Peasant Black Bread for Father’s Day

Remembrance

“ Lee went in to Adam and found him trying to open the box that held clippings about his father.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

You may wonder why a dessert lover is posting Peasant Black Bread instead of cake for Father’s Day. My father preferred bread to cake. And he especially liked rye bread, crusty, black and deep with whole grain flavor. I never baked this bread for him. I was always “too” busy. He would have loved it. I lost my dad in 2006. He was 84 and had lived a long and full life. The last five years with Alzheimer’s were a misery for him and our family. Even with the cushion of seven years I find myself filled with emotion and unsure of what words to use to describe my father. I open my box of clippings and reveal too little and too much all at the same time.

My dad’s life was shaped by two events. His childhood during the “drought and depression” and his time in the Army during World War II. Others have written eloquently of this great generation of Americans but I had the fortune to be a daughter of a man who survived both events. He lived with a heart filled with hope in the future and faith in the goodness of man. I never understood how he managed such a positive outlook. A childhood of overwhelming poverty prompted him to join the military at seventeen by lying about his age. He forever sang the praises of the military for at that time and place there was no where else to go for food, clothing and shelter. He had never been paid money for working before and sent half his wages home to his mom each month.

During WWII he served under General Patton in four European campaigns. He spoke and wrote about his war experiences often; yet never had much to say about many events. The only thing he would say about being part of the first wave of tanks that liberated the concentration camp Ebensee was that it was more horrendous than we could ever imagine. For a man who wrote poetry and eloquent letters he was at a loss for words.

My father took pleasure in simple things. He was fond of remarking that the finest things in life were sleeping in a warm, dry bed and a hot cup of coffee to start the morning. Growing up without much food and then surviving on Army rations during the war gave him a unique perspective about food. I am sharing a poem he wrote about one of his favorite WWII stories, asking a French farmer’s wife and daughter for “baguette and oeufs,” bread and eggs.

Essentials

It is fitting that that I adapted a recipe for my Father’s Day post from a cookbook I found at a local thrift shop. My father would never succumb to buying the newest and most fashionable cookbooks at full price. Fashion and trends meant nothing to him; he was oblivious to all the mania. It was a waste of precious time and resources. Now that I’m older I finally understand. Time and resources are finite.

This is a robust bread, yet it has a fine crumb from the tenderness of rye flour. Intensely flavored, malty, with hints of bitterness, this bread commands your attention. It suits those of us who enjoy the flavors of radicchio and endive, grapefruit and kumquats, and barely sweetened dark chocolate. The Peasant Black Bread is best served thinly sliced with cheese and cold meats. For the perfect pairing my dad would suggest a grainy mustard, fresh radishes with salt and ice cold beer. I adapted a recipe for Peasant Black Bread by Bernard Clayton which uses bread crumbs as an ingredient. Leftover crumbs from each batch of bread are used to make subsequent loaves. Each batch of bread becoming darker and more deeply robust in flavor. I used leftover Dutch Oven Bread made with half whole wheat flour. In keeping with the spirit of the recipe and my Dad’s philosophy I suggest using whatever leftover bread you may have to make the crumbs. To easily serve the bread in small thin slices I chose to make the bread in small rounds shapes rather than two loaves. The bread must be cooled completely to slice thinly.

	Ingredients
2C	whole grain bread crumbs (old, dry bread is best)
2/1/2C	warm water (110°-120°)
1T	instant coffee powder
2 pkgs	active dry yeast (41/2t)
1/4C	molasses
2T	dark brown sugar
1T	unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2t	ground ginger
1/4t	ground cardamon
1/3C	melted and cooled unsalted butter
2t	salt
11/2C	dark rye flour
2C	light rye flour
1C	whole wheat flour
1/2C	bread flour
1t	instant coffee powder
2t	warm water
1t	caraway seeds

1. Heat oven to 350°. If needed finely grind whole grain bread in a food processor or blender. Since the crumbs are included in the bread dough, grind finely. Spread across a sheet pan and bake until toasty brown. Check often and stir the crumbs to brown evenly. My crumbs took 15 minutes to brown as I used day old bread that was still moist. After toasting and cooling I processed again to achieve tinier crumbs.
2. Pour the warm water into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whipping attachment. Add the dried coffee and mix until dissolved. Add the yeast and mix until dissolved. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. To the mixing bowl add the molasses, dark brown sugar, cocoa powder, ginger, cardamon and bread crumbs and mix thoroughly to combine. Let the mixture sit in the bowl for 15 minutes. The yeast will become active and bubble up.
3. Remove the whip attachment and replace with the dough hook. Add the butter, salt, both rye flours and half of the whole wheat flour. The dough will begin to come together in a ball around the dough hook. Mix for a full 10 minutes until the dough is shiny and elastic. This is a sticky dough; add the balance of the whole wheat flour and then the bread flour a tablespoon at a time to keep the dough from sticking to the sides of the mixer. Place the dough in a buttered bowl. Cover and let rest 1 hour to 1-1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
4. Butter individual pans or use a parchment covered sheet pan for loaves. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead a few times to deflate. Fill the pans 3/4 full with bread dough or shape into two loaves. Cover the dough and let rise for for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until almost doubled in size.
5. Heat the oven to 350°. Mix 1t instant coffee and 2t hot water. Gently brush the rolls with the coffee mixture and sprinkle with caraway seeds. Bake for 15–20 minutes; loaves will take longer. Check the rolls after 15 minutes. When the rolls are done they will be a deep dark chocolate brown and have slightly pulled away from the edges of the pan. A cake tester inserted will come out clean. To thinly slice the bread must it be cooled completely. This bread will keep for several days and freezes well.