Rye bread

Today, rye bread is loved all over the world. But it is not known whether this product would exist in our time, if not for the Russians. Indeed, in ancient times in their homeland (and this is southern Europe, Central and Asia Minor), rye was considered a weed. There, this plant was carefully exterminated from fields sown with wheat and barley. And only closer to Northern and Central Europe did rye find true connoisseurs.

In the Middle Ages, it became one of the main crops grown in Rus’, and rye bread became almost a staple food. And as modern researchers suggest, it was thanks to black bread that the Russians did not know what beriberi was.

What is rye bread

Rye bread is a type of pastry made using special technologies from rye flour. This is exactly the bread that has been known as “black” since ancient times. No, rye flour is not black at all, although it is slightly darker than wheat flour. Raw dough made from it almost does not differ from wheat, but under the influence of high temperature, rye pastries darken.

The appearance of the loaf will tell about the quality of rye bread. The crust of a properly cooked product does not have cracks, it does not exfoliate from the crumb. Inside the loaf should be elastic, but not sticky, porous, but at the same time without voids. The shelf life of a rye product is 24 to 36 hours.

Rye bread is considered a native Russian product. Even in the XI-XII centuries. in Rus’, they came up with a unique technology for making black bread without yeast using a special sourdough. And I must say, this technology is successfully used today.

How black bread is made

Rye flour differs from wheat flour not only in color, but also in chemical composition. The basis for the black loaf does not contain gluten, without which it is very problematic to knead elastic dough. In addition, rye contains a lot of alpha-amylase. This substance contributes to the conversion of starch into dextrin, which also does not affect the quality of the baking dough in the best way.

Because of these features, rye flour blanks do not hold their shape well and “float”. But our ancestors, for whom rye grains were the basis of the diet, came up with a solution to the problem.

As already mentioned, the technology for the production of rye bread was discovered in the XNUMXth century and has not changed much since then. In those distant times, culinary specialists came up with the idea of ​​​​using a starter containing lactic acid bacteria. She took on the role of yeast: it causes fermentation and loosening of the dough. By the way, the taste and aroma of the finished product depends on the quality of the starter. In ancient times, sourdough recipes belonged to important family secrets and were passed down from generation to generation.

Product Varieties

Not all rye bread is the same. Back in the 26th century, XNUMX varieties of this product were known. Depending on the flour composition, it can be pure rye, rye-wheat and wheat-rye. By the way, bread made from a mixture of rye and wheat flour is known as gray. It is lighter than pure rye, but much darker than wheat. The gray version of bread is such a “golden mean”, which combines the advantages of two varieties of the product.

According to the production technology, rye pastries can be fresh, yeast or kvass. The first option involves kneading dough without fermentation processes. Most industrial rye bread is made with yeast. But this option is considered the least useful. Kvass loaf is kneaded on a special leaven.

In addition, pastries can be plain or custard. In the second case, in addition to traditional ingredients, sugar, rye malt, molasses and spices are added to the dough. This bread is called custard for a reason. Before the main batch, part of the flour and malt are brewed using boiling water. By the way, these loaves stay fresh longer.

The most famous rye custard bread is Borodino. The recipe for this sweet and spicy product was invented in the XNUMXth century. In addition to rye flour, second-grade wheat flour, rye red malt, sourdough, salt, molasses, sugar, coriander, anise and cumin are used for its preparation.

Darnitsky bread is another equally popular variety of rye product. This recipe was invented in 1933 at the Leningrad bakery “Darnitsa”. It is made from peeled rye flour, wheat of the first grade, liquid rye sourdough, salt and water. True, today most manufacturers replace traditional sourdough with pressed yeast.

Some housewives bake brown bread at home. The complexity of the recipe lies in the long preparation of the sourdough. Before you start baking, you need to mix kefir, water and a little flour and leave the mixture for 7-10 days to ferment. During this time, you should regularly “feed” the starter, adding a little kefir and flour. But the finished base can be stored in the refrigerator for quite a long time.

Benefits of rye bread

Rye in its chemical composition is an amazing cereal. Flour from these grains is rich in fiber, proteins and amino acids, micro and macro elements, vitamins, enzymes and mineral salts. The benefits of the product are further enhanced by the fact that whole grains, which are more saturated with useful substances, are often used for the production of rye flour.

Many nutritionists call brown bread one of the healthiest foods in the winter and spring diet. And only because, from the point of view of chemistry, it is incredibly rich in nutrients important for humans. To support this theory, many researchers cite examples from the past. Even in times of famine, when the diet was far from balanced, people who constantly consumed a rye product did not suffer from beriberi. At the same time, rye pastry, unlike wheat, is a low-calorie dietary product with a low glycemic index.

That is, sandwiches made from such bread will not stick to the sides in the form of excess fat as quickly as white flour products.

The rich mineral and vitamin composition of this product has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the brain, maintains muscle tone. It is considered beneficial for lowering cholesterol and preventing diabetes by helping to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. By the way, it has been scientifically confirmed that women who eat rye bread instead of wheat bread are 3 times less likely to develop diabetes. Rye bread also helps cleanse the body of toxins, salts and heavy metals.

Many black bread lovers do not even suspect that it strengthens the nervous system. Each slice of the product contains a large amount of B vitamins that are useful for nerve cells. If we compare rye pastries with wheat, the first contains several times more potassium and magnesium, as well as almost a third more iron. And this fact indicates that rye flour bread can prevent anemia.

Our ancestors obviously did not know this, but the rye product protected them from iodine deficiency. Only a few centuries after the creation of the rye bread recipe, researchers discovered rich iodine reserves in its composition. This element is known to contribute to the proper functioning of the endocrine system and metabolism. Black loaf is also useful for digestive processes. As a rich source of fiber, it is important to include in your diet for people who are prone to constipation or who are obese.

Rye bread is an amazing storehouse of substances with antioxidant properties. Vitamin E, selenium and chromium contained in the product are powerful natural protection against cancer and premature aging. In addition, this bread contains a lot of polyunsaturated fatty acids from the omega-3 and omega-6 groups. And they (especially omega-3) are very useful for the cardiovascular system.

But still, the main advantages of the product are determined by natural sourdough. It, according to experts, contributes to the excretion of carcinogenic compounds from the body. Lactic acid fermentation increases the bioavailability of micro and macro elements contained in flour. In addition, lactic acid plays a special role in the proper functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, in particular, sourdough maintains healthy intestinal acidity. The correct acidity of the intestinal environment prevents the reproduction of pathogenic microflora and at the same time has the properties of a probiotic, that is, it maintains the viability of beneficial bacteria.

Use in folk medicine

In Rus’, rye pastry was used not only as a staple food, but also as a medicine. Our ancestors used the black loaf to treat indigestion, coughs, sore throats, skin problems, headaches and even insomnia.

For diarrhea, for example, they used an aqueous infusion of bread. To do this, 1-2 slices of the product were poured with half a liter of cold water and infused for several hours in the cold. Then the strained liquid was consumed every hour in half a glass.

To get rid of a headache, folk healers advised applying pieces of a black loaf soaked in plantain juice to the temples for 15 minutes.

Ordinary rye bread, sprinkled with salt and chopped garlic, was used as an anthelmintic. The same drug was considered one of the most effective for the treatment of colds or flu. And a strong cough was once treated with “mustard plasters” from slices of rye pastries. To do this, a thick piece of stale product was sprinkled with a tablespoon of mustard and poured with boiling water. Then a slice of bread was taken out of the water, wrapped in gauze and applied to the chest or back like a mustard plaster. Something similar was used to treat angina. Bread was also poured with boiling water, but without mustard. The soaked crumb was tied to the neck for the night. And for the treatment of a cold, it was advised to inhale the smoke of burnt bread from rye.

With the help of black bread in Rus’, they also got rid of boils. A piece of the product was thoroughly chewed and then applied to the boil. By the way, the black loaf is also useful for the treatment of acne. If the crumb is poured with hot water, and then squeezed and mixed with honey, you get a healing gruel against acne.

It is useful to apply this mixture to problem areas twice a week and keep it as a mask for 15-20 minutes.

Use in cosmetology

Beauty recipes using rye bread were known in Rus’. Some of them, in parallel with modern cosmetics, are used today.

Dried slices of rye product can serve as an excellent base for a scrub. Breadcrumbs can be mixed with a little salt and avocado oil, massaged onto a steamed face and washed off.

If you pour a slice of bread with hot milk, and then add grated horseradish, honey and a little cottage cheese to the mixture, you will get the basis for a whitening mask. To moisturize the skin, they used to use gruel from bread, filled with hot nettle broth. To smooth mimic wrinkles, you can use a mask of black bread crumbs, sour cream and rose essential oil. A cosmetic slurry made from a rye product, algae and yolk will help restore skin elasticity.

Rye bread can be good for hair. To accelerate their growth, water is used, in which slices of bread were soaked for 2 hours. The liquid should be rubbed into the hair roots, wrapped with polyethylene and a towel, and washed off after an hour. Instead of ordinary water for infusion, you can use a decoction of herbs (nettle, mint, chamomile, yarrow, linden, calendula and others are suitable), and you can add a little honey and castor oil to the finished infusion.

However, these are just examples of possible homemade cosmetics using rye bread. You can choose the ingredients that suit you best.

Harm of rye bread

Even such a useful product as rye bread has contraindications. In particular, due to the high acidity, this product is contraindicated for people with a digestive ulcer, colic, gastritis or heartburn, with liver or gallbladder diseases.

If wheat bread is replaced with rye bread in the traditional diet, the risk of coronary heart disease can be reduced several times. This assumption was made by American scientists. Is this really so, it is difficult to say, but the fact that since ancient times black bread was considered good for health is an indisputable fact.