Rye Bread

I apologize for the severe lack of baking last week. I was working 2 jobs and therefore, was only home to sleep and had very little time or energy to bake…I actually had zero baking in my house. That never happens.

So this weekend I baked like a madwoman! Today, I made more bread…as I’m embracing my newfound ability to correctly engineer yeast. I’m kind of in love with yeast now – it’s amazing stuff! I can’t believe I used to hate it so much. It’s like a guy I grew up with whom I couldn’t stand and used to drive me crazy...who suddenly got super hot, amazing and successful after high school. That is what yeast is in my life right now.

My life is kind of pathetic.

Anyways, today I made rye bread. I love rye bread. It’s without question my number one choice for sandwiches. And I will definitely be making a lot of those now.

Rye Bread
(Adapted from the back of my Rogers Dark Rye Flour bag)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp yeast

2 tbsp honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp sea salt
1¾ cups warm water
3 cups dark rye flour
2-3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

First, dissolve your yeast and 1 tsp of honey in 1/2 cup of warm water. Let it stand for about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together the 2 tbsp honey, vegetable oil, salt and 1¾ cups warm water. Add the yeast mixture and mix well.

Add the rye flour and beat vigorously for 2 minutes. Stir in a sufficient amount of all-purpose flour to make a soft and workable dough. Knead for 5 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.

Form the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl, turning it over once so that the top is greased. Cover and let rise for about 1-1½ hours, until doubled in bulk.



After the first rise, punch down dough and form it into 2 smooth balls. Cover and let rest for about 20 minutes, then roll each ball into a long, rounded loaf. Place on a greased baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, make 3 or 4 shallow diagonal slashes across the top of each loaf. Let rise an additional 1/2 hour.



Bake at 375 degrees F for 40-50 minutes. When done, remove from baking sheet and cool on a wire rack.

(*Note: My oven is old and testy, so I turned it down to 350 for the last 15 minutes to avoid burning. Just keep an eye on the bread to be safe.)