Coffee Rye Sourdough

Coffee bread is on the left, blueberry sourdough on the right.

This was another bread I made for a sourdough contest last year. (I also entered the blueberry bread above, which won!) It's quite traditional to use hot water to scald rye before baking with it, but I thought it'd be a nice twist to use coffee. Turns out I was right - it gave a great depth to the bread, a very subtle flavor.

I use a little fresh yeast here, since my starter wasn't super-lively, but if yours is, you probably won't need any yeast. Use your discretion. And as it's mostly made from rye, you'll get a dense bread - rye doesn't develop gluten the same way wheat does.

Coffee Rye Sourdough
makes two loaves

Step 1:
200 g crushed rye
300 g hot coffee

Mix, and let sit at room temperature for at least six hours.

Step 2:
The coffee mixture from step 1
150 g bubbly, active sourdough starter
300 ml water
250 g rye flour
350 g strong bread flour
10 g fresh yeast

Mix into a dough, don't knead. Leave to rest for two hours.

Step 3:
Add 15 g salt to the dough, and knead well for 10-15 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly oiled plastic box (or a very large bowl with a tight-fitting lid), and place in the fridge to rise slowly, for 12-16 hours.

Step 4:
Take the dough out of the fridge. Lightly oil your chose bread tins, and divide the dough between them. Using wet hands, smooth out the top of the dough. Add some linseeds if you feel like it.

Leave to rise at room temperature for about two hours.

Step 5:
Preheat the oven to 250°C. Place the bread in the oven, and immediately lower the temperature to 200 °C. Use a thermometer to check the core temperature, which should be 98°C. It took about an hour, for me. Let the bread cool completely before slicing.

Recipe in Swedish:
Skållat rågbröd med kaffe