#41 Hapanleipä

Having already done the Christmas breads, Hapanleipä and Vorterkaker are the last two international breads. These are very similar breads, one Finnish and one Norwegian. The challenge calls for making one or the other because of their similarity. Since the Norwegian bread is flavored with anise, I went with the other.

As a rye, I went with hand mixing and kneading. Overall, the recipe was fairly straightforward and I didn't encounter any problems. The loaves are thin and almost cracker like. Actually, I wished I'd baked them a little longer and gotten a crisper result. Still a very pleasant loaf to be eaten like a cracker.

Next week it is on to bagels and flatbread. I'm looking forward to these!

#40 Santa Lucia Buns

As we near the end of the sections on International Breads, we find Swedish Santa Lucia Buns commemorating the Sicilian saint who, Reinhart tells us, was blinded rather than renounce her faith. These are whole wheat rather than rye and so much more to my liking. As can be seen, than can be made with or without the raisins that symbolize the girls eyes.

Overall, these were straightforward to make and very pleasant. They make pleasant dinner rolls, but have, like many dinner rolls, a short shell life.

A pleasant bread worth making again.

Aside: Reinhart Video on Epoxy Method

If you haven't seen it, there is a nice TED video by Reinhart in which he explains the epoxy method, the method he uses to create the loaves used in Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads. It can be found at:
http://www.ted.com/talks/peter_reinhart_on_bread.html

#39 Swedish Limpa Rye

After the last two fiascos with rye bread, I decided it was time to change my strategy and shift to making ryes by hand rather than using my Kitchenaid mixer. This, I reasoned, would give me greater control and a better feel for the dough. And, as the next bread was another rye, it was time to make the switch.

And I have to admit, the strategy seems to have paid off. While not a perfect loaf, this was a considerable improvement over the last few loaves. This was a much lighter and well behaved loaf with a nice crumb. It wasn't quite as light as I would have liked, but was definitely not the sort of heavy loaf I have come to expect. It also had a wonderful aroma from the orange flavorings. Unfortunately, the anise gave the loaf a disappointing taste. Still, I'm going in the right direction.

Bottom line, if you like anise, you'll probably like this bread.

#37 Bavarian Pumpernickel and #38 Hutzelbrot with Dried Fruit

Because both of these breads require a mash, I chose to make them at the same time. For both, I went with the powdered malt and the optional altus. Other than that, I pretty much followed the recipes.

Considering my track record with ryes, it shouldn't be too surprising that both of these produced heavy, dense, unpleasant loaves. And, frankly (as you can see from the pictures,) two butt-ugly loaves.

Clearly, my technique with ryes needs works. These were two forgettable loaves I don't plan to make again.

#36 Vollkornbrot

It has been about five weeks since I've posted anything. I've still been baking, but I just haven't made it back to the blog. Unfortunately, that means I'm writing from rapidly fading memories. So I'll keep these next few entries short.

This is a heavy, dense bread. You often hear the expression "sandwich rye." Then, by extension, this must be a cracker rye. This certainly isn't a bread I'd use to make sandwiches, but it is quite appropriate to eat with cheese or deli meats, very much the way you would use a cracker. In generally, these heavy 100% ryes don't work well for me, but this one came out quite well. This was something of a surprise.

I've made Hamelman's version of this. I preferred this one, but, considering my track record with ryes, I may not be being fair to Hamelman.

Overall, a pleasant loaf (and a pleasant surprise.)