Years ago there was a post on the Breadtopia forum asking if anyone knew the recipe for rye and raisin buns from the Poilâne bakery in France. The description of these sandwiches was intriguing: chewy, hearty and rich in currants.* Years later, when my sister gave me the book Poilâne: the secrets of the world-famous bakeryI found it contained the recipe for the pan version of these sandwiches. In the introduction to the recipe, Apollonia Poilane she describes how much she enjoyed this bread as a child, sliced, buttered and eaten on the way to school. I’ve made a couple of variations of Poilâne’s rye and currant loaf recipe and it’s been a similar hit with my family and friends. It was quite simple for me to take 2-3 slices of this bread and then take the knife to cut another slice!
* Currants are tiny raisins made from Black Currants. They are also called Zante currants and should not be confused with black or red currants, which are relatives of the gooseberry. Zante currants are smaller than regular raisins and have a more sour taste, similar to dried plums.
The recipe for rye loaf with currants in the Poilane The book contains rye flour and a large, mostly all-purpose sourdough starter flour (~50% of total flour weight). I copied those ingredients a bit in my first baking test, which was mostly buckwheat flour. Even though it was tasty, I decided to maintain the predominance of rye in the bread and rely on the flavor know-how of a 92-year-old French bakery which, according to Wikipediaproduces bread for restaurants throughout Paris and for the presidential palace (Elysée Palace). I kept 1/2 cup (65 grams) of buckwheat flour in my version below because I like the added earthy flavor. If you don’t have buckwheat flour you can replace it with rye flour or whatever flour you prefer. I also increased the currants – to make the bread like a fruitcake but not a fruitcake – and dropped in 3/4 teaspoon of active dry yeast.
Rye on the left; buckwheat on the right
One thing I kept from the original recipe and really love is pre-soaking the currants in boiling water. This creates a dark brown currant water that you then use to hydrate the dough, infusing the entire bread with currant flavor. The natural sugar in currant water also enhances the Maillard reaction on the crust when you brush it onto the dough just before baking.
Filter the soaked currants
Be sure to check out the Photo gallery following the recipe for target fermentation and more photos of the process.
Currant bread with rye and buckwheat
Tart and sweet currants are sandwiched in this delicious sourdough bread inspired by a classic from the Poilâne bakery in France. The rye and buckwheat flavors are complex and earthy and the crumb is wonderfully chewy. Enjoy it plain, with butter or paired with cheese for a sweet and savory combination.
Total time
1 hour and 20 minutes
Ingredients
Preparation of the currants
- 260 grams of currants (2 cups)
- 712 grams of boiling water (3 cups) for soaking the currants, reserve the liquid after draining it
Final dough
Baker percentages
- 44% bread flour
- 44% rye flour
- Buckwheat flour 12%.
- 54-61% water reserved from soaking currants
- Mother yeast 22%.
- 44% currants (dry weight)
- 2.2% salt
Instructions
- Fits a small 9 x 4 x 4 inch Pullman pan or a medium 9 x 5 x 2.75 inch USA pan. See the recipe notes for more information on pan sizes.
- Place the raisins in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Set aside to soak and cool for at least 10 minutes.
- Drain the raisins in a colander over another bowl, squeezing the water out with the back of your hand. Save the hot currant water for kneading and washing the dough. You most likely won’t use all this water.
- Measure the lower limit of the range for currant water. Once warm, below 100°F, mix it with the rest of the dough ingredients. Add more currant water only if necessary After the wet currants are incorporated into the dough. It is not necessary to work the dough or operate the mixer after the ingredients are well mixed together.
- Cover and let the dough rise by about 1/3. With such a large amount of currants, the dough does not aerate much, even if it is well fermented. Expanding the dough to about 33% takes 4-6 hours depending on the ambient temperature and how much the currant water has cooled before mixing.
- On a floured work surface, degas the dough and shape it into a tube. Place it on a greased baking tray. I used a small Pullman pan but a medium American pan will also work, just with more cooking of the bread. Sometimes transferring the dough to the pan goes smoothly, but if not, if the dough is banged or lopsided, push a thin spatula along the sides of the pan and adjust the dough until it is centered and has a curve for the surface. Moisten the spatula if it sticks to the dough.
- Cover and let dough double in size, about 3-5 hours.
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Brush the dough with plain water or a little of the reserved currant water for extra browning.
- Place a foil tent on the baking sheet and bake on the middle rack at 450°F for 15 minutes.
- Lower the oven temperature to 425°F and continue baking for 30 minutes.
- Remove foil and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until the internal temperature of the bread is above 190°F.
- Allow the bread to cool on a rack for several hours before slicing.
Notes
This recipe fits a small 9x4x4 inch Pullman pan (144 cubic inch volume). You can also use a medium 9x5x2.75 inch US pan (124 cubic inch volume) without changing the ingredient quantities, but expect the bread to rise above the edge of the pan. For information on how to adjust ingredient quantities for different pans, see this FAQ.
