Borodinsky bread
Borodinsky has nothing to do with kneading — rye proteins barely form gluten, so this dough has the consistency of thick mud and is stirred with a spatula. Structure comes from pentosans, while flavour and colour come from a scald made with red rye malt: boiling water releases its sugars and dark pigment, giving a sweetness and depth molasses alone cannot give. The third signature is coriander.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Levain and scald 420 min
- Dough 20 min
- Proving 150 min
- Baking 70 min
- Maturing 720 min
Step by step
0 / 7 doneMake the scald and keep it warm
Mix the malt, rye flour and ground coriander, pour over boiling water and stir smooth. Hold it for 4 hours at around 60°C — in an oven set to 60°C (check with a thermometer, as many ovens run uneven) or in a wide food flask. During that time enzymes from the rye flour break the starch down into sugars, and those sugars are what make borodinsky sweet. Then leave the scald to cool.
Ingredients: 40 g red rye malt · 80 g rye flour · 1 tsp coriander · 300 ml boiling water
A hot scald — the sugars release over four hours.Build the levain over seven hours
At the same time as the scald, mix the starter with rye flour and water and leave for 7 hours at room temperature, until doubled and distinctly sour. In that time the scald has time to steep and cool. The levain's acidity is essential in rye bread: it holds back rye's own enzymes, which would otherwise break down the starch in the oven and leave the crumb gummy.
Ingredients: 150 g rye starter · 150 g rye flour · 150 ml water
Stir the dough with a spatula, not your hands
Combine the cooled scald, levain, both flours, molasses, salt and water and stir with a spatula for 5 minutes. The dough has the consistency of thick mud and cannot be kneaded — that is normal for rye and does not mean anything has gone wrong.
Ingredients: 250 g rye flour · 100 g strong bread flour · 40 g molasses · 12 g salt · 80 ml water · 2 tsp coriander
Thick mud — rye is not kneaded.Transfer to a tin and smooth with a wet hand
Scrape into a greased loaf tin and smooth the top with a wet spatula or hand. The dough cannot hold its own shape, so a tin is mandatory. Scatter whole coriander seeds and press them in lightly.
Ingredients: 250 g rye flour · 100 g strong bread flour · 40 g molasses · 12 g salt · 80 ml water · 2 tsp coriander
Smoothed with a wet hand, coriander pressed into the top.Prove until the surface cracks
Cover and leave somewhere warm for 2–3 hours, until the dough has risen by a third and fine cracks appear across the smoothed surface. That is the surest readiness signal — rye does not double like wheat, and waiting for it to ends in over-fermentation. Towards the end heat the oven to 240°C with a dish for water on the oven floor.
Ingredients: 250 g rye flour · 100 g strong bread flour · 40 g molasses · 12 g salt · 80 ml water · 2 tsp coriander
Bake 70 minutes, starting very hot
Put the tin in, pour a cup of boiling water into the dish below and bake 15 minutes at 240°C with steam. Then remove the water dish, reduce to 180°C and bake another 55 minutes. The loaf is done at 96°C in the centre. A thermometer is the surest test here — tapping the base tells you little with a crumb this moist.
Ingredients: 250 g rye flour · 100 g strong bread flour · 40 g molasses · 12 g salt · 80 ml water · 2 tsp coriander
Wait until the next day
Cool the loaf on a rack, wrap it in a cloth and wait at least 12 hours, ideally 24. This is not overcaution: a rye crumb only sets once completely cold. Sliced the next day the loaf is dense and moist; sliced warm it is gummy and sticky.
Ingredients: 250 g rye flour · 100 g strong bread flour · 40 g molasses · 12 g salt · 80 ml water · 2 tsp coriander
Before you start
Without red malt
Replace it with two tablespoons of cocoa and a tablespoon of instant coffee dissolved into the scald. The colour comes close, but the malty depth is missing — still a good bread, just a different one.
The scald is not optional
Without four hours held warm, the enzymes cannot break the starch down and the bread comes out noticeably less sweet and stickier. It is the most important stage of this recipe.
Keeping it
Wrapped in linen in a bread bin it keeps a week and stays good throughout. The high acidity of a rye sourdough slows mould, so the loaf stays fresh for a long time.
