Rye Bread The Real Stuff Food

HOMEMADE RYE BREAD

Steps:

• Combine the yeast, sugar, melted butter, egg, and milk in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Beat on low speed for 1 minute. Add the salt, rye flour, all-purpose flour, and caraway seeds. Beat at low speed until all of the flour is incorporated, about 1 minute. Then, beat at medium speed until the mixture forms a ball, leaves the sides of the bowl and climbs up the dough hook. Remove the dough from the bowl. Using your hands, form the dough into a smooth ball. Lightly oil a bowl. Place the dough in the bowl and turn it to oil all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draft-free place until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a 5 1/2 by 9-inch baking pan.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and invert onto a lightly floured surface. Gently knead the dough several times. Tuck and roll so that any seams disappear into the dough and place in the prepared baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draft-free place until it doubles in size, about 1 hour. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg lightly over the top of the dough. Bake until lightly brown, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

RYE BREAD

Steps:

• In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, sprinkle yeast over 1/2 cup water. Add 2 teaspoons honey. Whisk until yeast dissolves. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Add remaining 1 3/4 cups water to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, along with remaining 3 tablespoons honey, butter, caraway seeds, and salt. Mix on low to combine. Gradually add both flours, one cup at a time, mixing until dough comes away from sides of bowl and forms a ragged, slightly sticky ball. Butter a large bowl.
• Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic but still slightly tacky, about 5 minutes. Shape into a ball. Transfer to prepared bowl; cover with plastic wrap.
• Let dough stand in a warm place until it doubled in volume (it should not spring back when pressed), about 1 hour. Butter two 4 1/2-by-8 1/2-inch loaf pans. Punch down dough and divide in half.
• Working with one piece of dough at a time, shape into a 7-by-7-inch square. Fold dough into thirds; press seam to adhere and pinch ends to seal. Place seam-side down in loaf pan. Repeat process with remaining piece of dough.
• In a small bowl, mix egg white with 1 teaspoon water and brush mixture over tops of loaves; sprinkle with caraway seeds.
• Spray two pieces of plastic wrap with nonstick cooking spray; drape loaves with prepared plastic wrap and let stand until dough rises about 1 inch above tops of pans, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees on a conventional oven or 425 degrees on a convection oven. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees (conventional) or 375 degrees (convection).
• Uncover loaves and transfer to oven. Bake, rotating pans after 20 minutes, until tops are golden brown, about 45 minutes. Transfer to wire racks. Let cool slightly; turn out loaves. Let cool completely before slicing.

REAL NY JEWISH RYE BREAD

Steps:

• Place bread flour, rye flour, potato flakes, caraway seeds, demarara sugar, yeast, and sea salt in the bowl of a large stand mixer. Turn mixer to low and thoroughly mix dry ingredients. Beat warm water, canola oil, and pickle juice into dry ingredients. Fit dough hook onto mixer and beat until dough is rough and shaggy-looking.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for exactly 30 minutes. Remove plastic wrap and knead dough in stand mixer with dough hook until smooth, firm, and only slightly sticky, 6 to 8 minutes. Turn dough onto a floured work surface and knead until smooth, 1 to 2 more minutes.
• Form dough into a ball, place dough into an oiled bowl, and turn dough around several times in bowl to coat with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, set into a warm place, and let rise until nearly double, about 1 hour.
• Grease a 5x9-inch loaf pan. Turn dough onto a lightly oiled surface, shape into a log, and place into prepared loaf pan. Cover with a cloth kitchen towel and let rise until top of dough has risen slightly over top of pan, 60 to 90 minutes.
• Place rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake loaf until golden brown and cooked through, about 35 minutes. The internal temperature of the bread should be 190 degrees F (90 degrees C). If loaf browns too quickly, cover loosely with a tent of aluminum foil with shiny side out. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

EASY RYE BREAD

Steps:

• Weigh out ingredients for the starter in your mixing bowl and whisk together. They should be the consistency of pancake batter.
• Measure out the remaining bread flour into the mixing bowl with starter (on top of starter).
• Make two wells in the dry bread flour, add the salt and caraway seeds in one, the yeast in the other.
• Place mixing bowl on its stand, cover (loosely with plastic wrap or a lid), and let ferment for 1-4 hours. The yeast will become active during this time.
• Measure out vegetable oil and reserve until ready for use.
• After the preliminary ferment, add oil to bowl and mix with a dough hook until a smooth, elastic dough ball is formed, about 5 minutes.
• Turn the dough out onto a greased countertop (olive oil or Pam Spray works well).
• Knead into a ball (1 minute) and place into a dough riser lightly coated with oil. Spray top of dough with oil, cover and let rise for 2 hours or until doubled in size*.
• Preheat oven with a pizza stone to 450°F Be sure that the stone and a cookie sheet (bottom shelf) are in the oven when you start pre-heating it.
• Turn bread dough out onto a lightly floured countertop and divide into two pieces.
• Form loaves and place them on a sheet of parchment paper that is roughly the same size as your pizza stone.
• Cover** and let rise for 45-60 minutes.
• After rising, slash the tops of the loaves using a serrated knife.
• Place the rolls in the oven using a pizza peel.*** At the same time, put a cup of ice on the cookie sheet to humidify your oven.
• Bake at 450 F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 F and continue baking for another 40 minutes. If your oven has a convection bake setting, switch to convection for the last 10 minute of baking.
• Cool on wire racks and enjoy!
• *If you are not ready to form the loaves after the first rise, you can punch the dough down and let it rise again until doubled in size. **I use a plastic storage container that is designed to store things under my bed. It is the perfect size and keeps my dough safe from cats, dogs and other critters. ***An inverted cookie tray works in a pinch. ****If smaller loaves are desired, divide dough into four pieces and reduce baking time by 10 minutes.

RYE BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400, and ensure a wire rack is in the middle position. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Sift the flours, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.
• Make a well in the center of the flours and pour in all of the buttermilk at once. Stir just until a dough forms.
• Scoop the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for about 30 seconds to bring it together.
• Using your hands, press the dough into an even flat disk.
• Sprinkle the top of the dough disk with about 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour.
• Next, make 4 deep slashes into the dough, about two-thirds of the way through. Be careful not to cut all the way through.
• Bake for 30 minutes, and then move the dough to the top rack of the oven. Bake for another 20 minutes to crisp up the surface.
• Let cool on a wire rack completely before serving with salted butter.

RYE BREAD - THE REAL STUFF

Steps:

• This is the way to make a real rye bread (as opposed to a bread containing rye flour).
• I have deliberately not given any measures.
• Firstly, I don't know, secondly, you can't make a proper bread if you simply measure up things and mix them together.
• Instead you need to produce a dough that feels right- don't worry, it's easy.
• First make a sour dough starter.
• Simply mix some flour- one or two cups- with water to make a thick, but rather runny paste.
• Put salt on top to stop it moulding, put a lid on and place it in a nice, warm place, eg on a radiator.
• Note: This procedure won't succeed if there are no natural yeasts and acid bacteria in the flour or the air.
• I have never had a problem, but who knows how things are where you live.
• After a few days it will be foaming and have a sour smell; I personally find the smell rather foul, but that's the way it should be, as long as it is sour and not turning any strange colour or getting mouldy.
• When the starter is ready, mix it with some lukewarm water.
• If you made your starter with one cup of flour, use~1 pint of water now.
• Add some salt.
• At this point you can add some 'roughage' too, like soaked, whole rye kernels or whatever.
• As the last step begin adding rye flour while mixing until the dough is firm enough to hand-knead.
• Tip it out on a floured table and continue adding flour and kneading until you feel the dough is 'right': when it doesn't stick too much to everything.
• Put it in a baking tin and leave it to rise; this can take quite a long time, maybe 8 hours.
• If you let it rise too long, it can turn very sour, but I usually leave for 4- 8 hours.
• Finally bake it at perhaps 125- 150 degrees Centigrade- haven't got a clue what it is in Fahrenheit, but it's not very warm.
• It should bake for at least 2 hours and the door should not be fully closed.
• It is a good idea to spray the bread with water from time to time to ensure that the crust doesn't separate from the rest of the bread.
• This bread will often be very sticky inside when it is fresh.
• The best things to do about it (in my opinion) is to allow the bread to settle- dry out a bit, basically- for a day or two.
• Some people add some wheat flour to the recipe, but that's cheating if you ask me.
• One thing that gives this bread a very nice taste is malt.
• Another thing: horses are crazy about rye bread!

RYE BREAD

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine yeast and 1/2 cup of lukewarm water (100-120 degrees Farenheit) and stir to dissolve any lumps. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside while the yeast rehydrates, 5 minutes or so. It will be a little bubbly and yeasty-smelling when it's ready.
• Meanwhile, gently heat 2 Cups of milk in the microwave or on the stovetop until warm to the touch but not bubbling.
• In a very large bowl, combine shortening, brown sugar, and salt and mix until well combined. Add the molasses and the warmed milk, stir. Take the temperature of your mix here if you can - anything warmer than 120 will need to cool a few minutes to avoid killing the yeast.
• Add your yeast to the milk mixture along with the rye flour, stir until combined. Once the rye flour is incorporated, begin adding the unbleached flour, 1 Cup at a time stirring in each cup before adding another, until the mix begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
• Turn your dough out onto a floured surface and kneed, adding flour as needed to prevent it from sticking too badly to your hands or counter, for 8-10 minutes. You could have a slightly springy, glossy ball when you're finished kneeding.
• Place your dough ball into a large bowl sprayed will nonstick spray, turning the ball over once so all surfaces are coated. Cover with a tea towel and set in a warm spot for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until approximately doubled in size.
• Turn your risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press the air out gently with your hands. Kneed again a few times, and place back into a greased bowl, turning once, and cover again to rise for another hour.
• After the dough has risen a second time, turn it out onto a floured surface. Press the air out of it gently, and cut in half with a large knife.
• Stretch each half into a rectangle, with the short side of the rectangles approximately the length of your bread pan. Starting on the short side, roll each rectangle up to make a log, and place seam sides down into 2 greased 5x9 pans. You can score the tops of the loaves now, if you like. Cover and allow to rise one last time, about one hour or until the dough rises at least as high as the edge of the pans.
• Preheat your oven to 350 with the rack positioned in the middle of the oven and bake loaves for 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn out of pans immediately. Cover with a tea towel and allow to cool completely before slicing.

RYE BREAD

Steps:

• Mix 1/4 cup of rye flour with 2 to 3 Tbs. of water, enough to make a stiff paste, in a 1 quart saucepan.
• Cover tightly and leave 24 hours in a warm quiet corner of the kitchen. It will be sour and fermented when you uncover it.
• Add 2 to 3 Tbs. of water and 1/4 cup of rye flour. Stir until smooth.
• Cover pan and let stand another 24 hours.
• Prepare yeast mixture: Dissolve the yeast in water.
• Stir in sugar and flour until smooth.
• Cover and let rise until bubbly and doubled in volume.
• Combine the remaining 4 cups of rye flour, the white flour and salt in a large bowl.
• Add sourdough & yeast mixture and work into a stiff dough.
• Add 1 1/2 cups water & honey.
• Turn out onto board & knead thoroughly.
• Cover & let raise about 1/2 hour.
• Punch down and knead into smooth ball.
• Cut in half and knead each half into a smooth round loaf.
• Set on greased baking sheet and let raise until doubled.
• Brush with beaten egg white and bake at 350º F for about 1 hour.

RYE SODA BREAD

Steps:

• First, pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5 (180C).
• Now, mix the first three ingredients, the dry stuff.
• Then, mix the next two ingredients into the flour mix, and stir quickly with a wooden spoon. Try not to over work the mixture - just combine it. Add more milk if it's not working.
• Pop this into a lined 2lb loaf tin. Then, just before putting into the oven, throw some ice-cubes onto the bottom shelf of the oven to create a little steam. This helps make the loaf rise before the crust sets.
• Bake in the centre of the oven for around 45 - 50 minutes. The loaf should sound hollow when it's tapped underneath. Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then finish cooling on a rack.

THE ULTIMATE JEWISH RYE BREAD

Steps:

• In the starter, the caraway seeds can be ground in a coffee or spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. In the bakery we crush the seeds with a rolling pin. The crushed seeds disappear in the ferment and add a distinctive flavor to the sour. The minced onion helps to hasten the fermentation and adds flavor.
• Starter:
• Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until smooth. The mixture should have a thin, soupy consistency.
• Cover and allow to stand in a warm spot until bubbly and fermented. It can be left up to 24 hours.
• *Note: Save the rest of the packet for the first dough.
• Rye Sour, Developing and Fortifying: In making sour use approximately ¾ to 1 cup flour to each ½ cup water. (Notice that Stage One calls for a higher ratio. This is done to adjust for the initial consistency of the starter.)
• The object is to make a thick consistency as close as possible to that of a soft dough. It is not necessary to thicken to the point that the mixing becomes burdensome. If the mixture is too soupy, add more flour ¼ cup at a time. Mix until smooth.
• ***
• Stage 1:
• In a large bowl or container, combine the water, 1 ¼ cups of the flour, and the Starter; stir until smooth. The dough should pull slightly and may start to come away from sides of the bowl. Wipe down the sides of the bowl with wet hands or a bowl scraper.
• Sprinkle ¼ cup flour over the entire surface of the sour. Let stand, covered with a cloth or clear plastic wrap, until doubled in size and the floured top appears cracked with fissures spread widely apart. This may take 4 to 8 hours. Avoid letting the sour collapse.
• ***
• Stage 2:
• To the Stage One sour add the water and ¾ cup of the flour; mix until smooth. Wipe down the sides of the bowl.
• Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup flour over the entire surface of the sour. Allow to rise in a warm area 4 to 8 hours.
• ***
• Proceed with Stage Three:
• As the sour begins to rise, you can refrigerate it at any stage for later use or overnight for mixing the following day.
• Refrigeration retards the rate of growth of the sour, which continues to rise slowly. Whenever time permits, I prefer to make two stages the day before, refrigerating the second stage overnight and preparing the third stage the morning of baking.
• If the dough is to be mixed first thing in the morning, the third stage is prepared the evening before, so it can rise slowly all night and be ready in the morning.
• To the Stage Two sour add the water and the 1 cup flour. Mix until smooth. Additional flour can be added to attain a dough-like consistency. The sour, when fully risen in Stage Three, is ready for use in the dough.
• When the third stage is mixed, set aside ¼ to ½ cup and refrigerate in a covered container with a light film of cold water floated over the top. I have kept sour under refrigeration for months at a time.
• *Note: Use warm water if the sour has been refrigerated.
• It is best to stir down the starter every 3 to 4 days if unused. Periodically (every 10 to 12 days) dispose of half and refresh it by mixing in equal amounts of flour and water. If there is some discoloration on the top, it can safely be skimmed off and the sour used as normal.
• When going away for long periods of time, I freeze a small amount of sour. When preparing a new starter from scratch, I add the frozen sour to preserve my original culture. To ensure the proper strength of the sour, in each stage you can only double the amount of starter you begin with.
• For example, if beginning with ¼ cup starter, you can add up to ½ cup water plus flour to thicken. If Stage One contains 1 cup sour, Stage Two can be prepared with up to 2 cups water plus flour. If a large amount of sour is required, extra stages can be added.
• Sometimes the process goes awry. Perhaps there is insufficient sour left to start the next batch, or the sour might have been forgotten and was left standing to get old or dry. There is a remedy.
• The bakers call it an einfrisch, meaning to refresh. A small amount of sour is thinned down with water to a soupy consistency. Swishing ¼ cup water around in what remains clinging to the sides of the empty bowl can yield enough to restart the sour. Let this einfrisch stand, covered, at room temperature or in a warm spot until bubbly. If desperate, add a pinch of yeast.
• When ready, add enough flour to make a first stage, allow to rise, and proceed with two more stages.
• ***
• For the Rye Bread:
• In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in the warm water and add the sour. Add the altus. Without stirring, add 3 cups of the flour and salt. Gently stir the dry ingredients with your fingertips to incorporate, then stir with a wooden spoon, adding more flour as necessary until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.
• Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface and knead. If the dough is moist and sticky, add more flour ¼ cup at a time. Knead until the dough feels soft and silky (5 to 8 minutes). Rye dough will be softer than usual and tend to feel sticky.
• Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and turn several times to coat. Cover and allow to rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Punch down, sprinkle with the caraway seeds.
• Shaping:
• Shape the balls into 2 free-standing pan loaves.
• Place on a rye flour- or commeal-dusted baking sheet.
• In the bakery we proof the leaves and bake them on the oven hearth using a wooden peel. Cover and allow to rise until doubled in size. Brush with the cornstarch solution, then cut 3 horizontal slashes on the top of each loaf.
• Baking:
• Bake with steam in a preheated 375 degree F oven until tapping the bottom with your fingertips produces a hollow sound.
• Specifically, the loaves are done when the crust is very firm, the internal temperature is at least 205 degrees and the loaves give a "hollow" sound when thumped on the bottom (35 to 45 minutes).
• When they are done, leave them in the oven with the heat turned off and the door cracked open a couple of inches for another 5-10 minutes.
• The top and sides should feel hard to the touch. Brush again with the cornstarch solution, then let cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before slicing.
• Yield Makes 2 loaves.
• Notes:
• Altus - is European in origin, and little known outside of the bakery establishment. Newcomers to the bakery think of it as a method of using up stale bread.
• However, as with many old-fashioned techniques, bakers find that it enhances the desirable qualities of certain breads. Its use seems to have begun in the making of pumpernickel doughs, and the best of these breads often contain altus.
• Altus is a mash made by slicing and trimming the crusts from leftover sour rye bread, soaking the trimmed bread in water for several hours or overnight under refrigeration, squeezing it dry, and adding small amounts to the bread dough.
• Altus intensifies the distinctive flavor of pumpernickel and rye bread and helps them retain moisture. When using altus, allow for a little extra flour in the recipe. The mash keeps well, covered, in the refrigerator.
• Common flour - called first clear or clear flour, must be obtained from a bakery. You can substitute 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour plus ¾ cup cake flour, but the bread won't taste as good. 2 cups Rye Sour can be used instead of 3 cups for a milder taste.
• Cornstarch solution is used before slashing the top of the bread and placing it in the oven. Bring 1 cup water to boil dissolve 2 tablespoons cornstarch in ¼ cup cold water; then whisk into the boiling water until it thickens. This solution may be kept for several days. For a high shine, brush a second time as soon as the bread emerges from the oven.