With all my work wrapped up and no baby yet, let’s just say I’ve got time on my hands.
I’m filling my days with reading books, moving things around in the nursery, cooking, and baking things that take time and concentration. That’s how this Swedish rye bread recipe came to be.
I’ve owned The Bread Bible cookbook for longer than I care to admit without making a recipe from it. The cookbook, which contains 300 of the author’s favorite breads (I wish I had 300 favorite breads in my repertoire), starts with the basics and works its way to the more complex.
This Swedish rye bread recipe falls somewhere in the middle of the spectrum – not a beginner bread (for that, check out this no knead recipe) but certainly far from advanced.
The dough, which consists of both rye and all purpose flour, is flavored with brown sugar, molasses, citrus zest, and caraway seeds. It’s a little different than your typical Russian rye bread, both in flavor and in color.
Once it comes out of the oven and cools slightly, I recommend slathering it with some butter and simply enjoying a slice. Or you can do what we do, which is slice it and freeze it in an air-tight bag. Then, when you’re ready to eat, pop it directly into the toaster. The bread reheats to the perfect texture, like it never skipped a beat.
- 1¾ cup warm water (105F to 115F)
- 1 tablespoon (1 package) active dry yeast
- Pinch of light brown sugar
- ¼ cup unsulfured molasses
- ¼ cup light or dark brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted + more for brushing
- 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
- Grated zest of 1 large lemon or orange
- 2½ cups medium rye flour
- 2¼ to 2½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
- In a small bowl, combine ¾ cup of warm water, yeast, and pinch of sugar. Stir to dissolve and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes, until mixture becomes foamy.
- In a large stand mixer bowl, combine remaining warm water, molasses, brown sugar, melted butter, salt, caraway seeds, zest, and rye flour. Using the paddle attachment, beat hard until creamy, about 1 minute. Then, stir in the yeast mixture.
- Add all purpose flour, ½ cup at a time, until a soft, shaggy dough forms.
- Switch the attachment from paddle to dough hook and knead for 3-4 minutes, or until dough is smooth and springy.
- Place the dough in a slightly oiled deep bowl. Turn the dough once to coat the top in oil and cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature for 2 to 2½ hours, until it doubles in bulk.
- Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 even portions. Form into oval balls, tucking the ends together. Place the loaves, seam side down, on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush with melted butter and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature for 2 hours, until loaves doubles in size again.
- About 20 minutes before the dough is ready, preheat oven to 375F. Using a serrated knife, slash 3 diagonal cuts into the top of each loaf, about ¼ inch deep.
- Place the dough on the center rack and bake for 25-30 minutes, until loaves are golden brown.
- Transfer loaves to cooling rack. Once slightly cooled, sliced and serve. Alternatively, slice loaves and freeze slices in an air-tight bag. To eat, transfer directly to toaster.
Recipe from The Bread Bible.
Beautiful… i have yet to make bread at home… I think I am going to try your no knead dutch oven bread first… that looks tempting :)
writes Girl and the KitchenI tried this recipe and I think the amount listed for SALT is too high. I think it should be 1 teaspoon , not 1 tablespoon. I made 2 batches and they did not raise and the flavor was not good.
writes Cheryle Newmeyer3hungarian
writes 2fundamentals