Jeffrey Hamelman's Black
Bread
This recipe comes from Jeffrey Hamelman, a Certified Master Baker (one
of only about 130 in this country), and a well-known teacher and author.
In spite of the ingredients, the bread doesn't taste like coffee. It has a real
“bite,” which enables it to go well with winter soups and stews. Sliced
thinly and spread with butter, it’s also perfect for all manner of
smorgasbord-like toppings. Note: Read the recipe all the way through
before starting, so you'll know how much time it takes.
PREP BAKE T O TA L YIELD
30 mins 40 to 50 19 hrs 20 two 1 3/3
mins mins pound loaves
Ingredients Instructions
Slurry or altus 1 To make the slurry: Break the bread into pieces, sprinkle with the
ground coffee, and pour the boiling water over it. Mix it all up so the
3 to 4 slices (71g) re-baked bread bread is good and wet. Cover tightly and let sit overnight.
(See "tips", below.)
a scant 1/3 cup (21g) coffee 2 To make the sourdough: Mix the water, rye flour and stiff sourdough
beans, ground together in a non-reactive, medium-sized mixing bowl, and let the
1 3/8 cups (312g) boiling water mixture sit overnight, covered, preferably for about 16 hours, at a
temperature of about 65°F to 70°F.
Sourdough 3 To make the dough: Put the slurry in a blender or food processor and
blend until the bread is fairly well pulverized.
1 1/2 cups (340g) water
2 1/4 cups (230g) King Arthur 4 Scoop this into a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Weigh
Organic Medium Rye Flour your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then
sweeping off any excess. Add the sourdough mixture, oil, salt, yeast,
2 ounces levain or a stiff (dough- and the flours.
like) sourdough culture
5 Mix until well-blended, then let the dough rest for about 20 minutes.
Dough
6 Continue kneading and mixing — by hand or mixer — until the dough
all the slurry is well-developed. Because of the high percentage of rye flour in this
all the refreshed sourdough dough, it'll never become smooth and elastic, as an all-wheat dough
would; just knead it for 8 to 10 minutes, doing the best you can.
1 1/2 tablespoons (19g) vegetable
oil 7 Place the dough in a greased mixing bowl, cover the bowl, and let it
2 1/4 teaspoons (14g) salt rise until you can leave a fingerprint in it, about an hour.
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast 8 Turn it out onto a floured board, and divide it into two pieces. Shape
1 1/2 cups (152g) King Arthur these pieces into rough rounds, and let them rest for 5 minutes.
Organic Medium Rye Flour 9 Shape into firm rounds, trying to form tight, seamless balls, and place
3 1/4 cups (390g) King Arthur the loaves on a piece of parchment. Cover them, and let them rise
Unbleached Bread Flour until they're about two-thirds of the way to doubled in bulk, about 45
black caraway seeds (a.k.a. minutes.
charnushka) 10 Preheat your oven to 450°F.
11 Slash the surface of the dough, making either one cut across the
center, or a cross. Stay away from the "shoulders," or edges. Repeat
with the other loaf.
12 Thoroughly mist the surface of both loaves with water until they're
quite wet, sprinkle with seeds if you wish and, by sliding a peel under
the parchment, slip the loaves onto the preheated baking stone.
13 Bake the bread for 30 minutes, reduce the oven heat to 400°F, and
continue baking for a further 10 to 20 minutes. When the bread is
done, the temperature at the center should register about 200°F to
210°F. Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a wire rack.
14 Store, loosely covered, at room temperature for up to 5 days. Freeze
for up to 3 months.
Tips from our Bakers
Read this recipe all the way through before starting, so you'll know
how much time it'll take.
Because this bread has so much rye in it, don't expect it to spring in
the oven as much as a wheat-based bread.
To re-bake bread, slice 3 or 4 pieces of bread, about 4 1/2 to 5
ounces fresh. Bake on a cookie sheet in a moderate oven, turning the
pieces from time to time, until the bread is very dark, "just this side of
carbon." This can take up to and more than an hour, depending on the
moisture in the bread.
Don’t have any starter? Here’s a recipe for homemade sourdough
starter. If you're making it from scratch, you'll need to feed it for 5 to
7 days before it’s ready for baking. Want a head start? Purchase our
classic fresh sourdough starter — it’ll be ready for baking soon after it
arrives at your door. Looking for tips, techniques, and all kinds of
great information about sourdough baking? Find what you need in our
sourdough baking guide.
We're here to help. King Arthur Baker's Hotline: (855) 371 2253
