Over the holiday, while at the charcuterie for lunch with my sisters, my sister Naseem was extolling the virtues of a Rubin sandwich in New York City. It dawned on me that I have never had corned beef. I'm serious. I've never had corned beef, let alone New York City corned beef. Since this discussion, I've been perseverating on the perfect Rubin.
I figured I would have to start with the bread. In Chicago, I can get St. Rosen's deli rye, but I was wondering if I could make a loaf that was even more authentic. My search took me back to my favorite cookbook, The Bread Baker's Apprentice. What follows is the recipe from this amazing chef with my own adaptations. What I changed was the pre-ferment process as well as the amount of yeast. All else is the same. To make this dough, you need a sourdough starter. If you don't have one, I'm sure you can find one if you ask your foodie friends. I have some and am always happy to share. Mine is several years old, and was a naturally started sourdough with rye.
Now, I've made this rye a few times. It may seem daunting to make bread, but I find it to be calming. There is absolutely nothing like making your own bread. The feel of the dough, the smell of the yeast, the smell that fills the house as you bake the bread...it is worth every bit of effort.
You may be tempted to make this rye bread without the caraway seeds. You could do that. You could also leave out the onions, but I believe these are the things that make this bread extra special. I can't wait to make the corned beef. Once I get that down, I'll write about the whole Ruben process.
This rye is amazing. I've not yet attempted to make the corned beef, but making a Rubin with this bread, even with deli meat blew my mind. The flavor of this bread is very complex. The onions add something subtle that I cannot explain. And the sour from the starter and from the rye is sublime. I feel fortunate to have had that conversation with Naseem this December. Without it, I would have never had attempted this recipe. I am sure glad I did.
New York Deli Rye
1 cup (7 oz.) sourdough starter
1 cup (4.5 oz.) rye flour
1/2 cup (4 oz.) water, lukewarm
12 oz. onions, diced
2 T. vegetable oil
3 1/2 cups (16 oz.) unbleached high-gluten, bread flour
1 cup (4.5 oz.) rye flour
2 T. (1 oz.) brown sugar
2 1/4 t. (.56oz.) salt
3 t. (.33 oz.) instant yeast
2 t. (.22 oz.) caraway seeds
2 T. (1 oz.) vegetable oil
1 c. (8 oz) buttermilk, lukewarm
1/4 to 1/2 cups (2-4 ounces) water, at room temperature
Semolina or cornmeal for dusting
1 egg white, whisked until frothy, for egg wash
Directions
The day before you want to make the bread, saute the onions in the 2 T. vegetable oil (I use canola) until the onions are softened. Cool the onions. Mix together the sourdough starter, 1 cup rye flour, and room temperature onions. Cover with plastic wrap and let it ferment at room temperature until it bubbles and foams. In my house during the winter, this took 8 hours. It may take as little as 3-4 hours. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
The next day, remove the starter at least one hour before making the dough. To make the dough, stir together the flours, brown sugar, salt, yeast, and caraway seeds in a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the starter you made the day before, the oil, and buttermilk. Mix on low speed with the paddle attachment until it forms a ball adding only as much water as is needed to bring everything together into a soft, not sticky mass. Let this sit for 5 minutes to relax and start the process of forming gluten.
Put the dough hook onto your mixer (or knead by hand on the counter using bread flour when the dough sticks). Knead on medium-low speed (#2 or #3) for 6 minutes (any longer and the dough may become gummy). Add in bread flour as needed to make a fir, slightly tacky dough. Pinch off a small piece of dough. Stretch it out as if you were going to blow a bubble with it. You should be able to hold it up to the light and see through it. If it tears immediately, you need to work it more to develop more gluten. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Ferment at room temperature for 1 1/2 -2 hours (or, however long it takes) until the dough doubles in size.
Remove the dough at divide into 3 equal pieces. Press each piece into a rectangle about 5 inches wide by 8 inches long. Fold the top half of the dough 1/3 of the way over. Press this seam closed. Now fold over the bottom in 1/3, forming a rectangle about 3 x 5. Press this seam. Place these loaves into lightly oiled bread pans (9 x 5).
Proof loaves until they have grown almost double in size. This may take as little as 90 minutes. For me, it took 6 hours (yes, my house is cold). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle of the oven. Brush the loaf tops with egg wash. Place the loaf pans on a cookie sheet (to protect the bottoms) and bake them for 20 minutes. Rotate the pans 180 degrees (for even baking) and bake another 15-40 minutes until the internal temperature registers 185-195 degrees. The loaves should be golden brown all over and should sound hollow if you thump the bottoms. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool for at least one hour before slicing.
Enjoy!
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