Home Fermentation Russian Red Rye Malt – Solod

Russian Red Rye Malt – Solod

by Valeria - Beets 'n Bones blog
russian red rye malt solod

Russian Red Rye Malt (Solod in Russian) is a powder used in baking applications and alcohol production. It’s made from berries of rye that were sprouted, fermented, dried, then ground – in that order. The word ‘solod’ comes from ‘sladki’ or in Old Russian ‘solodki’, which means ‘sweet’.

The reason I wanted to share a recipe is because it’s next to impossible to procure real Russian red rye malt in the US.

TYPES OF RUSSIAN MALT

There are two main types of Russian malt – white barley and fermented red rye (source). White barley malt goes to the kiln right after sprouting, while red rye malt is subjected to 3-4 days of lacto fermentation between sprouting and drying.

For the purpose of this post, I’m going to describe commercial production of fermented red rye malt, with some notes of variance by home malters, and then provide a recipe of how I make it at home.

RUSSIAN RED RYE MALT IS NON-DIASTATIC

Diastase is an enzyme complex that develops during sprouting of grain. It helps convert starch into maltose (sugar) in presence of water. The diastase complex includes alpha-amylase, beta-amylase, along with a couple of other enzymes. Diastatic power is the rate of conversion of starch. For example, if a malt has more diastatic power, it can facilitate faster rate of fermentation in both bread or beer making (diastase + flour + water). Starches in flour split and become sugar, and sugar feeds the yeast (whether it’s wild sourdough yeast, or brewers yeast).

RUSSIAN RED RYE MALT (SOLOD) COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION STAGES

  • Selecting and washing rye berries
  • 64.5ºF (18ºC) soaking (6-8 hours)
  • 59-60ºF (15-16ºC) sprouting (2-4 days, and up to 8-9 days)
  • 113ºF-149ºF (45ºC – 65ºC) fermentation (2-3 days)
  • Drying, increasing temperature to 176ºF (80ºC) (2 days)
  • Resting (3-4 weeks)
  • Milling

RYE BERRIES FOR SPROUTING SHOULD BE USED SEVERAL MONTHS AFTER HARVESTING

Traditionally, the grain used for sprouting was several months old (last year’s harvest). Folks would use grain collected in the fall to make solod in the spring. The rate of sprouting should be at least 90%, which is impossible to achieve with fresh grain because grains are programmed to delay germination until favorable conditions are reached, a.k.a. not a random warm day in December (source).

I’ve read that some folks would test a sample of 100 grains to check for ‘sproutability’ (after removing grains that come to float) – if only 10 or less out of 100 don’t sprout – the rye is good. Another fun fact – people compare the smell of sprouted grains to that of fresh cucumbers.

After washing and removing broken and imperfect pieces, grains get a soak for 6-8 hours. The best temperature for soaking is 64.5ºF (18ºC), it allows to keep growth of unwanted-at-the-moment microorganisms at bay. Ideal moisture in commercial production is about 45%. So if you want to be super precise (I don’t!), you can measure the weight of dry grain, and after soaking their weight should increase by 45%. The next step is sprouting, which could take from 2 to 4 days. The sprouts should not become longer than the grains themselves.

FERMENTED SPROUTED GRAINS

After rye grains sprout, they then undergo fermentation. Lactic bacteria are naturally present on the surface of all things. When combined with ideal temperature and moisture, lactic bacteria have a perfect environment to proliferate. In large production, warmer temperature is semi self-induced: the grain is sprayed with warm water (104º-122ºF or 40-50ºC) until it reaches 53-56% moisture. After 13-14 hours, rye self warms to 113º-122ºF (45-50ºC), and then the temperature is artificially raised to 140-149ºF (60-65ºC) and maintained for the next two days.

As a result of reactions between maltose, glucose, amino acids and polypeptides (all from the grains), we get melanoidins and other aroma-forming substances. Melanoidins are dark in color, and that is what gives red rye malt its characteristic color.

DRY MALTED FERMENTED RYE BERRIES

Now onto the finishing step – drying fermented grain. This takes about two days, and the grain undergoes three stages: (1) physiological – temperature stays at 113ºF (45ºC) but moisture is reduced to 30%. At this point, enzymatic activity continues. (2) fermentation phase – temperature is increased to 158ºF (70ºC), moisture level plunges to 10%, growth stops, grain content separates into distinctive groups of chemical elements. (3) chemical phase – temperature is increased to 176ºF (80ºC), sugars, amino acids and polypeptides react to form melanoidins and other aroma-forming substances (source). Melanoidins = deliciousness. Melanoidins are dark in color, and that is what gives red rye malt its characteristic color. It is during this production phase that we notice solod‘s mouthwatering aroma.

The sprouted tails should be removed before milling, because they have bitter aftertaste and tend to absorb too much water.The way Russian home malters do it is by tossing and rubbing dried rye malt in a bag, then using a fan to blow away lighter particles.

russian red rye malt solod

REST FINISHED MALT

Unmilled solod needs to rest for 3-4 weeks. During this time, its moisture level will increase to 5-6%, as will activity of its amylolytic enzymes.

USE OF SOLOD IN BREAD BAKING

Fermented red rye malt improves bread’s crumb stability and overall texture, gives it wonderful aroma and saturated color. It is used in baking a number of commercial varieties of bread, such as Borodinski bread, brewed bread (заварной), etc. White (barley) solod is used in baking Riga Bread (рижский хлеб), another popular traditional rye variety.

Generally red rye malt is used for rye bread, and white barley malt – when baking with wheat. Different varieties of flour react to solod differently. For example, hard wheat needs more solod than soft wheat. Also, solod significantly improves taste in whole grain bread, and contributes to higher dough elasticity.

It is a well-known fact that because of lower and weaker gluten content, rye and rye-wheat varieties of bread come out short. Adding solod to rye-wheat breads adds pronounced rye flavor and helps dough rise higher.

russian red rye malt solod

WHERE TO BUY RUSSIAN FERMENTED RED RYE MALT

The only easily available malt that’s close to Russian solod is Fawcett’s Crystal Red Rye Malt, which can be found at NYBakers.com here, and most home brew stores. It’s worth to note that Crystal malts have zero diastatic power, expressed as 0°L (degrees Lintner).

If you know of other sources (especially for the actual Russian-made solod) in the US, please let me know in the comments below. I won’t be too sad if I could simply buy the stuff.

HOW I MAKE RUSSIAN RED RYE MALT

Ingredients
Rye berries, any amount
Filtered water

Instructions
Rinse rye berries and soak them in filtered water for 6-8 hours (I use a sprouting jar). If possible, keep the jar at a cooler temperature, best around 65ºF. Here is the jar I use.
Drain the water, tilt the jar to the side to let the air circulate freely, leave at cellar temperature (59-60ºF).
Rinse and drain twice a day (morning and evening) until rye starts to sprout. The amount of time it takes to sprout varies, just make sure your sprouts don’t become longer than grains. I let the grains sprout a little, just to show the tails, because I don’t want to deal with removing the tails.
Transfer the grains into a loosely covered glass dish, and a place that can maintain temperature of 113-122ºF (I use a ‘bread proof’ option on my oven and wrap the dish in foil) for 12 hours. Then I increase the temperature to 140ºF and maintain it for the next 36 hours; until solod darkens in color and has a slight malty aroma.
At this point, grain needs to dry. First I spread it thin on a large jelly-roll sheet, and leave it at ‘bread-proof’ temperature of my oven for 12 hours.
I then increase temperature to 159ºF and dry for 12 more hours.
One more temperature increase – 176ºF – for 12-18 hours, depending on the level of darkness I prefer at the moment.
After I cool the malt, I store it in a loosely covered jar for a month before milling it.
Now you can understand why I would much rather buy the prepared version.

Print Recipe
4.89 from 9 votes

Russian Red Rye Malt - Solod

My improvised version of traditional Russian Red Rye Malt used for baking Russian staple dark breads like Borodinski.
Prep Time15 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Course: Baking
Cuisine: RUSSIAN
Author: Valeria - Beets 'n Bones blog

Ingredients

  • Rye berries any amount
  • Filtered water

Instructions

  • Rinse rye berries and soak them in filtered water for 6-8 hours (I use a sprouting jar). If possible, keep the jar at a cooler temperature, best around 65ºF. Here is the jar I use.
  • Drain the water, tilt the jar to the side to let the air circulate freely, leave at cellar temperature (59-60ºF).
  • Rinse and drain twice a day (morning and evening) until rye starts to sprout. The amount of time it takes to sprout varies, just make sure your sprouts don't become longer than grains. I let the grains sprout a little, just to show the tails, because I don't want to deal with removing the tails.
  • Transfer the grains into a loosely covered glass dish, and a place that can maintain temperature of 113-122ºF (I use a 'bread proof' option on my oven and wrap the dish in foil) for 12 hours. Then I increase the temperature to 140ºF and maintain it for the next 36 hours; until solod darkens in color and has a slight malty aroma.
  • At this point, grain needs to dry. First I spread it thin on a large jelly-roll sheet, and leave it at 'bread-proof' temperature of my oven for 12 hours.
  • I then increase temperature to 159ºF and dry for 12 more hours.
  • One more temperature increase - 176ºF - for 12-18 hours, depending on the level of darkness I prefer at the moment.
  • After I cool the malt, I store it in a loosely covered jar for a month before milling it.
  • Now you can understand why I would much rather buy the prepared version.

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36 comments

Robert March 9, 2018 - 9:50 am

Hi Valeria…awesome blog!!! I’ve been attempting a Borodinsky bread recently… I’ve had some success but my bread lacks the airy porous texture we love. I’ve used rye starter and while the dough rises to about double size, it’s still not the tall loaf I’m after and the texture isn’t quite right. Weight of the final product is about 1kg and I have used various blends of rye + whole wheat flours. Best success has come from a mostly dark rye version. I haven’t been removing material from my starter…I just add rye flour and water and use all of it. Is this my problem? Also wondered if you might substitute rye malt extract for the dry red Russian malt in your recipe?

Reply
Valeria - Beets 'n Bones blog March 14, 2018 - 8:33 pm

Hey Robert, thank you! 🙂 If I may point out – Borodinsky is not known for open crumb, it’s actually a fairly dense bread. The loaves they sell in Russia are smallish and not nearly as tall as regular black bread, which is made from rye and wheat in either equal proportions or majority of flour being wheat. I don’t think that not discarding part of starter would make a big difference in outcome in this case but I don’t know that I would proactively do that because why add flour that is not able to feed lactic bacteria and just weighs down the bread? Rye malt extract is not at all close to the rye malt – and I can firmly tell you it’s not an option for Borodinsky since extract has sugar already.. well.. extracted. Mashing grain malt with water is what gives this bread its specific flavor.
Have you tried my Borodinsky recipe? I get very consistent results with that recipe, especially using the bread-proof function of my oven. I also found that I can buy this malt on Ebay, I search for ‘rye solod’ and there is a Ukrainian seller that can ship it to the States. I think since I got authentic Russian malt, I’ve been making Borodinsky at least once a week, it’s probably my favorite bread out of all the breads I make 🙂

Reply
Aleksandr April 21, 2018 - 11:56 pm

Hi Valeria.
A good website. Good Job, that you decided to make malt yourself. I came across your website, because I was looking for where to buy it :). I’m a Ukrainian who recently moved to Canada, Alberta :). I, too, ran into the problem of local bread, we could not get used to it, because we baking at home . And with Wheat bread, everything is more or less clear. Rye or Wheat-Rye would be much tastier with a Malt. And I’m almost on the way to starting it. But you mentioned the Ukrainian who sells on Ebay , could give me a link. Thank you. I wrote in English, I was not sure that you speak Russian :). Thank you

Reply
Lev Mirman May 9, 2019 - 4:05 pm

I made friends with some Russian food bloggers. They sell spices as a side business and I asked them if I can buy solod instead of spices. They agreed and 3 months later a package with solod showed up at my door in Minnesota.
The reason you can’t find solid in the US is that it’s a fermented product. I know, it’s silly, but my local brewing supplier told me that to sell it he would need a liquor license.

Reply
Valeria - Beets 'n Bones blog May 12, 2019 - 9:25 pm

Interesting! I’ve been buying in on Ebay from the Ukraine, fairly inexpensive, same stuff I remember from home 🙂

Reply
Matthias July 13, 2019 - 8:19 pm

I found Rye Malt on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Rye-Malt-1-lb-Milled/dp/B0076QY89A/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Rye+Malt&qid=1563066652&s=gateway&sr=8-3

Is this different from the Fawcett’s Crystal Red Rye Malt one?

One of the reviews for Rye Extract mentioned Borodinsky, can this possibly be used as a substitute? https://www.amazon.com/Briess-LME-Rye-3-3-Canister/dp/B009WU2TF8/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=Rye+Malt&qid=1563066919&s=gateway&sr=8-8

Reply
Valeria - Beets 'n Bones blog September 9, 2019 - 9:10 pm

Thanks for the info! I tried Crystal Red Rye Malt first (it was easily obtainable since hubby brews beer). It tasted off to me, and I cannot really put my finger on it. I think I baked with it twice before I moved on to making DIY Solod. Now I’ve been buying it on Ebay from a Ukranian seller, I get three packs at a time and it lasts a while.

Reply
Sheherazahde August 4, 2019 - 8:18 pm

I was able to order Rye Malt on Amazon. It came in the form of whole rye berries so I will have to grind it myself. The label says LD Carlson Co. But there is also a label that says “Rye Malt by Briess”. I found some posts on the internet that said that Briess does malt rye sometimes.
But I’m not sure if it is proper Solod. Is any rye malt solod or does it have to be red rye, or prepared in a particular way?
I’m using it for Kvass, so I’m not too worried. My first batch of Kvass only had rye bread and raisins, now I’m trying other things.

Reply
Madeleine Greey November 7, 2019 - 10:57 pm

wonderful blog

Reply
Sam December 26, 2019 - 12:33 pm

Hi Valeria, very nice blog. I recently moved to France, Strasbourg. I’m also having problems with getting used to the national breads cooked here. I’d like to ask if anyone have any information where can I find russian rye malt. I’d be very thankful.

Reply
Itzhak Laskin February 19, 2020 - 7:27 pm

5 stars
Hello
Do you have that all in Russian please?

Reply
Valeria - Beets 'n Bones blog February 19, 2020 - 9:16 pm

I do not. But there is a lot of information on how to make it on Yandex.ru, if that helps.

Reply
Natalya May 12, 2020 - 9:17 pm

I tried this one
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BEX7DVQ/ref=cm_sw_r_oth_api_i_VG1UEbS7MXJHF
It give the amber color snd in review someone said he or she buy it for Borodinski bread

Reply
Dale July 25, 2020 - 9:27 pm

Valeria, thank you for pointing us to a place where we can buy solod. I’ve been looking for a while and no one seems to even know what it is. So excited I found your blog. Looking forward to reading more!

Reply
Olenka August 20, 2020 - 3:05 pm

5 stars
Thank you for very detailed article. I’ve ordered Solod from Ukraine, can’t wait to try your recipe once it arrives.

Reply
Anna August 28, 2020 - 8:36 am

All recipes that I’ve found so far on line (except this one) included yeast. Could you please explain what the difference is and whether using yeast is correct. thank you.

Reply
Stu September 21, 2020 - 3:25 pm

5 stars
Thank you for putting this up. You had so much great information and all of your recipe preambles are great reads. I made this and it worked out great waiting for my bag if solod to show up for a taste comparison. Again thank you so much

Reply
Karin October 4, 2020 - 3:29 pm

Hi Valeria, I am wondering if you stir the sprouted rye during the fermentation period? Thank you!

Reply
FU July 10, 2021 - 9:36 pm

You are pathetic. Internet is overflowing with sellers of malt, mostly from companies that brew alcohol. But no, you have to go all victim, poor me, don’t know what to do. You make me sick.

Reply
Doug Schmidt March 16, 2022 - 10:08 am

5 stars
I just followed your directions with a twist. I used an Instant Pot. My oven could only go down to 170 so I had to come up with other ways to malt the berries. This worked out extremely well. Here is what I did:
Malting Rye Berries

Soak Rye berries for 5 hours
Place in a jar covered in cheesecloth or sprouting lid. Rinse with clean water and drain twice a day and continue till sprouts form 2-4 days.
Place Rye berries in an instant pot on the yogurt setting for 12 hours.
Change the setting of the Instant Pot to keep warm and cook for 20 hours( the setting only allows you 10 hours so at that point open the Instant Pot and stir the grains and set it for another 10 hours.
After the 20 hours, take the grains and spread them onto a lined sheet pan.
Dry them in an oven on the lowest setting 150-170°F till dry stirring every 45 min-1 hour.
Rub the grains to remove the sprouts which can make the grains taste bitter.
Once they are dry, place in a sealed container and let rest for 3-4 weeks before grinding to a powder.

Reply
Valeria - Beets 'n Bones blog July 14, 2022 - 5:33 pm

A little late reply on my part but this is fantastic information. I have been buying Solod from Ukranian sellers for the last couple of years but I love the InstantPot idea. Might have to experiment with it 🙂

Reply
Oksana May 9, 2022 - 10:40 am

5 stars
I always buy rye malt from a trusted seller, they ship on the day of order, excellent malt, I recommend
https://www.ebay.com/itm/325098930396

Reply
ANN May 11, 2022 - 3:28 am Reply
CapnMike May 21, 2022 - 8:56 am

4 stars
Your Borodinsky bread is a hit with everyone I’ve had taste it. But I substituted rye crystal malt for the solod. Now I have just made a batch of solod from your recipe. Although the grain sprouted quickly and a nice malt flavor deveoped on warming, it did not sour during the fermentation step and did not turn red or even darken much during the final heating. I suspect the 2 lb packaged rye from Natural Grocers may have been washed free of bacteria. Should I inoculate the next batch with rye starter?

Reply
CAPNMIKE July 22, 2022 - 11:03 pm

5 stars
On the next batch I innoculated the the sprouted rye with rye sourdough starter and got a better result. The sprouted grain darkened during the fermentation. The powdered solod is now red rather than brown. It is a little bitter by itself but this is not conveyed to the bread. The flavor of the borodinsky bread is quite different. It tastes fruity as well as malty and is intensely delicious. The fruitiness might have been caused by fermenting at 75F rather than the 100F in your recipe.
Are there non-rye breads that have a mashing step like the Borodinsky? I’d love to use this technique elsewhere.

Reply
Valeria - Beets 'n Bones blog July 26, 2022 - 2:01 pm

You are very industrious, I love it! Thanks for sharing!

This is a very nice blog that has a lot of recipes with Solod: https://www.hlebomoli.ru/blog/tags/solod. That site has a ‘translate’ feature and good step-by-step instructions.

Otherwise, look for recipes like “Moskovski Rye’ (GOST # 2977-84)

Leaven (10-12 hours, at room temp)
30g rye starter 100% hydration
95g water
135g whole grain rye flour

Zavarka – Mash – Scalded flour (1.5–2 hours at 63–65 °С)
100g whole grain rye flour
70g Red Solod
1g caraway seeds
430g boiling water

Starter dough (3 – 3.5 hours at 29-30ºC)
All zavarka (601g)
All leaven (260g)
200g water
330 whole rye flour

Main dough (1 – 1.5 hours at 29-30ºC)
All starter dough (1192g)
350g whole grain rye
15g salt
10g molasses
160g water (more or less, depends on moisture of the flour)

After shaping – 60 mins at 29-30ºC.

Heat oven to 250ºC (500ºF) with a heavy base (steel, pizza stone, etc). Bake for 15 mins.
Reduce heat to 200ºC (400ºF), bake for 15-20 if hand-shaped, or 45 minutes if in a bread pan. Even if you are baking in a bread pan, you still need to have baking stone/steel under it. Otherwise, the crust will be too thick.

Another good bread, more sweet than sour, almost like dessert bread is Kareskli Bread (КАРЕЛЬСКИЙ ХЛЕБ), GOST # 5311-50. I’m planning to post it on the blog sometime soon. But maybe you can find it elsewhere too. If I can think of something else, I’ll add to this.

If you like scalded breads, research Latvian and Lithuanian recipes, they usually use white (diastatic) solod (malt), they have a lot of different varieties.

Reply
CAPNMIKE July 26, 2022 - 3:01 pm

5 stars
I am honored by your reply. Thanks.

Reply
ron day June 26, 2022 - 6:16 am

what kind of oven do you have that allows you to set it at 140 degrees. I’ve never seen one.

Reply
Valeria - Beets 'n Bones blog June 26, 2022 - 7:45 am

This was a Samsung oven two houses ago, I don’t remember the model. Plenty of ovens have ‘dehydrate’ function that has a range of low temperatures.

Reply
Ron Day June 26, 2022 - 2:44 pm

Ah!!! I have that oven. I just never used the dehydrate feature since I have a dehydrator. I use the proofing feature all the time, part of the reason I bought the Samsung.

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Margaret G April 29, 2023 - 5:28 pm

Is it possible to ferment crystal rye malt and make solod from that? I can’t get rye berries locally, but I can get crystal rye malt from a local brewing shop.
Thanks!

Reply
Olenka May 11, 2023 - 3:45 am

Hello lovers of Borodino bread, I found excellent quality rye malt with fast delivery in the USA, dark roasted malt and a very aromatic smell
https://www.ebay.com/itm/325477890040?hash=item4bc7fe77f8:g:k48AAOSw8OlkXJ8x

and also the seller has white fermented rye malt, who can tell me what it is used for?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/325648807042?hash=item4bd22e7482:g:ux8AAOSwn4NkW3QR

Thanks

Reply
Valeria - Beets 'n Bones blog May 13, 2023 - 6:47 am

Thanks for the links! I’ve also been buying Solod on eBay.

White solod is basically dough conditioner/improver. It’s dried at low temperature so it contains a lot of minerals/nutrients. The dough with white solod is supposed to stay fresh longer. You can only use 1-2% of solod per total volume so more is not better. It’s often used in long ferments so even when the flour sugar is depleted, yeast/lactic bacteria would feed on sugar from white solod and create lighter and airier breads.

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Margaret Goodwin May 13, 2023 - 10:55 am

The solod on eBay is very expensive. $14 for 7 oz. I get crystal rye malt at my local brewery supply store for $2.50 a pound. If it were possible to ferment this, and make solod, or a close approximation, I’d really like to try it.

I’m thinking of grinding the crystal rye malt to a powder and adding an equal amount of water and a small amount of rye sourdough starter. Since the rye is ground, it should ferment faster than whole berries would. If i let it ferment for 24 hours, like I would with a sourdough starter, this should, in theory, ferment the rye malt.

However, it might make a difference if the malt is fermented while the enzymes are still active, rather than after it’s already been saccharified.

Has anybody tried this?

Reply
Margaret Goodwin June 5, 2023 - 5:24 pm

I tried the experiment of grinding crystal rye malt and fermenting it with a little sourdough starter for 24 hours before using it in the scald for my Borodinsky bread. The rye malt ferment well, It expanded and got bubbly. I could probably have used even less starter. After fermenting, it had a much richer aroma then the unfermented crystal rye malt, with almost a chocolaty smell. It was much darker than the original unfermented rye malt, and the bread is more flavorful.

So I think this method might be a serviceable substitute for solod. However, I have not tasted them side by side.

If anybody has some actual solod, it would be an interesting experiment to bake two loaves, one with real solod and one with fermented crystal rye malt. I used 25 grams of red crystal rye malt, 25 grams of water, and 3 grams of rye sourdough starter, and left it to ferment for 24 hours in a warm place. (It would probably work with just 2 grams of starter, because it was already fermented after 12 hours,)

I would love to know if this tastes like real solod. Crystal rye malt is only $2.50 a pound, and solod it $14 for 7 oz on eBay, which is $32 a pound. It’s also about 1,000 times easier than making solod at home. If it tastes the same, or close enough, it’s a big win.

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