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[Tvoivozhd <tvoivozd AT infionline.net>]

Russian Black Bread

http://bread.allrecipes.com/az/RussianBlackBread.asp  (don't bother with 
a "bread machine", mix, and bake the old-fashioned way---yeah, you're 
permitted to use a bread hook, I use a bent piece of steel rod mounted 
in a battery-powered half-inch drill---a "poor man's Hobart" I described 
in Countryside when J.D.Belanger was running the magazine---an ascerbic 
cat, my kind of guy, I don't find the newer, blander Countryside all 
that exciting.

http://bread.allrecipes.com/az/RmnvRssinBlckBrd.asp  (well, he's got the 
right name---Romanov)

http://www.uoguelph.ca/~antoon/recipes/russian.htm  (vam Roon recipe)
http://www.uoguelph.ca/~antoon/recipes/bb.htm

http://experts.about.com/q/762/1324133.htm  (using a premixed sponge)

http://russianfestival.bizland.com/bread_contest.htm  (different kids, 
using beer or kefir)

http://countrylife.net/pages/recipes/927.html  (now we're getting 
somewhere, "fres ground" rye flour---damned store-bought rye flower 
would gag an alligator---more on that below at end of this sage commentary.

http://monkeybiz.stanford.edu/~jim/gscb/appendices/students.html#mendeleyev  
(famous scientists whose mutterings you HAVE to have at your elbow if 
you dare to make Russian Black Bread)  If you don't, you risk severe 
indigestion.

http://www.recipe-ideas.co.uk/recipes-6/Russian%20Black%20Bread%20(Ceideburg).htm  
(you want a glazed crust---I don't, just a hard one)

http://familyofmann.tripod.com/lprye.htm  (never thought about orqnge 
juice, might be an improvement0

RUSSIAN BLACK BREAD
This recipe is not particularly rare, but it's a good one. The dough can 
be shaped into three round loaves and baked in pie pans or it can be 
shaped into four loaves and baked on a cookie sheet. The latter shape 
has the advantage when it comes to making sandwiches.

I've never had much luck crushing seeds with a mortar and pestle, but I 
successfully grind them up in the coffee grinder. (Makes for interesting 
coffee next time, too.) You can use strong-made coffee in place of 
instant coffee if you reduce the water accordingly. For molasses, the 
best is blackstrap, next best is unsulfured, and the least best is dark 
corn syrup.

1 T (two packages) dry 
yeast                                                   
4 c white flour                         4 c rye 
flour                          
1 t sugar                               1/4 c 
shortening                       
1 T salt                                2 c whole bran 
cereal                  
2 T crushed caraway seed                2 t instant 
coffee                     
1/2 t crushed fennel seed               2-1/2 c 
water                          
1/4 c vinegar                           1/4 c 
molasses                         
1 square unsweeted chocolate            2 t onion powder or some grated 
onion  
1/4 c warm water for 
yeast                                                     


Oven at 350 deg for 45 minutes. Makes three or four loaves, depending on 
shape.

1. Put the yeast to soak in 1/4 c warm water.

2. In a saucepan or mixing pan, heat the water with the chocolate in it 
until the chocolate melts.

3. Remove from heat and add the sugar, salt, bran, crushed seeds, 
instant coffee, onion, vinegar, molasses and shortening. This has to 
cool enough to mix with the flour.

4. Add enough rye flour to make a stirable batter, about 3-4 cups. Stir 
well.

5. Add yeast mixture and stir well.

6. Add enough white flour to make a stiff dough.

7. Flour counter, dump out dough and knead, adding more flour to counter 
as needed to avoid sticking.

8. Grease bowl, dump in dough and roll around to coat

9. Let rise about one hour.

10. Dump out on counter, divide into three or four parts, depending on 
what shape you want. (See above).

11. Shape and place on cookie sheet or pie pans.

12. Let rise for about one hour. Make slashes with razor blade to allow 
for expansion.

13. Bake at 350 deg for about 45 minutes. Put back without pans if the 
bottom needs browning.  (you won't have a mortar and pestle anyway, use 
your coffee bean grinder for grinding seeds)


And now to the best of the best of the best, SUH!! Anytime you see 
adding stuff like bran, it means your store-bought foour is only good 
for making breadballs to catch carp.

The best black bread uses fresh-ground whole grain rye, wheat and 
barley---oh, no-no-no, don't use that damned stone grinder either. You 
HAVE to have COARSE-GROUND WHOLE GRAIN FLOUR to provide proper bread 
texture and moisture content.  That means a grinder with corrugated 
steel plates.  In my sailboat days, a hand-cranked Corona Mill worked 
best and I had to regrind the first grind---one grinding wouldn't do it. 
It's too long ago for a foggy memory, but I think I used two cups of 
wheat grains to one cup of barley and one cup of rye---could be 
mistaken, make several batches of my version of Russian Rye Bread, 
varying the grain proportions, use dark molasses, no corn syrup--I 
didn't use beer, that's probably a matter of personal taste.

http://www.justalotofgoodrecipes.com/g/g1005269.shtml  (Russian peasants 
wouldn't have known what yeast is, nor instant potato mix, would have 
used grated raw potato to make black bread rise)

http://www.thesustainablevillage.com/servlet/display/product/detail/21115  
(Corona mill)

http://www.motherearthnews.com/index.php?page=arc&id=5353  (MEN article 
on Corona)---grind up only so much as you can use, the flour 
deteriorates quickly)

Oh, yeah, you must sing "Ochee Chorniya during all stages of Russian 
breadmaking.  It may be safe to stop singing after about half the baking 
period is over.  A Russian drinking song may be substituted for Ochee 
Chorniya, "ei yknem, Volga Boat Song", or "Proschai, Proschai, Podryga 
Daragaya etc (goodbye, goodbye (girl-friend). You have to gaze into her 
eyes and sing it with great emotion, or she will suspect you aren't 
coming back---and you aren't, you are thinking of that Black Sea darling 
you met on your last longboat trip down he Volga.)
http://ingeb.org/catru.html  (Ochee Chorniya translates to Dark Eyes)