Rye Bread

I'm not a huge fan of rye bread, but it has its place.  Some deli meats are too strongly seasoned to put on a simple white or wheat bread, like pastrami.

I'm also not big on the flavor of caraway seeds, but they are essential to rye bread.  More than the taste of the rye itself, we associate caraway with rye bread as the central flavor.  I'll have to find something to do with the rest of the jar.

I based this on the Bible's rye bread recipe, and it does taste strongly of the molasses.  Molasses and caraway do blend very well, but even brown sugar would be less sweet and create a lighter-colored bread.  I'll experiment with alternative sweeteners in the future.

1 C milk
2 Tb butter
2 tsp (1 package) dry yeast
1/4 C molasses
1 C rye flour, plus more for dusting
2+ C all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tb caraway seeds

1.  Warm milk, butter, and molasses to 100º F.  Butter does not need to melt.  Stir in yeast and allow to proof, about 5 minutes.

2.  Place rye flour in stand mixer with paddle attachment.  Add milk mixture and beat until smooth.  Add 1 C AP flour, salt, and caraway and beat again for about 2 minutes to make a soft dough.  Add about 1/2 C flour and beat again to make dough sturdy enough to handle.

3.  Turn dough out onto floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.  Lightly oil a bowl and place dough ball in the bowl, turning to coat.  Place in warm place to rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

4.  Punch down dough and allow to rest for 10 minutes.  Grease baking sheet.  Form dough into a ball and place on cookie sheet.  Flatten dough slightly.  Dust top with rye flour and allow to rise again until doubled, about 45 minutes.

5.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Bake for about 35 minutes, until loaf sounds hollow when tapped.  Remove to cooling rack immediately and allow to cool completely before storing.

Makes 1 loaf

Difficulty rating  :)