Must Leib (Estonian Black Bread) is a traditional Estonian recipe for a classic dark loaf of rye bread that's Estonia's national bread. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Estonian version of: Estonian Black Bread (Must Leib).
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Ingredients:
1.5l lukewarm water
500ml leavening
1.5kg rye flour (best is whole grain and/or milled flour. For better colour add a handful rye malt flour)
10–11 tsp salt
3 tbsp sugar
coriander seeds
2 tbsp oat bran
caraway seeds, (flax seeds, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds)
For the Home-made Leavening:
500ml kefir, fresh cultured buttermilk or raw apple vinegar (with mother)
3–4 slices of regular fermented rye bread (100% rye flour) or 100–120g rye flour
Method:
Begin by preparing a leavening. Mix your choice of ingredients together then set aside, covered, in a bowl to ferment in a warm room (25–27C) for 2–5 days. The perfect leavening will be foamy at the end of this period. The leavening is ready when you can easily perceive the fermentation odour and the top is frothy. Once fermented you can store the leavening in the refrigerator for a week (it will also freeze).
To prepare the bread, take 500ml of the leavening and mix with the lukewarm water and half the flour in a bowl. Cover and set aside in a warm plate to prove for 24 hours.
The following day work in the remaining flour and your choice of flavourings. Take about 100–120ml of the mixture and set aside in your refrigerator (this will be the starter culture for your next batch of leavening)
Knead the malt rye flour, oat bran and your choice of seeds (if using) into the dough, and keep working until the dough is fairly solid. The dough is ready when it is no longer sticks to your hands.
Grease a loaf tin then turn the dough into this. Cover loosely and set aside to prove for about 6 hours, or until the dough is spongy and has doubled in volume.
Pre-heat your oven to 230C. When ready to bake set a roasting tin full of water in the base of your oven. Allow the steam to build for a few minutes then transfer the risen dough to the centre of the oven. Bake at 230C for 15 minutes, so that the crust becomes crisp, then reduce the oven temperature to 200C and continue baking for 40–50 minutes. But check often as all ovens are different...
When the bread is ready, remove from the oven and cover with a wet towel, to keep the moisture in. Let it cool down for an hour before turning out of the tin and serving.
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