Pan Gallego de Centeno – Galician Rye Bread

The shape of a bread is probably the best indicator of its provenance and ingredients, short of having the recipe in hand. Shaped like a stick and scored decoratively? Probably a French baguette with nothing more than flour, salt, water, and yeast. Flat, wide, and heavily floured? Probably an Italian ciabatta, hydrated much more than your standard dough. Looks like a gigantic Hershey’s Kisses? Uh, wheat, rye, and cornmeal sourdough from Galicia?

So Pan Gallego de Centeno is not exactly iconic to most people outside of Galicia. What can I say? I like trying out obscure regional recipes.

One look at the picture above and it’s immediately obvious that it bears no resemblance to Hershey’s Kisses. It looked fine just before baking (see below), until it decided to explode once settled on the hot baking stone.

Even if it didn’t look as I hoped it would, the crusty results were good enough for me. The burst top turned into a crisp crust with varying degrees of burnt edges; it was easily the most enjoyable part. The interior was fluffy, chewy, and lightly scented with caraway, arguably the best spice to complement rye breads. The small amounts of cornmeal were noticeable only towards the end of chewing, giving the loaf a nice textural finish that lingers until the next bite.

recipe adapted from Penelope Casas’ The Foods and Wines of Spain
instructions adapted from Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads
Yeastspotting at Wild Yeast Blog

Pan Gallego de Centeno
Galician Rye Bread

makes one large round loaf

Notes:

• This formula was adapted with major adjustments to the amounts of salt (cut in half) and the baking time (more than doubled). The following formula stays true to the hydration in the original recipe but the instructions were completely revised to use Peter Reinhart’s epoxy method.

For the Soaker:

Ingredients                  Volume          Ounces          Grams
dark rye flour                2 1/2 cups      11.25            319
cornmeal                        1/2 cup        2.25             64
salt                            1/2 tbsp
water, room temperature       1 1/4 cups         10            284

Mix the soaker ingredients until evenly hydrated. Cover and leave at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours.

For the Wild Yeast Starter:

Ingredients                  Volume          Ounces          Grams
starter (100% hydration)                          4.5          128
bread flour                   3 1/2 cups         15.75         447
water, room temperature           1 scant cup     7.75         220

Mix the wild yeast starter ingredients until a shaggy ball of dough is formed. Knead the wild yeast starter for about 2 minutes or until evenly distributed.

Place the wild yeast starter in a bowl and cover. Let rise at room temperature for 4 to 6 hours or until doubled in size.

Remove the wild yeast starter from the bowl and knead lightly to degas. Return to the bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days. Let the wild yeast starter sit at room temperature for 2 hours before using in the final dough.

Final Dough Formula:

Ingredients                  Volume          Ounces          Grams
all of the soaker, cut into small pieces
all of the wild yeast starter, cut into small pieces
bread flour                     1/2 cup           2.25          64
salt                            1/2 tbsp
instant yeast                     4 1/2 tsp        .5           14
lard, softened or olive oil       2 tbsp          1             28
caraway seeds                     2 tsp

Final Dough Instructions:

Mix             Mix all of the ingredients until evenly incorporated

Knead           8 to 10 minutes

Rest            5 minutes

Knead           1 minute to further strengthen the gluten

Bulk Ferment    45 to 60 minutes at room temperature in a lightly
                oiled bowl, or until 1 1/2 times its size

Pre-Shape       tear drop shape or a boule with a twisted top

Preshaped Galician Rye dough

Rest            5 minutes

Shape           If pre-shaped into a teardrop, make a round loaf,
                such that the pointed end is on top. If pre-shaped
                into a boule, make a twist in the center to form the
                Galician "cap."

Final Proof     approximately 45 to 60 minutes at room temperature

Preheat Oven    475ºF/246ºC

Will it hold its shape?

Steam           1 cup of boiling water poured in a heavy steam
                pan (preferably cast iron)

Bake            Lower the temperature immediately to 425ºF/218ºC.
                Bake for 25 minutes. Rotate the loaf if necessary
                and lower the heat to 350ºF/177ºC. Bake for another
                30 to 40 minutes, until richly brown on all sides
                and the loaf registers at least 200ºF/93ºC in the
                center.

Cool            At least 2 hours

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