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Danish Rugbrød
Danish rugbrød is healthy, full of texture and loaded with flavor. It’s traditionally served with butter or as the base of a smørrebrød, an open-faced sandwich with cold cuts, smoked fish, cheese…etc. The bread lasts well over a week, eventually becoming dry enough that it can be sliced thin and used as a crisp/cracker.
At first glance, rugbrød is intimidating because of the long list of ingredients, but apart from assembling the seeds and liquids, the recipe is actually very easy and forgiving. There is no need for gluten-developing interventions, or shaping and proofing to a precise degree, and the baking is at one temperature without a cover. I’ve used a standard loaf pan, which was a tight fit, a large loaf pan, and a large Pullman pan — all worked fine. Based on volume calculations, a small Pullman pan will work too.
My starting point for this recipe was Rene’s Rye from the Tartine Book No. 3 cookbook, but I substituted flours (more whole grain, all sprouted, sometimes home-milled) and different amounts of seeds (less whole flax, which is rarely digested, more pumpkin seeds) and new seeds like hemp and chia.
After a few rounds of making this bread, I’ve concluded that rugbrød is best approached as the assembly of particular ratios of flour, liquid, and seeds/berries. Within those categories, you can be very flexible. The only things I’ve kept steady are the salt and the 260g of hydrated, sprouted rye berries, but you could modify those too if you wanted. This approach makes the most sense when using ingredient weights, but I’ve done my best to include volumes of each ingredient, as well as of the categories (e.g. approximately 3 3/4 cup of seeds and berries in total). Also, different seeds absorb different amounts of water, so keep an eye on the dough’s consistency if you decide to use, for example, a large amount of thirsty chia seeds.
I experimented with hydrating already-sprouted rye berries vs. sprouting rye berries myself. These processes both take 12-24 hours total (long soak for the already-sprouted berries, shorter soak and 6-18 hrs of sprouting for the regular rye berries). I have a slight preference for sprouting the berries myself, as that seemed to make for a plumper final berry, but I suspect that with more patience, I would have had equally plump berries with either option.
In the end, you can do what works for you: sprouted or unsprouted berries and rye and spelt flours, however, it’s worth noting that sprouting makes the nutrients more available for digestion and the taste a little sweeter. Moreover, sprouting is basically inevitable once the berries are hydrated. You simply drain the excess water, rinse, and leave the berries in a jar or bowl with an air-permeable cover. Sprouts will appear in less than a day.
If you want to store the berries in the refrigerator for a few days, note how they smell when young, and don’t use them if this changes. I like to shift them around in their jar at least once a day, and the most I’ve stored them is 5 days. I describe the process more in the recipe below, and my Sprouted Emmer and Spelt with Maple & Beer recipe has a photo gallery of how to sprout grains.
Danish Rugbrød
Rugbrød is a delicious, nutritious and long-lasting bread that is very popular in Denmark. This bread typically has rye flour, rye berries, and sourdough leavening, as well as many seeds, beer, fermented milk and more. I've broken down the ingredients into categories so you can work with what you have, and then enjoy many days of open-faced sandwiches and butter-slathered crisps.
Ingredients
Flour 275g (2 cups)
Liquids 390g (1 2/3 cup)
Seeds and Berries 465g (approx. 3 3/4 cup)
Leaven and Salt
Instructions
Shopping List
Danish Rugbrød