Latvian Sourdough Rye Bread (saldskaaba Maize)

OPTIONAL
1 Egg
Rye flakes

Heat 3 cups apple cider and 2 tablespoons caraway seeds to boiling; pour
over 3 cups of coarse rye flour and stir. Let mixture cool. Add 1 cup
active sourdough starter and mix well. The mixture will resemble heavy
porridge as the rye flour absorbs the apple cider. Sprinkle 1/2 cup coarse
rye flour over the mixture but do not stir at this point.

Cover your bowl with a dish towel, and then wrap the covered bowl with a
beach towel or blanket. Put wrapped bowl in a warm spot (next to a heat
register is good) and allow the mixture to ferment for up to 24 hours (less
time if you think it will be too sour).

Dissolve 1 tablespoon yeast in 1/2 cup warm (105-115 degrees Farenheit)
apple cider. Let the yeast mixture bubble and then add it to the sourdough
mixture. Gradually add 1 teaspoon salt, 2-1/2 cups bread flour, and 2 cups
coarse rye flour. Knead with your heavy-duty electric mixer. If the dough
seems too wet, add more rye flour (wet dough will result in a soggy baked
brick). This type of bread is tricky to make, as the dough is always very
sticky from the rye; it takes some trial and error to get a feel for the
dough. If the dough is too wet, it becomes slack after a while; the correct
consistency of dough remains rather firm.

Spray a Formica countertop or a marble pastry board with vegetable cooking
spray. Use a small plastic pan scraper or something like that to scrape
your dough out of the bowl and onto your work surface. Using a bench
knife/dough scraper, divide the dough into two equal chunks. Wet your hands
with water and keep a bowl of water handy for additional dipping. Form the
dough into two loaves on the oiled surface, using just your wet hands; do
not add flour at this point. Place the loaves into oiled bread pans (8-1/2″
x 4-1/2″). Cover with a dish towel and let rise in a warm place. Believe it
or not, this very heavy dough WILL rise. OPTIONAL (not a traditional
method): Brush on glaze made with 1 egg that’s been mixed with 1 tablespoon
of apple cider; sprinkle with rye flakes (obtainable from a food co-op).

Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees Farenheit; then turn heat down to 350
degrees Farenheit and continue to bake for an additional hour. Don’t
underbake. Remove loaves from pans and allow to cool on a rack.
POSTSCRIPT: When measuring flour, I do not fluff and scoop into separate
measuring cups; rather I just use my measuring cup to do the scooping and
then level it off with a spatula. My resulting “cups” are probably somewhat
on the dense side as a result of this.