What Brown Can Do for Bread: Pain Noir

A Pain Noir (black bread) loaf

The Harvard online food science class covered chocolate and bread – but not chocolate and bread together. What a beautiful friendship when these two meet, as happens in France when they make a Pain Noir (black bread).

The idea comes from Bernard Clayton’s book “New Complete Book of Breads” (but as usual, I tweaked on it). I love his suggestion that “the French do nothing to the top crust other than glaze it with egg – but a sprinkling of kosher or sea salt gives it a new dimension.” Clayton was spot on, since the bread is slightly sweet. Salt with sugar is another beautiful friendship.

Pain Noir

Ingredients

1.25 ounce (1/4 cup) cornmeal

4 ounces (1/2 cup) boiling water

4 ounces cold water

1 ounce bittersweet chocolate

½ tablespoon unsalted butter

¼ cup molasses

2 teaspoons salt

½ cup mashed potatoes

4 ounces whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons instant yeast

2.35 ounces rye flour

3.30 ounces all-purpose flour

1 egg, beaten, mixed with 1 tablespoon water

coarse salt such as kosher or Fleur de Sel (optional)

 Method

In a saucepan, stir cornmeal into boiling water, continue stirring until smooth. Add cold water, stirring constantly. In a separate small saucepan over low heat, melt butter and chocolate, set aside to cool.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine cornmeal and chocolate mixtures, add molasses, salt and mashed potatoes. Mix for 2-3 minutes, until smooth. Add the whole wheat flour and yeast, and stir or mix for 2 minutes.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap, allow to rest for 1 hour.

Add rye flour and all-purpose flour, stir to form a shaggy mass. Switch to dough hook and knead the dough about 8 minutes. It will be very sticky. Add sprinklings of all-purpose flour as needed to keep dough from sticking to the sides of the bowl.

Place dough in a greased bowl, turn to coat the dough and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise about 75 minutes.

Degas dough, recover with wrap and allow to rest 15 minutes.

Turn onto work surface, shape into round, place in a flour-dusted banneton, wicker bowl lined with a flour-dusted towel or on a parchment-lined baking sheet, then cover with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray, allow to rise about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 about 20 minutes before baking.

Brush loaf with egg wash, sprinkle with coarse salt. 

*Baking Note: In recent years bakers have started placing bread dough in a special "cloche" dome or a cast iron/enamelware Dutch oven for baking. Such containment helps re-create the hearth baking of Old Europe and concentrate the heat so it's consistent around the loaf, with the added benefit that evaporating water can't escape, so it helps steam the loaf. You can also use a baking stone and turn the Dutch oven upside down over the dough. Be sure to preheat the stone and Dutch oven before baking.

Please use caution when lifting the dome after baking, as you can steam your fingers. Tilt the dome away from you when lifting.

Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce oven to 350 and bake for 35 minutes more or until loaf tests done – at least 200 degrees on a digital thermometer.

Place loaf on rack to cool before slicing. 

Don't let the cheese stand alone. Get the two together when serving this bread for another beautiful friendship.