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Westphalian
(Rye Bread)
Germany is known for its rye breads. Raisin rye
represents the sweet end of the spectrum, while sour
rye, made with a tart starter, will pucker your
mouth like a dill pickle.
Westphalia, a northwestern German state, is famous
for both its unctuous, lightly smoked ham, and its
dense, dark pumpernickel. Both are sliced
ultra-thin, then served with one another in a
perfect marriage of bread and meat. Accompanied by
sweet butter, perhaps some smoked sausage, and a
stein of beer or glass of schnapps, this is a
standard Westphalian repast.
The following rye bread mimics Westphalian rye, but
is prepared in a less time-consuming manner. Don't
be discouraged while preparing the dough; it's very
heavy and sticky, more like mortar than bread dough,
and it's therefore most easily mixed in a stand
mixer, food processor or bread machine.
Notice the difference in color between the dough and
the finished loaf; the long bake promotes
caramelization of the flour's natural sugars, and
this deepens the loaf's color to a rich chocolate
brown. Serve this bread sliced extra-thin;
prosciutto is probably the ham that most clearly
mimics Westphalian, if you can't obtain the
authentic article.
3 cups (24 ounces) boiling water
1 cup (4 3/4 ounces) cracked wheat
1/2 cup (2 ounces) malted wheat flakes OR rolled
oats
1 tablespoon burnt sugar syrup OR 2 teaspoons
caramel color OR burnt sugar made from 1/3 cup
sugar*
4 cups (15 ounces) pumpernickel flour
1 cup (4 ounces) King Arthur 100% White Whole Wheat
Flour
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons (7/8 ounce) vegetable oil
*Place 1/3 cup sugar in a small saucepan. Heat over
medium heat until the sugar melts. Continue cooking
the sugar until it turns dark brown and begins to
smoke. Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool
for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup boiling water and stir
until the sugar is dissolved. Use this water for 1
cup of the boiling water called for in the recipe.
Put the cracked wheat and malted wheat flakes or
oats in a large mixing bowl, and pour in the boiling
water. Stir in the burnt sugar or caramel color.
Allow the mixture to cool to lukewarm. Stir in the
pumpernickel flour, whole wheat flour, yeast, salt
and vegetable oil. If you're looking for a typical
yeast dough here, forget it; the mixture will be
sticky and have about as much life as a lump of
clay. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover it
with a damp towel, and let it sit in a warm place
(70-75°F) for at least 12 hours, and up to 24 hours.
After 6 to 8 hours, fold the mixture over once or
twice, then cover it again and allow it to continue
to mellow. (We hesitate to use the word "rise" here;
though there is in fact a bit of yeast in the dough,
it'll rise very little. It'll be more like the
effect of letting your belt out a couple of notches
after a big dinner; it's not that you've really
gotten very much bigger, just that you've expanded
comfortably.)
After the mellowing period is complete, grease two 8
1/2 x 4 1/2-inch pans. The dough will look "cracked"
or "broken" at this point; that's OK. Turn it out
onto a floured or lightly greased work surface,
knead until it holds together, then divide it in
half. Press each half into a loaf pan, smoothing the
surface with wet hands.
Let the loaves sit, covered, for 1 1/2 hours;
they'll rise just slightly. Grease two pieces of
aluminum foil, then cover the pans tightly with the
foil, greased-side down.
Preheat the oven to 225°F. Place the covered pans in
the oven. Bake the bread for 5 hours. After 5 hours,
remove the foil from the pans, and check to see that
the bread is firm and looks set -- it should
register 195°F on an instant-read thermometer
inserted into the center of a loaf.
Remove the bread from the oven. Let it cool in the
pans for 15 minutes to firm. Remove it from the pans
and allow to cool to lukewarm before wrapping in
plastic wrap or a dishtowel. Cool for 8 hours or
more before slicing. Yield: 2 loaves.
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