Natan Schwarz, a Jewish baker from the town of Kulykiv, baked his bread at the “Kulykiv Bakery” on Dzherelna Street. Two joined loaves, caraway, nigella and a crisp golden crust – Kulykiv bread was served even in cafés and taken from Lviv as a gift. Marian Hemar, Kazimierz Wajda (Szczepko) and Włada Majewska wrote poems and songs about it.
Memoirs describe it as a remarkably light, fluffy rye bread with large holes in the crumb. This recipe recreates the essentials: the double shape, caraway in the dough, nigella on top and a crisp crust.
1 double loaf · about 3 h · Difficulty: medium
Ingredients
- 400 g rye flour
- 200 g wheat flour
- 350 ml warm water
- 10 g dried yeast (or 25 g fresh)
- 10 g salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1–2 tsp caraway seeds
- nigella seeds for sprinkling
Method
- Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water and leave for 10 minutes until foamy.
- Mix both flours with the salt and caraway. Add the yeast mixture and knead a soft, slightly sticky dough.
- Cover and leave somewhere warm for 1–1.5 hours, until doubled in size.
- Knock back, divide in half and shape two small round loaves. Place them on a lined baking tray touching each other so that they join in the oven.
- Cover and prove for 30–40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220 °C.
- Brush the tops with water and sprinkle generously with nigella.
- Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the crust is golden. The bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped underneath.
- Cool completely on a rack before slicing.
Tips
- Rye dough is sticky, and that is normal. Work with wet hands rather than adding flour.
- For a crisp crust, put a dish of boiling water on the bottom of the oven for the first 10 minutes.
- If you bake with rye sourdough, the rising time will be longer; adjust the water to the consistency of the dough.
About the recipe
Schwarz’s original recipe has not survived. This is a reconstruction based on descriptions in Lviv memoirs.