Orange, Walnuts, Pesto and Rye

Last night was a perfect night for baking.  A couple of friends came over after dinner to chill; Forest got the task of making pesto bread, while I tried my hands at rye for the first time.

"Add a cup or so of white flour to make it stop sticking," they said.  "It shouldn't need more than two cups," they said.

This Swedish bread is called Vortlimpa.  It has a hefty serving of rye flour and two cups of dark beer--I used an oatmeal stout.  There is molasses and butter in the bread, and more molasses (mixed with water) is brushed on top during baking.  This made it sticky even the next day.  I would probably leave that step off in the next loaf to make it easier to wrap up and transport.

Baking this loaf is a bit of an ordeal.  30 minutes at 400F, then a further 45 minutes at 325F.  I baked it for the last 45 minutes at 350F so I could bake other loaves at the same time; I also moved the vortlimpa to the bottom rack for those 45 minutes, with the other breads above it.

The recipe says to prick each loaf many times with a toothpick so that the steam doesn't cause it to rise too much.  Another variation would be to treat it as a normal loaf and slash the crust a few times to let it rise higher.  That might make a less dense bread and a nicer crust.

Anyway, here's the result: two loaves of rye bread, shiny and dense!

The next bread was a pesto bread--Forest raided our many basil plants to make fresh pesto, then rolled it up into a jelly roll-style loaf.  It went into the oven above the vortlimpa and turned out light and fluffy in the middle with a nice spiral of pesto.

Late in the night I decided to make a quick batter bread and whipped up an orange-walnut bread with orange juice and orange zest.

I'm slowly starting to remember about process pictures.

Three breads later, I turned off the oven and went to bed.  The rye bread got good reviews and also doubles as a weapon in a zombie apocalypse, the pesto was half gone when I got home from class today, and the orange walnut bread was a nice summery surprise in the morning.

Recipes

Vortlimpa

Ingredients

2 cups stout or dark beer
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cups dark molasses
2 packages dry yeast
3 cups medium rye flour
2 cups bread or all-purpose flower, approximately
Zest of 1 orange
1 tablespoon ground or crushed fennel seed
1 tablespoon molasses mixed with 2 tablespoons water

Process

Heat the beer, salt, and butter in a saucepan until the butter has melted.  Remove from heat, add the molasses, stir, and let cool to lukewarm.  Stir in the yeast.

Measure 1.5 c rye and 1/2 c bread flour into a bowl and add the stout mixture.  Beat well by hand or with a mixer.  Add the orange zest, fennel seed, and remaining rye.  Stir and work the flour into the dough until it forms a rough, shaggy mass.

Knead for about 8 minutes, adding white flour as needed until the dough stops sticking and you can work it properly.  As with most rye breads it will be sticky to start.

Let rise until doubled in size, around 1.5 hours.

Cut the dough in half, then roll each half into a long, slender cylinder, 12"-14" long.  Let them rest for 15 minutes before baking.

Baking: 30 minutes at 400F, then 45 minutes at 325F.  Halfway through, turn the loaves and brush them with the molasses water glaze.

Orange-Nut Bread

Ingredients

2.5 cups all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup nonfat dry milk
1/4 cup shortening, room temperature
1/4 cup fresh or frozen orange juice
3/4 cup water
1 egg
3 tbsp grated orange rind
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup sugar mixed with 3 tbsp orange juice

Process

Sift together the dry ingredients; cut in the shortening.  Add the orange juice, water, and egg.  Mix just enough to dampen the dry ingredients.  Add the grated rind and chopped walnuts and mix well.  Pour into pans (makes one large or two small loaves) and let rest for 5 minutes.

Baking: 1 hour at 350F.  After 50 minutes take the loaf out and spoon the sugar-juice mixture over the crust, then return to the oven until the loaf tests done.  They are done when the crust is a golden-brown color and they test done with a knife.

Pesto Bread

Ingredients

5-6 cups white flour
1 package dry yeast
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 c hot water
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup pesto

Process

Pour two cups of flour into a mixing bowl and add all other dry ingredients.  Blend, then pour in the hot water and 2 tbsp olive oil.  Beat to combine.  Add the remaining flour until you get a shaggy ball of dough.  Knead for 8 minutes.  Let rise for 40 minutes to an hour, then divide the roll in half and spread each half into a rectangle.  Spread olive oil over each rectangle, then spread pesto.  Roll the dough like a jelly roll and place in loaf pans or on a baking sheet.  Let rise 40 minutes after shaping.

Baking: 40 minutes at 375F.