Caraway Rye Bread
This seeded light-colored, soft rye bread is delicious for deli sandwiches — corned beef on
rye, anyone?
PREP 10 mins /BAKE 35 to 40 mins TOTAL 3 hrs 25 mins
YIELD 1 large loaf or 2 smaller loaves
Ingredients
1 cup (227g) lukewarm water
1 cup (106g) white rye, medium rye, or pumpernickel flour
4 teaspoons (14g) sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 cup (113g) sour cream (low-fat is fine; please don't use nonfat)
1 to 2 tablespoons (7g to 14g) caraway seeds, to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/3 cups (280g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or First Clear Flour
3 tablespoons (25g) vital wheat gluten or rye bread improver, optional, for best rise
Instructions
1. Note: Thanks to reader feedback, as of February 22, 2013, changes have been made
to this recipe to create a less sticky dough, one easier to work with and shape; and to
ensure the bread doesn't sink in the center after baking.
2. The amount of water has been reduced from 1 1/4 cups to 1 cup; and the amount of
rye flour has been decreased from 1 1/4 cups to 1 cup, with the amount of all-purpose
flour increasing from 2 cups to 2 1/3 cups.
3. In addition, the sugar has been decreased by 2 teaspoons.
4. In a medium-sized mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the water,
sugar, rye flour and yeast, mixing to form a soft batter. Let the mixture rest for 20
minutes; this allows the rye flour to absorb some of the liquid, making the dough
easier to knead.
5. Add the remaining ingredients, and mix and knead the dough together — by hand,
mixer or bread machine — until it's fairly smooth. The nature of rye dough is to be
sticky, so don't be tempted to add too much flour.
6. Place the dough in an oiled bowl or large (8-cup) measure, cover, and let it rise until
noticeably puffy, 60 to 90 minutes.
Perfect your technique
Caraway Rye Bread
7. Gently deflate the dough, knead it briefly, and shape it into two smooth oval or round
loaves; or one long oval loaf. Place them on a lightly greased or parchment-lined
baking sheet.
8. Cover the loaves, and let them rise until they're noticeably puffy, about 90 minutes.
Towards the end of the rise, preheat the oven to 180°C.
9. Just before they go into the oven, spritz the loaves with water, and slash them about
1/2" deep. The oval loaves look good with one long, vertical slash; the rounds, with
two or three shorter slashes across the top.
10. Bake the loaves for 35 to 40 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted
into the centre reads 96°C to 100°C. The single, larger loaf will bake for 45 to 50
minutes. If the bread appears to be browning too quickly, tent it lightly with foil after
25 minutes of baking.
11. Remove the loaves from the oven, and transfer them to a rack. While still warm, brush
them with melted butter, if desired; this will keep their crust soft.
Tips from our Bakers
Don't throw away that dill or sour pickle juice! It's a great substitute for the water in
this recipe. Depending on the saltiness of the juice, you'll want to cut back the salt in
the recipe to 3/4 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon.
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/
