Black Bread

To accompany the soup, this is a fantastic black bread. We make it because very few people are familiar with black bread; you don’t normally find it in the shops and so like the soup it becomes a good talking point.

The recipe we are using is based on one we saw originally in a baking book by Dan Lepard called Short and Sweet and subsequently as a variation in Diana Henry’s book called A Change of Appetite. Both of these books are excellent for home cooks by the way. Dan Lepard uses fennel whereas Diana Henry uses carraway. For this recipe we will work closely to the Diana Henry version but with rather less carraway.

The bread is very easy to make and smells delicious. 

This recipe will make one large loaf which will be enough for up to 14 people. You can use what is left for toast the following day. You may well also find that you are taking orders from your guests for loaves in the future!

You need to budget 4-5 hours to make the bread although most of that time is the bread rising or cooking; you only have hands-on work for maybe 15 minutes.

The method proceeds in four main steps; make the rye and yeast “porridge” and cool, mix with the main ingredients, allow the dough to rise twice, bake.

Ideally you will have a dough hook and electric mixer of some sort but if not then you can knead the bread by hand. This works equally well and will only require about 10 minutes of hand-kneading.

Black Bread

Course: Soups
Servings

14

servings
Prep time

1

hour 
Cooking time

40

minutes
Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

  • 50 g 1 3/4 oz Rye Flour

  • 100 g 3 1/2 oz Rye Flour (you need two separate measures of rye flour)

  • 7 g 1/4 oz Instant dried yeast (you can also use non-instant dried yeast or fresh – if fresh then use 3.5g)

  • 1 tsp 1 tsp Muscovado sugar

  • 2 tsp 2 tsp Muscovado sugar

  • 2 tbsp 2 tbsp Cocoa Powder

  • 2 tbsp 2 tbsp Instant coffee

  • 75 g 2 2/3 oz Black treacle

  • 3 tsp 3 tsp Carraway seeds

  • 50 g 1 3/4 oz Butter

  • 425 g 15 oz Strong white bread flour

  • 1 tsp 1 tsp Salt

  • 150 g 5 2/7 oz Grated carrot

  • Plain oil – use groundnut or sunflower

  • Sesame seeds

  • 225 ml 7 3/5 fl oz Water

  • 100 ml 3 3/8 fl oz Water (you need two measures of water)

Equipment

  • Measuring spoons
  • Scales
  • Bowl
  • Baking Sheet
  • Mixer with Dough Hook

Directions



  • Prepare the ingredients
  • Weigh out the ingredients
  • Weigh the carrot

  • Phase 1 – requires around 70 minutes of which 60 minutes are spent waiting for the mixture to cool

  • Add the water to a pan and bring to the boil
    When it boils, turn off the heat
    Add the rye flour and stir it into the water – you should find this makes a sort of porridg
    Leave for 15 minutes to cool


  • Add 1tsp of muscovado sugar to the rye “porridge” (you will have weighed two measures of the sugar)
    Add the yeast to the rye “porridge”
    Stir the sugar and yeast into the rye “porridge” until they are all well mixed together
    Leave this for 45 minutes to cool


    We will call this the “rye porridge” later 

  • Phase 2 – requires you to make another mix – about 5 minutes of hands-on and 30 minutes of cooling

  • Add the 100ml of water to a pan and bring to the boil
    Turn off the heat
    Add the cocoa powder
    Add the instant coffee
    Add the treacle
    Add the carraway seeds
    Add the 2 tsp of muscovado sugar
    Add the butter
    Stir everything together until the butter has melted and is distributed 
    Leave to cool – about 30 minutes


    We will call this the “treacle mix” later

  • Phase 3 – we mix everything together, knead the dough and leave it to rise


  • Into a large bowl – ideally the mixing bowl for your mixer – add the strong flour
    Add the 100 g of rye flour
    Add the salt
    Stir these dry ingredients to blend together
    Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients
  • Into the well, add the “treacle mix”
    Add the “rye porridge” mixture 
    Add the grated carrot

  • Mix everything together with your mixer fitted with the dough hook for around 10 minutes
    If you do not have a dough hook mixer then knead the dough by hand until it all comes together 

    When you have finished kneading, the dough will be brown with bits of orange carrot showing through.


  • Lightly oil a bowl
    Put the dough into the bowl
    Cover the bowl with cling film (plastic wrap or Saran wrap)
    Leave until the dough has doubled in size – this will take 1-2 hours depending upon the heat in the kitchen and the type of yeast used


  • After the dough has doubled in size- remove the cling film (plastic wrap) and punch the dough then lightly knead for a minute by folding the edges of the dough into the centre 
    Oil your hands lightly
    Remove the dough and holding the dough in two hands, gently tuck the edges underneath to the centre – this will stretch the dough around the top and will give you a nice round shape
    Oil the baking tray
    Place the ball of dough on the oiled baking tray
    Leave to rise again – about an hour

  • Phase 4 – bake the bread which takes 40 minutes in the oven

  • Heat the oven to 220°C (430°F)
    After around an hour the dough will have risen again
    Very lightly cover the top with water (to provide a key for the sesame seeds to stick)
    Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the bread
    Cut a cross into the dough
    Put the bread into the oven – ideally the centre
    We normally bake this bread for 45 minutes in our oven – to be safe you can check the bread after 40 minutes
    After 40 minutes – check the bread – it should be dark brown but not burned
    Remove the bread – turn it over and tap the base – it should sound like a drum – if not the bake for another 5 minutes
  • Leave to cool

    Slice just before serving

    After serving accept everyone’s delighted praise! Claim it is all your own work – just something you do – no big deal.

    Expect to take orders in the coming weeks. Decide to set up a bakery selling black bread.

Recipe Video

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