Rye Bread Free Form or Loaf Pan Baked

Chef's notes

Rye Breads can be made with a range of textures and flavor tones. Landbrot is the Country style Rye Bread of Germany. Its name translates to “Bread of the Land”. The French have a hardy Rye Bread formed into baguette and as we all know; New Yorkers have their own version that includes caraway seeds. Below I also have my recipe for Potato Rye Bread, again with a unique texture.

This rye bread is very flavorful. Pan loaves and free formed are perfect for sandwich and for bread baskets.

As with several other bread recipes, James Beard influenced this recipe. Throughout the years I’ve made some modifications. Mine is a little sweeter, more yeast makes it a little lighter with quicker rise time, and assembly a little easier.

With these proportions, dough can be made into free formed loaves, baked in two 4” x 8” loaf pans. Pictured above, loaf was made in a 5” x 11” pan; remainder hand formed.

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Ingredients

1 cup hot tap water
1 cup warmed whole milk
2 tablespoon instant dry yeast
¼ cup honey
2 tablespoons butter softened or melted
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1 heaping tablespoon salt
2 ½ cup rye flour
2 ½ to 3 cup unbleached wheat flour

Egg wash

One egg white
2 tablespoons water

Instructions

In a mixer with dough hook (or large bowl if mixing by hand), add water, milk, yeast, honey, and caraway seeds. Whisk for a couple of minutes. Relax mixture for another couple of minutes. Add salt and 1^st cup rye flour; mix. Gradually kneed with remaining rye flour.
Add first two cups of unbleached flour in mixer kneading a little at a time. Slowly add more until dough starts releasing from sides. Bottom should still be sticky. Using as little flour as needed will produce moister bread. Remove dough to a floured counter. Hand shape dough into a ball and place into a bowl. Cover top with plastic wrap and a moistened towel over bowl. Place in a warm location.
Butter loaf pan(s) or cookie sheet if making free formed. Sprinkle with corn flour and shake out excess.
When dough doubles in size, return to floured counter and give dough a final kneed. If using smaller pans, divide dough in half and form both halves into logs the length of the pans and insert. If using the larger pan, form about 2/3^rd into a log; the remaining dough into free formed rolls. Place free formed loaves on the buttered cookie sheet.
Allow dough to partly rise again while preheating oven to 400° direct heat. Place an empty cookie sheet as a baffle on the bottom oven tray.
Using a very sharp knife or razor blade, score tops to your preferred pattern. Place tray/loaf pans in oven. Loaves will be ready when nicely browned, about 40 minutes. Test by tapping on their bottoms. They should sound hollow when tapped. Wait until bread mostly cools but is still warm before cutting. Freeze any bread that won’t be eaten within a day or two.

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Rye Bread Free Form or Loaf Pan Baked