I'm sure it is just my personal taste, because my husband loved it, but I just don't like this. It is very heavy and has a very strong flavor. It did rise nicely, and I too baked it in the oven. I needed to add an extra 12 cup of flour to make a bread dough. Not sure why, but oh well.

Wonderful flavour and aroma. Mine was just shy of being done. I'm sure another 20 minutes would have made a difference. My breadmaker's troubleshooting said to decrease the water in the recipe by 2 tbsp. I will try that next. If that doesn't work I will make the dough in the machine and finish baking it in the oven. I couldn't see that anyone else had this problem so I can only think that it is my machine, although I have not had this happen with other bread loaves. I plan to try again tommorow. Thanks - This is really great tasting bread.

This bread was excellent. I added two tablespoons of Vital Wheat Gluten which I add to all my breads. Rises beautifully to sandwich size loaf. Made this with my stand mixer instead of a bread machine.

Amazing, awesome, delicious bread! I'm going to make this all the time! I like to eat it with peach preserves.

very authentic taste for a very inauthentic recipe.

Excellent. I also added 2 t. onion powder per another reader's suggestion. I didn't have the instant coffee, so I made it without it. I think it needed it to make it a bit darker. Tasted great.

This was absolutely the best Black Bread recipe for the bread machine I've tried. I prepared it exactly as directed with the exception of using oil instead of margarine and using 2 tablespoons of molasses rather than dark syrup. It was yummy! I will be using this recipe from here on. Thanks for a great one!

WOW. This bread is amazing- rich, complex taste, great texture, it doesn't even need anything on it! I used whole wheat pastry flour instead of bread flour, 3 tablespoons of molasses instead of the corn syrup/ brown sugar, olive oil instead of margarine, and the 2 tsp of onion powder recommended below. I don't have a bread machine- I mixed everything together, let it double, punched it down, and let it rise in a loaf pan. It makes a dense, sticky dough that takes a while to rise, but you don't need any extra flour. Baked at 350 for 1 hour.

Of course, this is not exactly the same bread as the one I used eat as a child in Moscow but it is definitely VERY tasty! I also made it without a bread machine: mixed all the ingredients with a KitchenAid, let it rise for an hour, punched it down, and let it rise for 40 more minutes. I tried it both with and without onion powder (another reviewer's suggestion) and I prefer it without: makes it taste more 'authentic'. Will definitely keep on making this bread - it's great for sandwiches and gifts! (I sent a loaf to my mother-in-law as a b-day present).

This bread looks and tastes similar to black bread from motherland. It was a hit at our russian party. I change the recipe a little. I substitute oil for margarine and molasses for corn syrup and use 1 package of yeast. I also don't use bread machine. You will definately love this bread if you like rye bread!

I made this for my sister who loves black bread and she just loved it. Thank you for an excellent black bread recipe. I followed the advice of another and used onion salt and mixed by hand instead of a bread machine and it still turned out really good.

Very good bread and excellent with a slice of sharp chedder on top!

This was my first bread trial, and I was pretty happy with it, but I'd omit the fennel next time. There should be something else than cocoa and coffee to color the bread!

I always ordered Russian Black bread at a small deli, so I was thrilled when I found this recipe. I was disappointed in the taste and appearance. It looked more like a dark rye bread and left a sour after taste. Will not make this again. Will try others.

I made this bread without a bread machine. I formed it into a large round loaf and baked it on flat pan. I substituted olive oil for the margarine. It worked really well. My in-laws from Moscow are visiting us now and they both loved it.

What a treat! Dark and dense, this bread is a delight.I live in rural Taiwan and finding bread that isn't sweet is really hard. I made this bread today and took it with me when I met with some friends. They loved it! Now I have to make it weekly for them. I can't get some of the ingredients so subbed cumin seeds for the caraway, skipped the fennel and used olive oil.

I made this into 16 rolls; baked at 400 about 15-20 min. and served with honey butter. Maybe I don't have the right taste for this because I didn't like the cocoa taste. But I did leave out the caraway and fennel because I haven't learned to enjoy those seeds, so maybe that is key. HOWEVER, the texture is WONDERFUL! And, as previous reviewers have noted, onion really makes it (I sprinkled the powder on a baked, buttered roll to find out), so I will make again, adding 2 tsp. onion powder. I also want to try it with whole wheat bread flour.