| Rye %: | 100% |
| Stages: | Sponge, Final dough |
| Leaven: | Sour culture |
| Start to Finish: | 24-30 hours |
| Hands-on Time: | 30 minutes |
| Yield: | One 4 lb./1.80 kg loaf |
Over the months and years I’ve spent baking rye breads, I’ve developed a special fondness for Baltic ryes and for coarse-textured rustic breads. This Coarse Rye from Latvia fills the bill on both, making it one of my favorites. Interestingly, it combines bulk ferment, soaking and proofing into a single 12 to 16-hour stretch, after which the dough gets benched and baked in quick succession.
Like most Baltic ryes, it’s big – about 4 pounds/1.80 kg – and intensely flavored. A clear sour is its most pronounced flavor note, followed by the sweet spiciness of the rye, with barely a hint of caraway to add an astringent edge. As one would expect from a bread made up almost entirely of coarse and medium rye meal, the crumb is dense and coarse, offering a chewy, texturally engaging bite.
This is a bread that stands up well to strong flavors — charcuterie, for example, or savory soups and stews. I like it for breakfast or lunch slathered generously with liverwurst and a dab of Dijon mustard.
Sponge (Day 1, Evening):
| Ingredient | Grams | Ounces | Baker’s Percentage |
| Medium or whole rye flour | 95 | 3.35 | 100% |
| Warm (105°F/41°C) water | 95 | 3.35 | 100% |
| Rye sour culture | 10 | 0.35 | 11% |
Combine the sponge ingredients, cover and ferment at room temp (70°F/21°C) 10-12 hours or overnight. The sponge will have doubled in volume and show broken bubbles on the surface.
Final Dough (Day 2, Morning):
| Ingredient | Grams | Ounces |
| Sponge | 200 | 7.05 |
| Coarse rye meal | 700 | 24.70 |
| Medium rye meal | 300 | 10.60 |
| Warm (105°F/41°C) water | 1,000 | 35.25 |
| Salt | 12 | 0.40 |
| Dark brown sugar | 50 | 1.75 |
| Caraway seed | 10 | 0.35 |
Add the final dough ingredients to the sponge.
Use the paddle at lowest (KA1) speed to mix until fully blended into a very loose, batter-like dough, 7-8 minutes.
Cover and ferment at room temperature until the dough has visibly expanded and shows bubbles on the surface.
Turn the dough, which will have thickened considerably, onto a sheet pan lined with a lightly greased sheet of parchment paper.
Use wet hands and a scraper to shape the dough into an oblong loaf about 6 inches/15 cm wide and 14-16 inches/35-40 cm long.
Preheat the oven to 430°F/220°C with the baking surface in the middle and bake for 45 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 360°F/180°C and bake until the loaves thump when tapped with a finger and the internal temperature is at least 198°F/92°C, 40-45. Transfer to a rack and let stand 24-48 hours before slicing.
Baker’s Percentages:
| Ingredient | g | % |
| TOTAL FLOUR | 1,095 | 100.00% |
| Coarse rye meal | 700 | 63.93% |
| Medium rye meal | 300 | 27.40% |
| Whole rye flour | 95 | 8.68% |
| Water | 1,095 | 100.00% |
| Salt | 12 | 1.10% |
| Rye sour culture | 10 | 0.91% |
| Brown sugar | 50 | 4.57% |
| Caraway seed | 10 | 0.91% |
| TOTAL FORMULA | 2,272 | 207.49% |
Mark Woodward
August 6, 2016I’m a little confused by the timing. Are suggesting that bulk fermentation should take place over night and baking the morning of day 2? Cheers, Mark
Stanley Ginsberg
August 6, 2016My error … Yes, the sponge should be left to ripen overnight and final dough/baking take place the morning of Day 2. Entry has been changed to reflect that. Thanks for the heads-up.
Mark Woodward
August 8, 2016Well, I let the sponge ferment for about 15 hours as it didn’t seem ready sooner. The dough itself fermented for about 3 hours. Yes, it was very wet and did thicken a bit. But I probably should have cut the water somewhat. I used freshly milled rye; perhaps it absorbs less water than your flour. Anyway, during baking the loaf spread to about 1.5″ tall and 9″ wide. I don’t think I’ll be making sandwiches with this loaf! It sure smells good though. I look forward to tasting it in two days.
Mark Woodward
August 12, 2016This is absolutely delicious!
Stanley Ginsberg
August 13, 2016Why I’m so fond of Latvian rye breads!
Latvian cook
March 12, 2017Hi Stanley! Love your cookbook! We are Latvians who love to bake rye bread (living in Canada) and have enjoyed making many of the recipes in your cookbook. So glad that you love the Latvian rye breads, but there are many other kinds of rye bread made in Latvia! Have you ever been to Latvia, to taste their freshly baked rye bread? It is heavenly! It has been said that the cobblestones in old Riga, when wet with rain, look like loaves of fresh rye bread, and I have to say, from first hand experience, that I can see why this analogy is drawn. There are many bakeries, and many of the rye breads are actually more similar to the rye breads of Sweden. Along that line, may I gently suggest that the Baltic rye breads be considered separately from the Russian rye breads. According to the United Nations, the Northern European countries are Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The Baltics and Russia are not very friendly with each other, given the history of the Soviet occupation in this region. Yes, foods sometimes cross boundaries, political or otherwise, but there are so many other Latvian rye breads that are quite different from the Russian style ones. For example, your Gotland Rye recipe is very similar to other Latvian rye bread recipes. If you are interested in learning more about Latvian rye breads, I would be happy to share recipes, and how it is enjoyed. If your travels take you to Latvia, I could connect you with local rye bread bakers as well. Thank you so much for elevating my beloved rye bread!
Stanley Ginsberg
March 18, 2017I understand that there’s no love lost between the Baltics and Russia. At the same time, a lot of the rye baking techniques and ingredients are very similar, for example use of scalded rye malt and caraway, and the combinations of scalds and sponges. However, it’s also true that while Russian breads are generally sour, the Baltic breads I’ve tasted have sweeter notes and are generally more complex than either Russian, Swedish or most Finnish breads.
I’d love to see your recipes. Baltic rye breads, especially Latvian breads, are a particular interest of mine.
Eva Smith
May 8, 2018I think the comments here were about bread and to put poltical commentary here about Russian “occupation” in Latvia is entirely misleading. I don’t recall the Latvians begging them to leave?
Anyway back to sour dough … i would recommend cutting the water down a little on the recipe and definately leaving at least 15hrs possibly longer
Loretta
August 15, 2016Do I let the shaped dough rise at all or do I put it in the oven right after shaping? Thanks.
Stanley Ginsberg
August 15, 2016hi Loretta,
This one goes into the oven right after benching, with no proof at all.
Mark
September 21, 2016Well, now I’ve made this three times. I reported on the first time above. The second time I decided to cut the hydration by 20%. The result was very easy to shape but I ended up with a very dense loaf and, while good, I don’t think the flavor was as good as the first time. The third time I cut the hydration by only 10%. The resulting loaf was reasonably shapeable and tastes delicious, but it spread a bit more than I would have preferred. Next time I think I’ll try cutting the hydration by 12%. Note that I’m using freshly milled rye, which seems to absorb less water than many of the flours out there.
Latvian cook
March 13, 2017Many Latvian bakers just put their traditional rye bread dough into bread pans – and it works well in that shape as well as in the free form version. Easier to cut it for sandwiches too!
Sandra Tomsons
February 13, 2018In the future I hope to bake my own Latvian bread. However, at present I have been buying Latvian bread (and other amazing things) from the Baltic Shop. What I urgently need to know is how to cut the really huge loaf of bread that has been sitting on my counter for two weeks. The two men that tackled it on the weekend made a real mess. How does a pretty strong Nova Scotian woman cut this bread so that it looks as beautiful as when she buys the smaller loaf. Of course, it always tastes DELICIOUS. Could you send responses to: sandratomsons@gmail.com. I might never happen upon this wonderful site again. By the way Mark, are you using both course and regular freshly milled rye? This might be as important as the amount of water. (I just noticed the possibility of notification of new posts. Thanks!) Latvian Cook, are there Latvian bread makers in Antigonish County Nova Scotia?
Latvian cook
May 8, 2018In response to Eva Smith’s comments above, let’s just call Baltic bread Baltic bread, and call Russian bread Russian bread. There is a difference, and let us respect the differences.