Tuesday, September 11, 2012

A serious rye bread

I tend to make fluffy rye breads that are destined for sandwiches, but sometimes what I really want is a dense, chewy rye.

This isn't something you'd use for a sandwich (well, I wouldn't, but maybe you would.) But this kind of bread is perfect for slicing thin for appetizers or for tossing into the bread basket. This would be perfect for the chopped chicken livers that I made recently.

It would also be great for one of my favorite little snacks - cream cheese and raw onion on rye bread.

It's also great with a simple little smear of good butter.

Chomp, chomp, chewy rye

1 1/4 cup buttermilk
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup rye flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1 cup bread flour
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon caraway seeds

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the buttermilk, instant yeast, rye flour, oat flour, bread flour, and wheat gluten. Knead until the mixture is smooth. It won't be as elastic as a wheat dough, and it will be a little bit sticky.

Add the salt, olive oil, sesame seeds, and caraway seeds. Continue kneading until the ingredients are completely incorporated.

Cover the bowl and set aside until the dough has doubled in size, about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and sprinkle some cornmeal on a baking sheet.

Flour your work surface and turn out the dough. Knead the dough briefly and form it into a ball. Place the ball, seam-side down, on your prepared baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until doubled in size - about 30 minutes. It's likely to spread sideways as much as it rises - that's fine.

Remove the plastic wrap and bake at 350 degrees until the dough is nicely browned, about 35 minutes.

Remove the bread from the oven and cool completely on a rack before slicing.

This has been submitted to Yeastspotting.
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