Epic fail!

Ah, it's the first one in a while but it had to be about time for another bready disaster. It can't all go right, and this one definitely didn't go right.


I was attempting to make a sweet rye bread using a recipe from Dan Leopard's The Handmade Loaf. It starts with a rye leaven, which I produced feeding my sourdough starter with just rye flour for a few days. The next step involved making an "overnight batter" with rye flour and water at 80 degrees C. I did this but, after bunging my nose in it the following morning, I didn't notice any change. Was anything meant to have happened to this mix overnight?

Next came mixing the ingredients; rye leaven, overnight batter, more water, honey, more rye flour and some flavourings (orange zest and crushed cardamom seeds). I transferred it to a tin and prepared myself for a long sit in; the book said it would take around 5-6 hours to prove.


8 hours later, it had pretty much doubled in size... and I kinda wanted to get it in the oven because (and this loaf if clearly meant to be a lesson in patience...) it was going to take 2 and a half hours to cook. I cover the top with foil and it went in a pretty hot oven for 1 and a half hours before the foil was removed to allow the top to blacken (and yes, it is meant to blacken). When it came out 1 hour later... well, yes, the top was definately black. And it essentially looked like a brick made of rye flour... but I tried not to let this discourage me. Off to bed I finally trotted. 


I came back to my loaf in the morning. Dan Leopard's book said that it should be left for 2 days before being cut into but I couldn't resist a peak. I grabbed my sharpest knife and began to hack. I was half expecting it to be black and brick-like all the way through. No such luck. The middle was still dough! How the hell that had managed to happen after 2 and a half hours in the oven, I'm not sure. And I'm continuing to puzzle over why the whole thing went so wrong. Did it still need longer to prove? Was the oven not hot enough? Had something not happened with the overnight batter that was meant to?


Ah well, these things happen. I'm still learning and it's all part of the curve. Maybe I should start with the more basic things from Dan Leopard's book using what flour before moving on to the other recipes. Still, if anyone has an inkling as to what might have gone wrong in this case, I'd like to know!