Rye Bread 1

Wholemeal flour – 450g

Rye flour – 175g

Salt – 7.5ml

Caraway Seeds – 7.5ml

Butter – 50g

Fresh Yeast – 20g

Unrefined Brown Sugar – 15ml
Water, tepid – 400ml

Sugar Glace

Oven 220C/425F (gas mark 7)

Combine the flours, salt, and 5ml of caraway seeds in a large bowl, and rub in the butter.

Mix the yeast, sugar, and half the water, and leave in a warm place for about ten minutes until frothy.

Add the yeast liquid to the dry ingredients with the remaining water and knead for 8 – 10 minutes.

On a lightly-floured surface shape the dough into a round. Place on an oiled baking tray. Cover with oiled polythene and leave in a warm place until doubled in size – 30 – 40 minutes. Brush with sugar glace and sprinkle with remaining caraway seeds. Make three slashes on the surface.

Bake at 220C/425F (gas mark 7) for about 40 minutes. Cool on a wire tray.

This is the basic recipe I started off with, and then adapted as and how desired. For example, we do not have fresh yeast readily available, but we have a fair stock-pile of Dried Active Yeast.

~ see all my comments further below ~

!O-3|-W;-

Follow these basic directions and proportions (measurements) once first, to get the general feel of things.

Regardless, I would do things a bit more logical right from the start. Begin first of all by preheating the oven. It also helps with the yeast water making, and the subsequent proofing of the dough.

Next make up the yeast water portion (potion). It takes a while to begin frothing/foaming and rising, and that largely depends on the general room temperature etc. and may take longer than ten minutes. Even more than 20 minutes. (see separate plagiarised article on yeast)

When you have done it once, then you can begin playing around or experimenting with different mixes of flour, or also adding other things to the flour, like poppy seeds, or sesame seeds, mustard seeds, pepper, chillie, etc. or using other liquids for the mixing.

Remember that the only purpose the butter really serves is moisture (long term) and so you can substitute it with many other things, I prefer olive oil, but also because we do not really have butter here. Not normally at least. The more butter or oil you use, the moister it will be, but it may also become heavy, and fail to rise properly in the oven.

If the oven is too hot, it will initially rise quickly, but not rise properly inside, and eventually most likely start burning on the outside. If, however, it is left in too long at too low a temperature, it can also start drying out. But as long as you more or less stick to the recommended temps, for about 30 – 40 minutes, all should be fine. Don’t open the oven door for the first thirty minutes (unless a specific recipe says otherwise, uh-duh). To check if properly done you can either spike it (stab it) with a skewer, or tap the bottom. If the skewer comes out dry and clean, it is done, if the loaf rings hollow when tapped, it is done.

Yeast is what makes the bread so tasty, compared to most other breads. We use dried yeast here. Also called Dried Active Yeast, as we do not really have a decent enough fridge to keep fresh yeast even for a few days. But the dry yeast works well once you get the knack of it. Remember, for the yeast to work it needs sugar (food), water (moisture) and heat (breaking down and activating energy). You can play around with these, but long term it still works best to just stick to the basics, and rather play around with the flour mix, and other stuff you add. Follow the directions on the container you buy. They work.

For the proofing of the final loaf I have a large fairly thick plastic bag, and I just insert the whole ready tray into that, until the bread has risen enough for my liking.

But as I discovered, it is really more of a science. The weather can play a very big part. Especially being close to sea level, often the weather and general climatic conditions change things quite drastically.

And that is about all I have to say about that. ;-)

© ~ (Karma) Tsegyäl [a.k.a. Peter G Just] ~

February 2011