Browse Tag
Austrian rye bread
“Closing Time” Dark Caraway Rye/Dunkles Feierabendbrot mit Kümmel (Austria)
| Rye %: | 53% |
| Stages: | Sponge, Final dough |
| Leaven: | Rye sour culture, Yeast |
| Start to Finish: | 15-17 hours |
| Hands-on Time: | 30 minutes |
| Yield: | Two 1 lb. (475 g) loaves |
Ever since I acquired my copy of Der Duft von Frischem Brot (The Aroma of Fresh-baked Bread), I’ve been hooked on Austrian ryes, which, like so many Alpine ryes I’ve encountered, have wonderfully complex and interesting flavor profiles. This caraway rye is no exception. It’s a creation of third-generation baker Johannes Breuss, of Oberdorf, a town nestled in the high Alps of Vorarlberg, Austria’s westernmost region, where it’s bordered by Bavaria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
Crusty Country Rye/Bauernkrustenbrot (Austria)
| Rye %: | 66% |
| Stages: | Sponge, Soaker, Final dough |
| Leaven: | Rye sour culture, Yeast |
| Start to Finish: | 15-17 hours |
| Hands-on Time: | 25-30 minutes |
| Yield: | Two 1½ lb./675 g loaves |
Austrian rye breads are less well-known than their German cousins, which is a shame because they’re incredibly flavorful. I found the recipe for this well-balanced nutty-sweet-sour country loaf in probably the best of the Austrian bread books, Der Duft von frischem Brot (The Aroma of Fresh-Baked Bread) by Barbara van Melle. The recipe itself comes from Vienna baker Horst Felzl, who, had he been 2 cm taller, as the book states, and qualified for the police academy, would never have become one of Austria’s best bakers.