Fourneau is a family business and this recipe is brought to you by me, Caroline, the youngest Burdett sibling. I took our Mom’s Signature Rye Bread recipe and put my own spin on it, adding some medicinal fungi and antioxidants. I love this particular loaf because it includes dried elderberries, which add an almost sweet flavor to the bread. In addition to the flavor, elderberries are full of antioxidants. In fact, Hippocrates, the “Father of Medicine,” called the elder tree his “medicine chest.” In folk medicine today, the elderberry is considered one of the world’s most healing plants. They are rich in dietary fiber and potassium and are a good source of vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, calcium, and iron. Raw elderberries can cause stomach upset if eaten, so it’s important to cook them.
This loaf also contains turkey tail mushrooms, which are plentiful in the forests of the Northeast, where I live. They are packed with antioxidants, contain immune-boosting polysaccharopeptides, may improve immune function in people with certain cancers, and may enhance gut health. I pull a couple of turkey tail mushrooms on almost every hike I take in the Hudson Valley region of New York, where I live. They don’t grind up well at all unfortunately, so I just dry and slice them up for my dough. That seems to work fine.
I also included Chaga mushrooms, which do grind up well. Chaga is packed with B-complex vitamins, vitamin D, potassium, amino acids, fiber, zinc, iron, manganese, magnesium, and calcium.
This is a 20 hour rise all together. 18 hours for the initial rise and then another 2 hours after a fold.
Ingredients:
1 cups organic all purpose four (APF)
1 cup organic rye flour
1 cup organic spelt flour
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp yeast
1 2/3 ish cups water
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup organic sunflower seeds
1 TBS ground dry chaga mushroom
1 TBS shredded dried turkey tail mushrooms
1 TBS ground dried elderberry (you can buy dried elderberry in bulk at some natural food stores. I ground mine in a coffee grinder that I use exclusively for grinding my own herbs.
Tools:
9 x 5” loaf pan
Grande bread oven
Mix dry ingredients together thoroughly then add the water.
Mix the dough completely (a fork or spatula works fine).
Cover the dough in a bowl with room for it to rise.
Keep the dough in a warm location (68-72 degrees, ideally) for 18 hours to let it rise.
Hour 18: Uncover dough and fold it in half in one direction, and then in half again the other direction (get some air in the dough).
Cover again and let the dough sit an additional 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 475-500 degrees (with the Fourneau Grande bread oven inside).
Coat a 9x5 inch loaf pan with a light layer of oil (I use grapeseed oil because it has a high smoke-point). Transfer the dough into the pan.
Place the loaf pan in the Fourneau Grande. Close the cloche and cook for 26 minutes.
Open the cloche and cook for an additional 5-6 minutes. You can remove the steam bowl for this portion if you’re baking sans cloche.
Remove loaf from oven and from loaf pan and let cool on a rack.
It is my opinion that this bread should only be eaten well-toasted. I love this loaf sliced and toasted with a slather of goat cheese, a drizzle of honey, and fresh rosemary or thyme sprinkled on top. You can also slice and freeze this loaf.
