Russian Black Bread

Yields1 Serving

Ingredients

 1 ⅛ cups lukewarm water
 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
 1 cup pumpernickel or rye flour, plus more for dusting
 1 ¼ tsp salt
 2 tbsp unsalted butter
 2 tbsp dark corn syrup or molasses
 1 tbsp brown sugar
 3 tbsp black cocoa
 1 tsp espresso powder or instant coffee powder
 1 ¾ tsp instant yeast
 2 ½ cups unbleached bread flour, divided

Directions

1

Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl, reserving One Cup of the bread flour. Mix to make a thick batter-like dough. Don't worry how wet the dough seems at this point; It will become more dough-like when you add the remaining One Cup of bread flour.

2

Mix in the remaining cup of flour and knead for seven minutes or until the dough becomes soft and elastic, but may still be somewhat sticky to the touch. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise until doubled, 45 minutes to one hour.

3

After the first rise, shape the dough into an oblong loaf. Place in a greased 9"x5" or 10"x5" bread pan, covered with greased plastic, and let rise until almost doubled about 60 to 90 minutes.

4

While the dough is rising, Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. When the dough has almost doubled, brush or spray the top with water, dust with pumpernickel or rye flour, and score (slash) the top.

5

Bake the bread for about 35 minutes, until it sounds hollow when you thump the bottom, or the inside measures 205 degrees Fahrenheit on a digital thermometer. Remove the loaf from the oven and cool it on a rack before slicing.

6

Store bread, well wrapped at room temperature for several days. Freeze for longer storage.

Ingredients

 1 ⅛ cups lukewarm water
 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
 1 cup pumpernickel or rye flour, plus more for dusting
 1 ¼ tsp salt
 2 tbsp unsalted butter
 2 tbsp dark corn syrup or molasses
 1 tbsp brown sugar
 3 tbsp black cocoa
 1 tsp espresso powder or instant coffee powder
 1 ¾ tsp instant yeast
 2 ½ cups unbleached bread flour, divided
Russian Black Bread
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