A gentleman came to our shop one day, and gifted us with a loaf of bread he’d made from our rye flour. Borodinsky, he called it. It was shared out at Elevenses the next day, and we were all enraptured. Sweet and slightly sticky, this bread is a delicious assault on the senses, and Rosie became determined to re-create it. A traditional Russian bread, the particular characteristics are coriander seed and malted rye flour. This is Rosie’s variant, using the ingredients easily available, and a spoonful extra molasses makes up for not having any malted rye flour.
- 300g starter (150g water, 150g rye flour; make this up in advance and leave to sit in a warm place for 24hrs)
- 100g warm water
- 200g rye flour
- 20g molasses or honey
- 10g salt
- 2 tbsp caraway seed and coriander seed
Mix the starter, water, flour, molasses and salt together thoroughly and set aside. Oil a baking tin. Use a pastry brush to do this to ensure an even and liberal layer of oil. Sprinkle the seeds on to the tin, the oil should help them stick to the sides. Spoon the mixture into the tin and use a damp spatula to flatten the dough. Leave in a warm place for 12-24hrs and then bake for 25 minutes in a hot oven of 250C. Shake the loaf gently out of the tin, then return to the oven for another 20 minutes.
For an even sweeter bread, try adding a handful of soaked raisins to the dough. This bread needs only a light spreading of butter to be delicious warm or cold.