RYE BREAD WITH HAZELNUTS AND HONEY

Baking with a lot of rye is a little different. When I say a lot of rye, I mean a lot. We are talking about at least 50%.
When you start to reach 70% rye, you can just as well forget all about dough strength and stretch and fold.
The dough feels like concrete, no matter what you do.

And trying to get an open crumb is like hoping for George R.R. Martin to finish Winds of winter.

It probably won’t happen.

You see, the dough not only feels like concrete but it kind of acts like concrete as well.
It gives you a solid brick with some tiny holes in it.

So why are we baking with rye?

We do it because of the taste it provides.
Few other types of flour will give you bread with that much taste.
My favorite rye bread contains 100% whole rye. It’s dark, dense, loaded with taste, and I just love it.

But I also understand that it may be too much for some people.
So I decided to make a light version of that bread. Let me present its cousin, the sourdough rye bread with hazelnuts.

Here are a few related articles you may want to read:

Traditional Swedish whole rye bread

Easy sourdough rye bread recipe

One third rye sourdough

SOURDOUGH RYE BREAD WITH HAZELNUTS

There is still a lot of rye in this bread, but I decided to add 30% wheat (bread flour) to give it a slightly milder taste.
And I replaced the seeds with toasted hazelnuts. If you prefer seeds, you can use the same amount I suggest in my recipe for Traditional Swedish rye bread.

ABOUT FLOUR AND OTHER INGREDIENTS

FLOUR	PROTEIN CONT. %	WEIGHT	BAKER’S %
Whole rye flour	7.7	260 g	67.5
Wheat flour (bread flour	12.5	125 g	32.5
LEVAIN		100 g	26
WATER		330 g	85.5
SALT		7 g	2
HONEY		30 g	8
NUTS/SEED		100 g	26

MIXING LEVAIN

I mixed a levain with 20 grams of my wheat starter with 40 grams of whole rye flour and 40 grams of water.
You will notice the difference already at this stage.
The consistency of the levain will be different compared to one based on wheat flour.
It feels like, well, concrete.
I left it to ferment for about 8 hours at room temperature.

TOASTING THE HAZELNUTS

I think hazelnuts taste better if toasted. Besides, you get rid of the skin that can have a bitter taste.
So I added them to a skillet and toasted them over medium heat until the skin started to crack and release.
I gently rubbed them in a towel to make sure that all skin was removed.

MIXING THE DOUGH

This step is very straightforward. You mix all ingredients.
That’s it. No autolyse is required.

BULK FERMENTATION

I let the dough bulk ferment for 4 hours at a temperature of 72°F/22°C.
Stretch and fold are not required. Don’t even try.

SHAPING

Shaping is also hassle-free. Just oil a bread pan, about 10″x5″x2.5″/26x11x6.5 cm in size, and distribute the dough into it.
Smooth the surface with a wet spatula.

FINAL RISE

So far, everything has been pretty easy.
Well, now comes the tricky part.
And the problem is to decide when the dough is ready-proofed.
The good old finger poke test doesn’t work that well for this dough, in my opinion.
So you need to determine if it’s ready or not by looking at it.
It should rise about 25-30% of its initial volume.
For the dough in the pictures, it took about 2.5 hours at 72°F/22°C.

BAKING

Bread with this much rye usually needs a long time in the oven.
My traditional Swedish rye bread needs at least 90 minutes. For this bread, it was enough with 60-70 minutes. However, that can still result in the upper crust getting burned.
Because of that, I started with a lower temperature, about 430°F/220°C, instead of my standard 480°F.
You may also have to cover the loaf for the last 15 to 20 minutes.
You can check if the bread is ready with a thermometer. The internal temperature should be about 215ºF / 100ºC.
Lower the heat in the oven to 215ºF / 100ºC, but do not turn it off.

Let the bread cool in the form until you can handle it. Take the bread out of the pan and place it in the oven again for about 5 to 10 minutes. That will create a crust on the sides and the bottom of the bread that will prevent it from molding.

I use to let the bread rest for at least 12 hours before I taste it. If you start cutting into it too early, the crust can sometimes become a bit soggy. It’s not as crucial as with my rye bread with 100% rye, though, so it’s not the end of the day if you can’t wait.

This bread may look very much the same as my 100% rye bread, but I would say that the taste is different.
Thanks to the wheat flour, the taste becomes slightly milder. That also gives the hazelnuts a more prominent role. I think this bread is perfect for you who want to try to bake bread with lots of rye but are still a little hesitant.

Like most other rye bread, this rye bread with hazelnuts will stay fresh much longer than bread baked with wheat flour. Just wrap it up in a kitchen towel and place it in a plastic bag, and you can enjoy it for at least 3 to 4 days.

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