20 cm loaf tins with lard and transfer the dough into the tins in two equal portions. Even out the surface with wet hands. Dust the surface with flour.
• Cover the tins with clingfilm and leave to rise for 3-4 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 220 C, sprinkle the inside of the oven with water and place the tins in the centre of the oven .
• Bake for 45-50 minutes.
• Remove the tins from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Remove e the bread from the tins when the bread is still warm and cool the loaves on a wire rack.

Enjoy:)

General's croissants

I made them last week but had been planning to finally try them for over a year. It's been a year since I laid my hands on this secret recipe literally stolen by the General from his trusted batman's uncle who owns an old-fashioned bakery in Bielsko. So the recipe is really precious and the croissants taste   totally different to French croissants .

Ingredients:

• 1 kg all-purpose flour (type 500 )
• 140 g sugar
• 10 g salt
• 500 ml milk at room temperature
• 60 g fresh yeast
• 200 g butter

egg wash: 1 egg+ 1 tablespoon of water

• Melt the yeast in milk and add sugar. Add sifted flour and salt and knead for 1-2 minutes. 

• Form into a ball and roll into a small rectangle. The middle of the rectangle should be thicker than the four corners. Place the butter in the middle and fold the corners of the rectangle over so as to cover it, making sure that the butter won't leak when the rectangle is rolled.

•  Roll into another rectangle (1 cm thick) and fold like a business letter dividing the rectangle into 3 parts. Cover in clingfilm and place in the fridge for 60 minutes.

• Take the dough out of the fridge and roll to the same thickness repeating the folding process. Put in the fridge again for another 60 minutes.

•  Roll again to the thickness of 0.5 cm and divide the drolled dough into triangles of an even size. 

• .Roll the triangles starting from the base of the triangle to make croissants. Leave to rise on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper spacing the apart as they will rise and expand. Brush with egg wash.

•  Bake at 180 C for 20 minutes.

Masha's Russian wholemeal sourdough bread

An all- time favourite. Intense but not sour, with a uniform soft crumb and a beautiful rustic look.

Ingredients for 1 loaf :

Day 1

Starter

80g wholemeal rye flour (type 2000)

80g water

20g rye sourdough starter

• Mix everything in a mixing bowl and leave to ferment overnight. It should double or triple in size.

Day 2

560g wholemeal wheat flour (type 2000)

40g wholemeal rye flour (type 2000)

340 g water

150 g starter (from day 1)

12g sea salt

1 tbsp honey

• Mix both flours with 300g water and leave to soak for 30 minutes.

• Dissolve the honey and salt in the remaining 40g water and combine all the ingredients .  

• Knead the dough for 8 minutes in a stand mixer with a hook attachment or 15 minutes by hand. 

• Shape into a ball and place in greased bowl. Cover and leave to rise for 30 minutes. 

• Remove the dough from the bowl, stretch into a circle and roll the edges inwards to shape a new ball.

•  Place in a flour-dusted proofing basket or in a deep bowl lined with flour-dusted  cloth, cover and leave to rise for 3 hours. 
• 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. 

• 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 shovel bottom side up, flip it onto a hot baking stone and bake at 250 C for 10 minutes.

• After 10 minutes open the door of the oven to release the steam and lower the temperature to 180C. 

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

Enjoy :)