Black Russian Bread at It's Best! by Lindsay Balfour

Black Russian Bread at It's Best! by Lindsay Balfour 10/29/2009

One of the major staples my diet are grains, namely bread products, so almost every meal I incorporate a small piece of sourdough as a natural habit. The tangy taste of sourdough is a complimentary taste any assortment of cheeses and jams, my favorites combinations of sourdough topped with Kofalotiri cheese or homemade raspberry jam.

Russia is the 4th in the world’s leading wheat production, consuming a little over 35 metric tons of wheat per year and beating America by a little over 2 metric tons. Around 50% of Russia is covered in permafrost, so despite it’s desolate tundra, they manage to produce a lot of grain! Many Russian proverbs often describe the character of a person through their bread consumption. “Bread is the head of everything.” Hospitality klyeb-sol’ (Bread-salt) directly links to the symbolism behind bread. The idea of wasting bread is somewhat of an abomination.

Grains are very important and substantial because of how easy it was to get.
Russian Black Bread is rye bread, generally dark in color but also thicker in comparison to most breads we are used to so with a good soup this combination can give you the illusion of eating a much larger meal. The soup alone is something to be enjoyed rather than eaten and because this meal is consumed slowly it will become much more appease your appetite. This is essential for working man because the more you eat, the more energy available for the job.

While checking my list at the grocery store I was humbled by a slight twist as I soon discovered that one of the main ingredients of this particular dish is grounded coffee. Next on the list were molasses, toast cubes, and minced white onion all making me question the perplexing concoction.

There are several stages of creating Russian Black Bread, one including the preparation of the ingredients for sourdough. Even though it’s just flour, water, and yeast it takes a whooping 16 hours to ferment before you can actually go further with it! Once the sourdough sets for long enough, the soaker ingredients are added and you have to wait for another 6 hours for it to set. The aging process of the dough took me about two days to prepare, but an easy task for a college student who is busy with class and homework routines. However once the dough had finished settling, the process became much more delicate and required the utmost care. The dough is placed inside in an oiled container for about 2 hours.

I separated the dough and left it out for another hour under careful surveillance to prevent too much puffing. The black bread is baked for 10 minutes with ice cubes housed at the bottom of the oven to maintain moisture. I cracked open the oven to release moisture and baked it for about another 20 minutes while consistently checking. Once I pricked the baked good I quickly realized that it lost some of it’s cushiony goodness and declined slightly from being disturbed too early. Feeling discouraged after the long period of work put into it, I shut the oven door and waited about 3 minutes before I opened it again to check it. I curiously poked at it and shook it slightly.

The hollowed texture was a good sign that the bread was completed so I withdrew pan and placed it on the counter to cool, hoping that my two days of work was not in vein.
After spending about 30 hours on this wonderful piece of work I was not disappointed. The taste was very definite and strong, with a pungent smell attached. The way I prepared it made it a little drier than I thought, but when I doused a small amount of olive oil and toasted the black bread with a little melted mozzarella it tasted like heaven. The bread’s scent was very heavy as the texture was very thick and spongy despite my mistake, which also added to the mouthwatering capabilities of the dish. There was a slight sweetness from the onion and molasses to the tangy morsel and helped strengthen the flavor of the cheese product.

Overall I felt that this baked good was a moderate success. Half a loaf later I felt too full to eat anymore and I shared with my two roommates and they also became full after a few slices alone. It’s hard to image how much of an impact this Russian black bread would be with soup!

Russian Black Bread (roughly 30 hours to make)
SOURDOUGH 