My cold proofed breakfast muffin recipe was quite popular, and I really enjoyed making it. It’s a great breakfast snack. Because of the popularity I thought I should try and create some other kind of breakfast muffin recipe and that is what we have here.
Dark rye bread is my favourite bread of all time. So, why not turn it into a breakfast muffin, I thought. As it turns out that was not a difficult task and what it proves is that many different doughs could be treated the same way to create this kind of muffin. It would be interesting to try it on some enriched dough or a seeded whole wheat dough.
My Eastern European rye involved a scalding step. But I wanted to simplify the process here, so I removed it. The dough can be mixed in one go and does not take much extra work besides boiling a potato.
As in my previous recipe, I used fermented rye malt powder. It gives the bread a dark colour and a deep rich flavour. It is widely used in European rye bread making. It is also used for making kvass (an Easter European drink). I have only ever been able to order it off eBay from Belarus, Ukraine, or Russia. It always takes weeks to arrive but it’s worth the wait.
You can certainly make these muffins without it. I did some testing, and they still taste great without the rye malt powder.
This recipe makes 4 muffins. Multiply the ingredients to make more.
Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.
Ingredients
For the dough –
125g (4.4oz) water*
1g (0.035oz) instant dry yeast or 1.2g (0.04oz) active dry yeast or 3g (0.1oz) fresh yeast
2g (0.07oz) salt
2g (0.07oz) caraway seeds
25g (0.9oz) plain mashed potato
8g (0.3oz) barley malt syrup or any other sweet syrup you prefer
8g (0.3oz) fermented rye malt powder
80g (2.8oz) white bread flour
80g (2.8oz) wholegrain rye flour
Coarse cornmeal for coating
*To learn more about dough temperature control click here.
If you are using active dry yeast, then you may need to let it sit in the water for 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients or else it could take a lot longer to raise the dough.
Method
- In a large bowl combine the water, yeast, salt, caraway seeds, mashed potato, rye malt, and the syrup. Mix until well combined.
- Add the white bread flour and mix until smooth. Add the rye flour and mix to a dough. *Desired dough temperature around 24C (75F).
- Cover and ferment for 30 minutes.
- This dough is extremely sticky, so don’t be shy when dusting it with flour. Work quickly and with a light touch.
- Cover and ferment for 30 more minutes.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and shape into balls. Again, dust it generously to make your life easy.
- Roll the dough balls in cornmeal and place them on a non-stick paper lined tray.
- Cover and cold proof for 12 – 24 hours.
- The next day cook the muffins in a pan on medium heat for a total of around 30 minutes. I like to flip the muffins every 7 minutes. Halfway through every 7-minute period I like to turn them 180 degrees so that the outside is facing the middle of the pan. This will ensure that they cook evenly.
Leave to cool down and tuck in! This is rye bread, so let it cool down a bit longer to avoid a gummy centre.
Keep in mind that the conditions in each kitchen are different, so fermentation times may vary for you. It is up to the baker to control the bread and react accordingly.
Your oven may be different too, so your baking time may vary.
Watch the video here
