Russian Black Bread

Some of you may remember my earlier (disastrous) attempt to make a black bread, but I think it's been long enough for me to give it another go. So, armed with a new recipe, eight more months of bread-baking experience, and a desire to sit around the apartment and delay going in to work for a long as possible today it's time to try a substantially more complicated than average loaf. Fingers crossed.

To start things off, combine 3/4 of a cup of water, 2 tablespoons of butter, 1/4 of a cup of blackstrap molasses, and 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate in a sauce pan, and start heating it. While waiting for the chocolate to melt, start proofing 3 teaspoons of yeast in 1/2 of a cup of warm water. Separately, in a large mixing bowl prepare a mixture of 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of sugar, 2 teaspoons of salt, 2 teaspoons of instant coffee mix, 1 teaspoon of onion powder, and 1 teaspoon of crushed fennel seeds.

Once the chocolate is melted and evenly mixed in allow it to cool for a minute, then pour it and the yeast into the mixing bowl, and stir in 2 cups of dark rye flour along with another half-cup of all-purpose flour. Knead for a generous handful of minutes, and try not to breathe through your nose - this one, ominously, already has something of a pungent smell to it... Anyway,put in a greased bowl, cover, and allow to sit for the

First rising (2 hours )
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First week of the semester down, and I have to admit it was something of a rocky start. I'm taking just two classes this semester: one ("Polymer Physics") being taught by my advisor, and the other ("Biophysics") fulfilling the very last of my coursework requirements. Anyway, I think the semester will be substantially easier than my last one, which will of course be very nice, but I somehow still managed to have to spend almost all of this weekend working. And having to spend the full weekend working before there's even been any homework assigned for classes...well that just feels like I must have mismanaged my research time during the week. Not too swift of me.
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Punch the dough down and put in a greased 9x5 bread tin. Recover, set on top of a radiator, and wait during the

Second rising (1 hour and 30 minutes)
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A few days ago, after finishing up some work late at night, I wandered over to a coffee shop and just sat thinking for a while. Which I suddenly realized has been something I do a lot less than I used to. Well, not that I ever was that big a fan of just sitting around, but I always used to take medium-long walks, most days anyway. But here in Illinois I haven't really gotten into the habit of taking walks. I suspect that's because I walk back and forth to work every day (probably averaging 4 miles or so just in doing that), so I'm spending at least as much time physically walking as I ever used to. But of course, you're not really taking a walk if you've got a destination in mind, so you don't really get in the same mindset where you can (figuratively) sit and mull things over.

So, anyway, along with being better about cooking I'm going to have to find some spot where I can just sit, or read the paper in the morning, or something along those lines. Hmm...too bad my two favorite coffee shops closed last semester!
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Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

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Tasting verdict: Very interesting, actually! I still haven't really made up my mind as to whether I especially like this bread or not, but the flavor is pretty unlike any loaf I've made so far: a strong hit of fennel when you first bite into it, followed by a progression through the darker rye, molasses, and faintly chocolate-y flavors as you keep chewing. As I said, interesting, and maybe a little bizarre. Anyway, good texture - a bit lighter than I had expected - and with a surprisingly crisp crust.