Honey raisin rye bread

3 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
2 packs Quick rising dry yeast
2½ cup Tepid water (110 degrees)
2 cups Rye flour
4 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 teaspoon Salt -- disolved in
1 teaspoon Water
1 cup Raisins
3 tablespoons Honey
Cormeal -- for
Baking-optional

Directions

This recipe is based on the Basic Bread Dough recipe written in the Frugal Gourmet's "Whole Family Cookbook" by Jeff Smith. He writes how to make rye bread out of this recipe I tried to incorporate the changes he wrote for the rye recipe then added several of my own, Raisins and Honey. Hope I succeded. I made this and it tasted great. You can always refer to the book for additional information.

Dissolve the yeast in water. (Tepid not hot, not cool, but barely warm.) Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir to dissolve. The total weight of both flours together should weigh 2 lbs 3 oz if you are weighing. (I didn't weigh) Make a batter of the water and yeast together with 2 cups of rye and 2 cups of wheat flour. Beat for 10 minutes with an electric mixer. Toss in the raisins and honey as you are beating. The batter will pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl. Add the salted water. Add the remaining flour and knead for 5 minutes in a good mixer (Frugal Gourmet uses a Kitchen Aid.) or 15 minutes by hand (I did it by hand). Place on a Formica counter, or a piece of plastic wrap, and cover with a large metal bowl. Let rise until double the bulk, 1 to 1½ hours. Punch down, and let rise for another 1 ½ hours. Punch down again and mold into 3 or 4 loaves. Let the loaves rise. The Frugal Gourmet uses an extra oven with a pan of hot water in the bottom. This allows for steam heat, perfect for rising dough. Place the loaves on a greased baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. When the loaves have risen to double their original bulk, place them in the upper one third of the oven. IMPORTANT: Place a pan of hot water on the bottom shelf. This will assure you of a great crust. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the bread is nicely browned and the loaves sound hollow when you thump their bottoms with your finger. Do not bake in bread pans. Just form a couple of round loaves and let them rise. Be sure to mist the loaves with water while baking. (I sprayed water every so often from a simple water sprayer set on the mist setting) If you wish your bread to have an Old World look, simply dust the loaves with flour before the final rising. You can use an egg and water glaze, but the Frugal Gourmet say's he is convinced that you will get a much better crust if you simply use flour.

The bread is so rich that you need not put butter on it. The French rarely eat butter on bread. And if you wish to reduce or eliminate salt in the bread, simply cut down on the amount of salt in the recipe. It is tasty without. From The Frugal Gourmet "Whole Family Cookbook" by Jeff Smith p286.

Recipe By :

From: Big Flavors Of The Hot Sun By Chr File

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