A raisin boule dedicated to Bloch (hardly knew ya)

Browsing the site of legendary bakery “Bloch” (Ghent, Belgium), which had to close after 110 years of business, I am wondering if they will manage to put all the recipes up on their site as reported by “ladiesfromneptune” (Link to the blog entry). The sinister news of Bloch’s closure sparked quite a few reactions, some of them posted here.

The bakery’s website offers a bonanza of pictures, including bakers and patissiers at work and their breads and pastries. Overthe last days more recipes have been added to the collection and I hope many more are still to come.

This boule I baked was inspired by the “Boerenjongen met krenten” - including whey, a little butter and raisins. “Inspired”, because I probably would have been disinclined to use these ingredients had I not stumbled upon this recipe. Very flavorful and good just with butter and sugar. Next time, it will be the original recipe. I was rather keen on adding a little levain to my bread, since I have a nice and healthy sourdough going at the moment.


Raisin Boule

  • 120g strong white flour
  • 80g whole-wheat flour
  • 50g levain, hydration: 100%
  • 80g water
  • 50g whey
  • 5g butter
  • 2g fresh yeast
  • 4g sea salt
  • 125g raisins or currants

Bulk Fermentation: 1 hour.
Shaping: Round. Proof seam-side down.
Final Fermentation: 1 hour.
Slashing: Slash crosswise, then dust with rye flour.
Bake-Off: Bake for 15 minutes at 210°C and fur forther 20 minutes at 190°C. No steam to retain the dustiness of the flour on top.

Published in: on 29 April 2008 at 8:15 pm

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7 Comments Leave a comment.

  1. On 29 April 2008 at 10:40 pm Petra aka Cascabel Said:

    Vielen Dank für den interessanten Hinweis! Das ist ja sensationell, was da für Fotos veröffentlicht sind. Momentaufnahmen, die nun Vergangenheit sind. Jammerschade.

  2. On 30 April 2008 at 1:55 pm theinversecook Said:

    Ja, dass die Rezepte veröffentlicht werden sollen, zeigt ja auch, welche Leidenschaft da noch drin steckte. Schließung anscheinend “nur” wegen hoher Mieten etc. Eigentlich müsste es ein Schutzprogramm für solche Institutionen geben, die ja auch einen kulturellen Wert darstellen, finde ich.

  3. On 4 May 2008 at 9:06 am David Aplin Said:

    Nils, I checked the link to the Bloch bakery, very cool.
    Your blog continues to inspire me with it’s clean design, well organized formulas and excellent prose. Good work! Keep it up! Happy Rye-Whole Grains-but-smothered-with-butter Baking!
    Best, David

  4. On 4 May 2008 at 9:29 pm zorra Said:

    Wirklich schade um die Bäckerei. Es scheint aber immer öfters so zu sein. Nur noch grosse Ketten können sich die horrenden Mieten leisten. :-(

    PS: Das Brot kommt auf meine Liste.

  5. On 5 May 2008 at 7:47 pm theinversecook Said:

    @ David: Thanks.

    @ zorra: Ja, es scheint so zu sein. Und Marktdruck von Billigbäckerein kommt wohl hinzu.

  6. On 14 May 2008 at 4:34 pm Jeremy Said:

    Nils,
    Will you do or show a 3 stage detmolder method again? You had it on your old site, what about showcasing some of the old breads you had?

    Jeremy

  7. On 14 May 2008 at 4:39 pm theinversecook Said:

    Yes, I wanted to bake a Detmold-3-Stage for the weekend. If I can pull it off, will post about it. Without commercial yeast, of course and a huge round loaf too!

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