Tuesday, September 28, 2010

BBA Challenge Bread #37—Swedish Rye (Limpa)

swedish limpa-crumb
Another rye bread, but not an ordinary one. I loved it — Swedish Rye (or Limpa).


(Full disclosure: the recipe called for aniseeds. I don't like anise, therefore don't keep it in my spice cupboard and did not use it in the bread. You may proceed.)

I'm (very, very slowly) baking my way through Peter Reinhart's award winning book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice, along with a number of other amateur bakers (I'm not sure how many are still with us, and a number of us have finished). Want to learn more about it? Check out the following links:
swedish limpa-scored

swedish limpa-scored-proofed

I made this 4 months ago, so the details are sketchy, but I definitely remember being thrilled with this one – the way it came together, the way it smelled, the way it looked (gracious, these were gorgeous loaves) ... and the way it tasted. Delicious.

swedish limpa baked

Slightly sweet thanks to the brown sugar and molassess, fragrant and flavorful thanks to the fennel, cardamom and orange peel, with a lovely chewy crust and perfectly dense crumb – chewy without being the least bit heavy.

swedish limpa-sliced

broken stone

This was a keeper, most certainly. Unfortunately, it killed my baking stone. Not sure why, but shortly after putting the bread in the oven, I heard a "pop" and realized my stone broke. But it split really cleanly—if you put the two pieces together, you can't even tell it's broken. I'm keeping it since it still works. (Someone let me know if that's a bad idea, using a broken stone!)



Please check out other BBA Baker's posts. It looks like a lot of us were pleasantly surprised by this one!
Phyl at Of Cabbages & King Cakes 
Sally at Bewtiching Kitchen 
Janice at Round the Table
Oggi at I can do that!

7 comments:

  1. That looks delicious! I've been dreading all the rye breads (and procrastinating) but now I'm dying to make this one!

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  2. As a Swede I can tell you that your bread is very much a limpa. Way to go!

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  3. I use my broken stone all the time, it is the best and so nice and black. I was so happy it broke in a clean 2 pieces and not shattered. Your bread looks fantastic! Now I could go for a Reuben!

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  4. What a beautiful bread! It's been ages since I made this one, but I really loved it. It was so fragrant and flavorful.

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  5. Thanks, Amanda!

    Cathy - Hooray! That means a lot coming from some that actually KNOWS Swedish Rye. :)

    Robin Sue - Whew. I was hoping that was the case. I assumed it was but then started to worry.

    Thanks, Phyl!

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  6. Your rye turned out beautifully! I had a stone break on me too and now we use it on the bbq. If you have a traditional grill it makes a great heatproof base for the charcoal starter.

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  7. Thats all I have! (Broken Stones) I line the bottom of my ovens with them as they get worse. Definitely don't get rid of it!

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