Vinschgauer Paarl

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl
• •Mortar and pestle (or heavy pan for crushing spices)
• •Dough scraper
• •Baking tray lined with parchment
• •Baking stone or inverted heavy baking tray
• •Small roasting tin (for creating oven moisture)
• •Sharp knife or lame for scoring
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the spice mix

   Lightly crush the caraway and fennel seeds in a mortar. You're not grinding them to powder. You want them cracked open so they release their oils into the dough, but you should still see pieces. Mix them with the bread clover and ground coriander. Set aside. The smell of this mix is the smell of the Vinschgau valley. If you close your eyes it puts you in a stone-walled bakehouse with flour on the floor.

   Bread clover (Schabzigerklee) can be found at Austrian or Swiss specialty shops, or ordered online. There is no substitute that tastes the same. If you truly cannot find it, the bread will still be good with the caraway and fennel alone, but it won't be a real Vinschgauer. It will be a spiced rye roll with good intentions.
2. 2

   Build the dough

   In a large bowl, combine the rye flour, bread flour, salt, dried yeast, and the spice mix. Make a well in the center. Add the sourdough starter, lukewarm water, malt extract, and softened lard. Stir everything together with a wooden spoon or dough scraper until a shaggy, sticky mass forms. Rye dough doesn't come together like wheat dough. It will be heavy, dense, and tacky. That's correct. Don't add more flour because it feels wrong. Rye wants to be sticky.

   If you don't have a rye sourdough starter, you can build one in five days: mix equal parts dark rye flour and water, feed it daily. It will be bubbling and sour by day five. Or ask a baker friend. Sourdough people love sharing starter.
3. 3

   Knead the dough

   Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with rye flour. Knead for six to eight minutes. This will not feel like kneading wheat bread. Rye dough doesn't become smooth and elastic. It stays dense and a bit tacky. You're distributing the ingredients evenly and developing what little structure rye can give you. Use wet hands if it sticks. When it holds together in a rough ball without crumbling, you're done.

4. 4

   First rise

   Shape the dough into a rough ball and place it back in the bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel or cling film. Let it rise in a warm spot for one and a half to two hours. Rye dough won't double the way wheat dough does. Look for about a fifty percent increase in size and a slightly domed surface. The sourdough and yeast are working together here: the yeast gives lift, the sourdough gives flavor and the acidity that rye needs to hold its crumb.

5. 5

   Shape the pairs

   Turn the risen dough out onto a floured surface and divide it into twelve equal pieces, roughly 85 grams each. Shape each piece into a round ball by tucking the edges underneath and rolling it against the counter with a cupped hand. Dust a baking tray lined with parchment with rye flour. Place the rolls in pairs, pressing two balls together so their sides touch firmly. Leave about five centimeters between each pair. You should have six pairs. Press each pair down gently with your palm to flatten them slightly. Vinschgauer are not tall, puffy rolls. They're broad and flat, about two centimeters high before baking.

   Press the pairs together with real intention. If they're only lightly touching, they'll separate in the oven and you'll lose that soft, pale seam where they join. That seam is half the point.
6. 6

   Second rise and preheat

   Cover the shaped pairs loosely with a tea towel and let them rise for forty-five minutes to one hour. They'll spread slightly and puff up just a little. Don't expect dramatic oven spring from rye bread. While they rest, preheat your oven to 220°C (430°F) with a baking stone or inverted baking tray inside if you have one. Place a small roasting tin on the bottom rack. You'll need it for water.

7. 7

   Score and bake

   Dust the tops of the pairs lightly with rye flour. Using a sharp knife or razor blade, score two or three shallow lines across the top of each pair. The cuts don't need to be deep, just enough to let the crust crack open in a controlled way. Slide the tray into the oven and pour half a cup of hot water into the roasting tin below. Close the door quickly. The burst of moisture gives the crust time to stretch before it sets. Bake for ten minutes at 220°C, then reduce the heat to 190°C (375°F) and bake for another twenty to twenty-five minutes. The Vinschgauer are done when the crust is dark brown, nearly mahogany, and the bottom sounds hollow when you tap it.

   Don't be afraid of the dark color. Vinschgauer are supposed to be deep brown, almost intimidating. That's the rye and the malt working together. If they look pale, you pulled them too soon.
8. 8

   Cool and serve

   Transfer the pairs to a wire rack and let them cool completely. Rye bread needs time after baking. The crumb is still setting for the first hour, and if you tear into them too early the inside will be gummy. Patience. When they've cooled, bring them to the table whole. Break each pair apart by hand, the way they do at every Marende in the Tyrol. Serve with thinly sliced Speck, mountain cheese, pickled vegetables, or good butter. Mahlzeit!

Chef Tips

• •The sourdough starter is doing structural work in this bread, not just flavoring it. Rye flour contains pentosans instead of gluten, and those pentosans need an acidic environment to gel properly and hold moisture. Without the sourdough's acidity, your crumb will be dense and crumbly in all the wrong ways. A mature, active starter is not optional here.
• •If your Vinschgauer come out too dense and heavy, your starter may not have been active enough. It should be bubbly, smell pleasantly sour, and have doubled within eight hours of its last feeding. A sluggish starter means a sluggish bread.
• •Vinschgauer improve on the second day. The spices mellow, the crumb firms up, and the sourness rounds out. They keep well for four to five days wrapped in a linen cloth, and they freeze beautifully for up to three months. In the Vinschgau, farm families traditionally baked once a week or less and stored the bread on wooden racks in a cool pantry.
• •Gretel always said that the best bread is the bread that suits the meal beside it. Vinschgauer exist for Speck and cheese. That's their purpose. Serve them that way and everything on the table makes sense together.

Advance Preparation

• •The rye sourdough starter should be fed eight to twelve hours before you plan to mix the dough. A nighttime feed for a morning bake works well.
• •The spice mix can be prepared days ahead and stored in a sealed jar. Crushing the seeds just before mixing gives the strongest flavor, but a day or two won't hurt.
• •Shaped pairs can be refrigerated overnight on the tray, covered tightly. Cold-retard for up to twelve hours. Pull them out an hour before baking and let them come to room temperature while the oven heats. The slow cold rise deepens the sour flavor.
• •Baked Vinschgauer freeze well for up to three months. Wrap each pair tightly in cling film, then foil. Thaw at room temperature and refresh in a hot oven for five minutes to revive the crust.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 75g)