BREAD-RYE() - SWEDISH RYE BREAD
SWEDISH RYE BREAD - A sweet, dark whole-grain rye bread
This recipe comes from my great-grandmother, who emigrated from Sweden and
brought this recipe with her.
It makes a sweet, dark bread, and (like most whole-grain
breads) it tends to be a bit heavy.
INGREDIENTS (Makes 3 loaves)
- 500 ml (2 cups)
- milk
- 250 ml (1 cup)
- water
- 100 g (½ cup)
- brown sugar
- 14 g (½ oz)
- dry yeast
(two packages)
- 600 g (6 cups)
- rye flour
(approximate)
- 300 g (3 cups)
- white flour
(approximate)
- 100 g (½ cup)
- granulated sugar
- 125 ml (½ cup)
- vegetable oil
- 60 ml (¼ cup)
- dark molasses
- 10 ml (2 tsp)
- anise seeds,
crushed
- 5 ml (1 tsp)
- salt
PROCEDURE
- (1)
-
Scald the milk and combine it with the water and brown sugar in a very
large bowl. (You need something that holds at least 4 or 5
liters .)
When the mixture is lukewarm, dissolve the yeast in it, then stir in
200 g
rye flour and
100 g
white flour to make a paste.
- (2)
-
Let the mixture rise in a warm place until it is light and foamy. This
usually takes about 30 minutes to an hour. Check it frequently—it can
really make a mess if it rises enough to overflow the bowl. (I'm sure they
could make a great horror movie about a gigantic blob of bread dough that
keeps getting bigger and bigger as it consumes everything in its
path....)
- (3)
-
Stir in the granulated sugar, oil, molasses, anise seed and salt, and
enough flour to make a stiff dough, using 2 parts rye to 1 part white.
Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic,
adding more flour to keep it from sticking to your hands.
- (4)
-
Clean and grease the bowl. Put the dough in the bowl, turning it to
grease all sides. Cover the bowl loosely with a clean towel and let the
dough rise until it's doubled in bulk. Punch it down and let rise until
double again.
- (5)
-
Divide the dough into three loaves and put in greased pans. (I usually
make round loaves and bake them on cookie sheets.) Cover with the towel
and let rise until double again.
- (6)
-
Bake for about 45 minutes at
175°C .
Because of the high sugar content, this bread can burn rather easily;
watch it closely so it doesn't get too dark.
NOTES
Rye flour can be a little hard to find these days. You may have to visit a
store that specializes in natural foods. Avoid the kind that is very
coarsely ground with big chunks of bran in it, though; this doesn't seem to
have any gluten at all in it, and since the proportion of rye flour is so
high in this recipe, the texture of the bread will come out all wrong. You
need something that looks more like ordinary flour.
RATING
Difficulty:
moderate.
Time:
30 minutes preparation, several hours rising, 1 hour baking and cooling.
Precision:
measure the ingredients.
CONTRIBUTOR
Sandra Loosemore
Evans & Sutherland Computer Corporation, Salt Lake City
{decwrl, utah-gr!uplherc}!esunix!loosemor