This is dark, moist and dense bread with a hint of sweetness - a bit in Lithuanian-style. Barley malt syrup and a little of honey give this beautiful colour of the crumb and a caramelized crust. My recipe uses light rye sourdough starter and a mix of bread and dark rye flour. It requires patience as the sponge needs to be prepared a day before and give it time to rise. But as a reward, the final rise of bread takes only two hours. Malt and Honey Dark Rye Bread is the perfect winter bread which tastes amazing with hard cheese, pickled herring or paté. Find the recipe here…

A sourdough starter - called here also levain - is a naturally fermenting mixture of flour and water. It contains a combination of Lactobacillus culture and wild yeasts. A levain produces a vigorous leaven and develops the flavour of the bread. You don’t need ready-to-make starter from a shop or mashed organic apples. The easiest way to make a fresh batch of starter is by combining rye or light rye flour and water and allowing the mixture to sit for a couple of days. The sourdough starter I have made and used for several years to bake my every day bread needs to be looked after and fed every day so patience of a cook is crucial. Find the recipe here...