It’s cold, wet, and raining outside – perfect weather for baking a loaf of bread. I decided on Rye Bread for something different – I haven’t made any in a while.

There are a bazillion different types and styles of rye bread out there, from a dense German-style Pumpernickel to a light sandwich rye from the grocery store. I went for a Scandinavian Rye, today – a mixture of rye and wheat with a bit of sweetening.

 

It has a softer crumb and a good crust.

This particular recipe comes from BBC Food.

Scandanavian Rye Bread

adapted from BBC Food

  • 175ml full-fat milk
  • 175ml water
  • 2 tbsp dark soft brown sugar
  • 1 x 7g sachet of fast-action dried yeast
  • 250g rye flour
  • 200g strong white flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 1 tbsp fine sea salt
  • 2 tsp caraway seeds
  • sunflower oil, for greasing

Put the milk, water and sugar in a small saucepan and heat very gently, stirring constantly, for just a few seconds until the liquid is lukewarm and the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture into a bowl.

Stir in the yeast and leave for 10 minutes until there is a light froth floating on the surface.

Put all the flour, rye and white, in a large bowl, stir in the salt and caraway seeds, then make a well in the centre. Pour the warm yeast mixture on to the flour and mix with a wooden spoon and then your hands to form a soft, spongy dough.

Turn the dough out on to a well-floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until it is smooth and elastic. Kneading this dough can be hard work so you’ll need to roll up your sleeves and give it some welly.

Put the dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover loosely with oiled cling film. Leave to rise in a warm place for about 1½ hours or until it has doubled in size.

Put the dough on a floured work surface and knock it back with your knuckles, then knead for another minute.

Shape the dough into a fat oval or round loaf, pulling the dough from the top and sides and tucking it underneath to make a neat shape.

Place the loaf on a baking tray lined with baking parchment and score the surface 4 times with a sharp knife. Cover it loosely with the oiled cling film and leave to prove for a further 40–50 minutes until it has doubled in size once more.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Bake the loaf in the center of the oven for 40 minutes or until it is well risen and the base sounds hollow when tapped sharply. Cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

 

 

There’s just enough caraway to be flavorful without being overpowering and the tiny bit of brown sugar mellows the rye.

All-in-all, a very good loaf.

I still have a goal to try and replicate the rye bread we used to serve at David’s Delicatessen in San Francisco. It was da bomb.

No idea who is running the place, today. David was old when I worked there in the ’70s, and I doubt the bakery that supplied the bread is still around, either.

I do have a recipe that is a three-day project…

We shall see…

In the meantime – this was pretty good!