Old Milwaukee Rye Bread

[pepperhead212]

Good baking weather! So I baked 2 more loaves of rye, starting the sponge 3 days ago. I made 2 more loaves of the Old Milwaukee rye bread, this time with just the last cup of flour being white bread flour, only because I had used the end of the WW (besides some in the freezer, plus some whole wheat berries).
Risen Old Milwaukee rye loaves. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Old Milwaukee rye loaves. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[Tormahto]

Thank you! And I happen to have the blackstrap molasses but no dark rye flour, just the lighter rye. I might have to use that as I can't recall ever seeing the dark rye flour on sale around here. That's more of a northern thing.

Just add cocoa powder, this is how pumpernickel is made.

So there is no Milwaukee's Best beer involved????

Pumpernickel, one of my favorites, is made several different ways, as there are American and German types. Coarse ground whole rye berries are a must. Darkening agents can be molasses, coffee, and cocoa, although I've never detected the flavor of the later two.

[bower]

I haven't had pumpernickel for so many years I can't count... but it's unforgettable. So tasty.
Love the color of your dark loaves, Pepperhead.

[Tormahto]

This is a bread that I have been making since the 70s! The recipe was in one of my first bread books - Bernard Clayton Jr.'s The Complete Book Of Breads. The original recipe has AP flour, since bread flour wasn't readily available, back then, but I have increased the rye, changed some white to WW, and switched AP to bread flour. This time, I only used an overnight sponge, but usually I do a 3 day sponge, which was an option in the original recipe, which gives it a powerful, delicious, yeasty flavor. This time, I did the short sponge, because I wanted to give some friends a loaf today.
Rye sponge, ready to rise overnight. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Baked Old Milwaukee rye bread. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Giving your friends a loaf makes them sponge worthy? I DID NOT JUST SAY THAT.

[pepperhead212]

I doubt that most of them would know the difference of the short and long sponge! Unless I let them do a taste test side by side. But they'll still like it more than anything they buy. And none of them will take me up on it, when I offer to show them how to make it! It's not really difficult - and a 3 day sponge is no more difficult, except for planning in advance.

For that darkness, in this one, besides the blackstrap, I put in a teaspoon of a dry caramel color powder - something that I got years ago, for some sweets I made, but this is all I use it for, now. Some recipes have cocoa, as well as some with unsweetened chocolate, but this one just had this little bit of extra. You can see, it doesn't seem to do much to the raw dough, but does more to the baked bread.
Old Milwaukee rye bread, 1-21 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

With this weather as nice as it got lately, I started some rye bread a few days ago, much like that Old Milwaukee Rye, and after the 3 days, it really smelled like I was brewing something in the kitchen! I haven't tasted it yet, since I was making that pasta mix, but one goes in the freezer, and the other I'll start with tomorrow. I used 1 1/2 c buttermilk for the sponge, to use some up, and finished with water.
a rye sponge, fermented for 3 days. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Everything except the last cup of flour, and the salt, mixed in for the 20 minute autolyse. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Kneading the rye dough in the KA. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Rye dough, ready to rise about 90 minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Rye dough ready to rise about 70 min, longer than usual, due to the long fermentation. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished rye bread. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[Sue_CT]

Right now I am buying rye bread, it makes a nice large sandwhich but is sliced thin enough that it is only 80 calories/slice and I am still trying to loose more weight. The lighter rye would be delicious later on when I don't have to try and make very thin slices that will stay together. I wonder if they make a pan to give the traditional rye bread shape? I might look into how to make a slighter denser loaf that will allow me to do that. In the meantime, I will save this one. I bet it would be awsome toasted.

[Sue_CT]

This is the best buy I found on one. 127.02 Umm, I don't think so. Even at 5.00/loaf, it would take a lot of loafs to make that money back.

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https://www.zoro.com/chicago-metallic-r ... 0762939453

[Danny]

Would have to give free s/h at those rices, though the pans look nice, but you can't tell til you heft them in hand.

[worth1]

I really need to start manufacturing something to do with cooking.
People are paying crazy prices for stuff.

[pepperhead212]

I ran out of rye flour, so a couple of days ago I ground up some more, to fill the container (takes a little less than 5 lbs), and I set aside 2 c to start some Old Milwaukee rye with. Today, I finished the bread. I opened a pound bag of yeast I had in the freezer just over a year, when I bought 2 lbs at BJ's, and put one in the freezer, and the one I'm using I keep in a jar, in the fridge. The last little bit was definitely slowing down, the last several batches, though still active, and this was noticeably faster, as always.
A recipe of Old Milwaukee Rye bread, 2 loaves, just over 2 lbs each. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I made another batch of the Old Milwaukee Rye today - only left the sponge for 2 days, instead of 3, but it still smells fantastic, as always. One goes in the freezer, the other I start eating in the morning!
Two 2 lbs loaves of Old Milwaukee Rye. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I baked 2 loaves of rye bread today, starting the sponge 2 days ago. One will go into the freezer, once cool, the other for the sandwiches.
A bowl of rye dough, ready to punch down and divide into 2 loaves. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The 2 rye loaves, ready to cover and rise. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished rye bread. by pepperhead212, on Flickr