Polish Buttermilk Rye Bread

When I think of rye bread I used to think of heavy dark bread like a pumpernickel, but after looking around at some bakeries, I noticed that not all rye's are created equal.  So I googled rye bread and found a ton of variations, light rye, sourdough rye, dark rye, and German rye.  I have worked with other bread before, the usual suspects, focaccia, brioche, pizza, and lavash to name a few.

The recipe that I tried was a little different, it used buttermilk and a 3 to 1 bread flour to rye flour to create a light coloured, not dense bread.

So I rolled up my sleeves and got to it.

 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast (not rapid rise)
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups rye flour
• 6 cups Bread flour

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl or bowl or a stand mixer, add all ingredients and mix well. Knead on low 7 minutes in mixer or 10 minutes by hand. 
2. Transfer to a large greased bowl. Flip the dough to grease the bottom and cover with oiled plastic. Let rise in a warm place until doubled. 
3. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking pan with parchment paper. Punch down dough and form into 2 oblong or round loaves. Place on prepared pan, cover with oiled plastic and let rise until almost doubled. 
4. Brush risen dough with egg whites for a shiny crust or plain water. Make 4 diagonal shallow cuts  in the dough and bake 25-30 minutes or until internal temperature on an instant-read thermometer registers 190-195 degrees. Cool on wire racks.



What I got was a delicious bread that was hearty but not tough.  A compliment to any sandwich.

Whiskey Oak Smoked Prime Rib Fingers

These ribs are gigantic, Fred Flinstone-ish, but the flavors can be quite subtle. The whiskey soaked oak wood chips do not pack the same punch as a hickory or cherry. Big wines can overpower the hours of slow-cooked flavor, so the wine I choose was one with plenty of fruit notes and moderate tannins to bring out the best flavour of my ribs.

 

The Ribs

These ribs were smoked for about 4 hours at 225 in a Bradley smoker. I spritzed them every 1/2 hour with apple juice for the first 3 hours then mopped them with a homemade BBQ sauce for the last hour of cooking (if you are going to use some sauce for dipping, set it aside to avoid cross contamination). The internal temperature should be at least 140.
I served them with a simple mixed veg salad drizzled with a nice olive oil and a sprinkling of Kosher salt.

The Vino

When you spend all day  meticulously tending to your smoker, you have some time to think about and decant a wine that will go well with your ribs.  I went with the Young & Wyse Cabernet Sauvignon.  Blackberry, blueberry, and cassis with a cedar and tobacco finish.  I love wines from Osoyoos.  If it was a warm summers' eve I would give their Pinot Gris a try. The stone fruit, citrus and summer herbs would pair well.