Boiled-Cider Bread
I love it when a plan comes together.
When I was a kid, red delicious apples were my favorite. Not to sound too ridiculous, but they were…delicious! The best apples had no soft softs, the skin was shiny and it would snap with the first piercing by my teeth, then crack as I pulled a hunk of fruit away from its sphere. Sometimes a bead of sugary apple juice would meander from the fresh bite wound down the glossy red surface and I would watch the path it would take as it made its way to the bottom where it plunged from the apple to whatever lay below (usually my lap). Sometimes I would catch the sweet drop with my tongue and save it from certain disappearance at the end of the smooth curved landscape.
But that was then. My apple palate has broadened significantly since, and I’ve learned to taste and appreciate the varieties that are available now. However, I still have a go-to apple when I’m looking for a snack. Granny Smith. The great green Granny Smith was an acquired taste. It’s tart compared to my old favorite, but it’s got great crunch and skin snap. There are two ways I’ll snack on a Granny Smith. Either whole, right off the core, or sliced. If I cut slices off the core, I’m either eating them smeared with peanut butter or layered with slices of Cabot cheddar cheese. And THIS is why I wanted to bake boiled-cider bread. I had an end goal in mind, a plan in place, a great idea that I wanted to bring to fruition.
But let me introduce you to the main character to whom the cheese and apple will play a supporting role. Wood’s Boiled Cider Bread is a recipe I baked from Martin Philip’s “Baking Bread: A Baker’s Journey Home in 75 Recipes” after I received it as a Christmas gift a few years ago. I loved the recipe because it was made with 100% rye. I love rye! And while many rye breads include some rye, using all rye flour is unusual. Rye flour produces very little gluten development, so there are not many stringy, stretchy bread threads to elongate as the yeasts feed, which you normally see as inflating (rising) dough. (By the way, rye is NOT gluten-free, it contains a different type of gluten than what is found in wheat bread.)
So when this free form loaf came out of the oven looking like a giant chocolate crinkle cookie, I wasn’t surprised. But the aroma was amazing. While it doesn’t rise very much, a bread with all rye flour produces awesome odors. It’s earthy and warm and rich and soft and the tendrils of aroma just reach right around you and give you a pat on the back, inviting you to sit down and put your feet up, while it puts the kettle on for tea.
In order to put my plan into action, I needed some of this bread. A whole two loves that the recipe called for? No, not that much. So here is the recipe reduced to one-third of its original size and here is how I made it happen.
ingredients
Rye Sourdough Starter
87.9 whole rye flour
87.9g water
8.7g ripe starter
Final Dough
112.8g water
184.5g rye sourdough starter
163.2g whole rye flour
12.6g boiled cider
5.1g salt
1.8g yeast
Mix flour, water and starter for Rye Sourdough Starter together and let sit at room temperature overnight (12-16 hours).
Mix the water, rye sourdough starter, flour, boiled cider, salt and yeast with a wooden spoon, until there are no dry bits left in the bowl.This will look like a thick wet batter, and less like a bread dough. A note about boiled cider…the original recipe calls for making your own reduction. I happen to have a leftover jar of the stuff I purchased last fall during apple baking season, and used that instead. It was far easier.
Let rise in a warm place for about an hour.
Shape into a boule and let proof for another 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Place on parchment and let rest for 10-15 minutes until cracks appear in the surface.
Bake with steam for 25 minutes and without for an additional 25 minutes. I’ve been trying out a 2 quart dutch oven, so this means I baked with the lid on for 25 minutes, then removed the lid for the remainder of the bake.
Prop the oven door open and allow bread to cool for about 10 minutes.
Ok, one small loaf of boiled-cider bread. Check. Now, let's slice up a Granny Smith, some Cabot cheddar, and put it all together.
Add heat, a little butter and…
…that’s right. Grilled cheese on boiled-cider bread.The cheese is strong, but not overpowering, the apple is soft, sweet and subtle and the textures and flavors pair quite well with the crunchy exterior of the crust and the chewiness of the crumb. This was just right. This was the perfect afternoon snack on a snowy day, with enough left over to get me through the subzero temperatures forecast for the next day. Or maybe I’ll have to bake something else?