Rye Bread

Gluten-free people, look away now..

I really enjoy baking bread. That feeling you get when you uncover the bowl and the dough has risen and looks picture-perfect just cannot be beat. Now, I have tended toward baking white breads, which are fairly easy to work with, but I love the taste of denser, darker breads.

Rye flour is notoriously harder to work with. You don’t get a soft, pliable dough like you do with normal bread flour, but it is by no means impossible to bake a rye loaf, especially if you use half regular white bread flour and half rye. And the flour itself is easy to find, my local supermarket had their “own brand” version, even!

One issue I had with mine was that it actually rose quite a lot quicker than I was expecting, but I continued to leave it to prove, according to the recipe I had used. I think that made for a slightly too malty loaf for my tastes. This loaf doesn’t really need to rise overnight, 4-6 hours in a warm place is plenty.

Ingredients

• 250g rye flour
• 250g plain flour
• 100g linseeds (optional)
• 10g yeast
• 5g salt
• 2 tbsp runny honey
• 340ml lukewarm water
• Drizzle of groundnut oil, for kneeding

Method

Measure out and stir together the flours and linseeds in a large bowl. In one side of the bowl place the salt, and in the other side, place the yeast. Make a well in the middle and pour in the honey and 250ml of the water. Mix together with your hands.

Gradually add in the rest of the water (you may not need it all) and continue to mix with your hands, catching the dry pieces of dough in the bowl as you go.

Pour the oil onto a clean surface and place the dough on top.

Kneed for 5-10 minutes- but this will not be the light, stretchy dough of white bread, it is tougher to work with and a lot stiffer. But it is worth it! Once kneeded, form into a round thick disc and place smooth side down in a bowl. Cover tightly with a tea-towel and set aside to rise for 4-6 hours, until doubled in size.

Ta-da! The fruits of labour

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Meanwhile, half-fill a roasting pan with water and place it in the bottom of the oven. The steam generated will help make a crust on the bread.

Tip out the bread onto a baking tray lined with parchment.

Cut a cross in the centre of the bread with a knife, and put in the oven.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remember, you will know it is done because it will sound hollow when you tap the bottom.

X marks the spot

Allow to cool slightly before slicing – tastes amazing warm from the oven with some salted butter!