Kingdom of Rye

I’m in the mood for toasted pumpernickel rye bread. Perhaps it is because I’m rereading Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. Also, last month I bought a book, Russian Houses (by Elizabeth Gaynor), from the Friends of the Library book sale.

One of the captions introduced me to a new author (Darra Goldstein), so I requested her book, Kingdom of Rye, through interlibrary loan.

Even though my current diet is limiting carbohydrates, a claim that rye is high in B vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants is good enough reason to convince me to get my hands on at least a slice of rye bread. But really, who needs convincing?

Aldi was advertising German week, so I bought a $2.50 package of shelf-stable imported pumpernickel (along with a jar of sauerkraut and a few packets of sliced Swiss cheese). I haven’t opened it yet.

I wanted to try to make the bread more digestively friendly by using a sourdough starter rather than yeast. A friend gave me a 1/4 cup of starter to feed and I was ready. Except that I needed rye flour. Walmart saved the day and a few bucks (compared to Weis markets).

Which recipe to follow? Bob’s Red Mill has a recipe on the back of the package of flour, but it uses yeast. It isn’t pumpernickel either, so I made a few adjustments. The bottom side cracked, but the bread got a good review from the two people I gifted it to.

Bob’s Red Mill Bakery Rye Bread adapted to Sourdough

2 T sourdough starter
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 1/2 teaspoon Molasses
1 T EVOO
1 3/4 cups King Arthur AP flour
1 c Bob’s Red Mill Organic Dark Rye Flour
2 tablespoons Hershey’s cocoa powder
1 1/2 t Kosher salt

Combine all ingredients in your stand mixer bowl. Knead for 4 minutes on medium speed with the dough hook attachment.

Move to a floured or oiled bowl. Cover. Let set on counter at room temperature (72*F) for an hour.
Transfer to refrigerator overnight.

In the morning set the covered bowl back out on the counter for at least thirty minutes. Fold one side of the dough ball from the bottom up to the half-way part of the top. Turn 1/4 and repeat three times. Pinch the seam together. Use your hands to slightly roll it into a longer shape rather than a sphere.
Line a proofing basket with a kitchen tea towel and dust it generously with flour.
Move the oval seam up to the prepared basket. Let it proof (90F) in your toaster oven for an hour. Check the loaf to see if the dough has expanded. A “faint indentation” should remain when the dough is given a gentle poke with your finger. Preheat the oven to 350F.
Flip the dough seam side down onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Score the top with your preferred design.
Bake the loaf for 5 minutes with the convection fan running. Change the setting to regular bake and continue another 25 minutes without the fan.
Check to see if the sound is hollow when you tap the bottom of the loaf.
Remove to a rack and allow to cool before slicing.

Cabbage

Stuffed Cabbage with Sauerkraut in Spicy Tomato Soup Sauce

Last week I purchased a head of cabbage instead of a bag of coleslaw mix. When I pulled out the vegetable drawer to my fridge this morning, some of the leaves were pulling away from the main head. I was reminded that you could parboil the leaves and use them as wrappers. I also remembered Sunday lunches when we stayed all afternoon with friends between church services. One of the meals was stuffed cabbage.

Could I/Should I attempt to prepare a batch for just the two of us?

The CookBook Worcester Art Museum (1976/79) hasn’t been removed from my bookshelf, even though I never tried a recipe from its pages until today. I must have convinced myself that if nothing else, the prints of artwork could eventually be harvested to frame or to decorate a greeting card.

The page before a photo of William Swan’s silver, “he produced handsome articles for domestic and church use”, has two different recipes for stuffed cabbage. As is my usual custom, I read them but adjusted the ingredients and instructions to my liking.

After going through the work to soften the cabbage leaves, prepare rice, and mix together a stuffing of seasoned raw hamburger, I began to doubt whether we would actually eat the finished product. Nonetheless, I arranged the rolls in a square “brownie pan” and poured half a can of Campbell’s spicy tomato soup overtop. A sheet of aluminum foil was sufficient to seal the top before it all went into the oven for 1 1/2 hours.

One recipe suggested serving the cabbage rolls over a bed of sauerkraut. There was an open jar of kraut in the fridge, so I followed their advice. “That works,” proclaimed my husband. I think the spicy tomato soup was key. However, I don’t think we’ll eat it often. I am glad that it didn’t end up in the garbage.

Do you enjoy cabbage rolls? Do you have a family story that goes along with the dish?

Hazelnut Cocoa Cake

• 7 heaping Tablespoons powdered milk
• 1 teaspoon Nescafe instant coffee crystals
• 2 fluffy cups freshly ground hazelnuts
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 3 Tablespoons butter, melted and cooled a little
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup vanilla oat milk

Square dark metal brownie pan with a piece of parchment paper in the bottom

350*F convection oven until you smell the chocolate and a cake tester comes out clean from the middle.