Russian Bread--Not black bread, but the most delicious white sandwich bread you've ever tasted

June 26, 2011 6:41 PM

Does anyone know the name of the white Russian bread that was served in Intourist Hotels and available at bread stores in Russian in the 80's and 90's? It was a heavy white bread made with scalded milk. It was square in shape, and had a unique crumb. Bonus if you have a recipe. I love Black Bread and the Borodinsky bread, but it's easy to find recipes for these.
posted by gesamtkunstwerk to Food & Drink (6 answers total)

Could it possibly have been a variation on potato bread?
posted by tumid dahlia at 7:10 PM on June 26, 2011

Clarifying question: "square" as in "brick-like," or square like sheet cake? Also, how certain are you that scalded milk (rather than some other dairy product) was a major ingredient?
posted by Nomyte at 7:15 PM on June 26, 2011

Response by poster: The loaves were rectangles, and the individual slices ended up being squares.

I do remember talking to women selling bread, and three of them told me that the bread was made with scalded milk.

Tumid dahlia-- perhaps I'l make this and see if this it is.
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 7:50 PM on June 26, 2011

My Soviet Union MIL, sittin gin the same room here, informs me that "Yes, we had that kind of bread. Standard white / wheat bread." For special occasions there was "karavai" which is a fancier / nicer white bread, but it was round loaves. From my limited experience, backed up by Soviet wife and MIL here, you are describing better quality (but bog standard) Soviet Union milkbread.
posted by Meatbomb at 4:20 AM on June 27, 2011

The bread you describe sounds like pain de mie. The shape is square (from the baking tin used) and has a denser texture than regular supermarket white sandwich bread.
posted by needled at 5:44 AM on June 27, 2011

Response by poster: Thanks for answering. I'm making the pain de mie and the potato bread. I'll get back to you.
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 8:53 PM on July 1, 2011