One of the great pleasures of living in Europe is the wide array of breads in various forms, tastes, textures and colours available. Healthy rye bread is gaining popularity because of its wholesomeness, high nutritional value and may be more beneficial in weight loss than wheat. Breads made with rye flour have a longer shelf life and taste fresh longer than breads made with wheat flours. It is also often combined with other flours because of its low protein / gluten content.
Many so-called rye breads are actually a mixture of rye and wheat, or some other grain that’s easier to work with. Rye bread in Germany, according to the law, must be made with no less than 90% rye. Any bread with a lower percentage of rye flour is called Mischbrot, either Roggenmischbrot / mixed rye bread or Weizenmischbrot / mixed wheat bread.
Rye flour is darker than wheat flour and it has higher amounts of vitamins B and E. Earthy, tangy rye bread is often made with additions like honey, malt syrup, or cocoa powder, which add colour, aroma and flavour. Very often bread seasoning / bread spice / Brotgewürz, like caraway, dill, fennel, anis, coriander, or cardamom, is added to the dough according to personal or regional preference, and they make the bread particularly tasty, aromatic and also aid digestion.
While you can make bread with 100% rye, which is difficult to work or knead and the crumb tends to be denser, heavier and tighter, though taste more distinctly of rye, very digestible and nutritious if made as a sourdough. That means it needs a lot of help if you aim to get a fluffy, airy product. One of commen practices is the addition of some wheat flour. Wheat flour can be added in any ratio that suits your taste and liking to help form a better gluten structure and get a good rise but still keeps good rye flavour and aroma.
Light and soft inside with a very crunchy crust, this bread is a great choice for corned beef, roast beef, or pastrami sandwiches slathered with grainy mustard and topped with cheese. It freezes very well too. Wrap it in plastic wrap and aluminum foil, then store in a freezer bag for up to three months. Thaw at room temperature and reheat in the oven if desired.
Rye Mix Bread with Honey
inspired by Roggen-Krustenbrot mit Honig
|
- In the mixing bowl of your table mixer fixed with a dough hook, add rye flour, bread flour, sourdough, honey, and fresh yeast. Mix at slow speed while you slowly add in water until the ingredients roughly come together. Increase the speed to medium and stir for 5 minutes. Now add in salt and continue to mix for a further 2 minutes until the a firm dough forms.
- Turn out onto a work surface and shape into a ball. Grease the mixing bowl with a bit of olive oil and return the dough ball to the bowl. Cover with a plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm, moist environment until double in volume.
- Fold the edges of the dough inwards several times and let the dough rise again for 1 hour.
- Lightly flour your work surface and gently shape the dough into an oval batard or round ball. Place the shaped dough into a well floured bread basket with the seam sides up. Cover the dough with a slightly moist kitchen towel and let rise for about an hour.
- Meanwhile preheat the oven to 240C/470F with a pizza stone on the 2nd bottom rack and a baking tray at the bottom.
- Turn the puffy dough onto a floured parchment paper or the floured back of a baking sheet. Use a sharp knife, razor blade, or bread lame to score a couple of lines across the dough. (here is a scoring tutorial just in case you are interested) Place the dough onto the pizza stone and throw a few ice cubes into the baking tray at the bottom to generate some steam.
- Close the oven door immediately and bake the bread for about 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 210C/410F and bake for 30-35 more minutes until the bread crust is deep golden brown. Remove and cool the bread on a wire rack.
44 comments:
That bread looks amazing!
The bread looks fantastic!
...looks GREAT!
Gracias por la receta. Se ve tan rico el pan. La haré pronto, te mando un beso.
you are amazing breadmaker Angie...
the shape of this rye bread remembering me with cocoa ^^
have a nice weekend ^^
Que bien debe saber y oler ese pan, es uno de mis preferidos, para mi cuanta menos adición de trigo lleve, mucho mejor.
Un beso.
Looks lovely! I eat rye bread every day, I don't buy white one, but the prices are going shockingly up due to the crisis in Europe. Soon, one loaf will be one euro, which is too much for our salaries here.
I'd love to try it. Looks incredible!
that crust looks spectacular and the inside perfect!
Generally, rye breads are heavier because they do not have enough gluten to allow them to be lighter.
Wholemeal bread is not less fattening or causes us to lose weight, the truth is that it contains more fiber and this causes more chewing, causing us to fill up quickly.
Kisses Angie
Germany really offers an amazing variety of breads. All of Europe, as you point out, but I think Germany really stands out. Anyway, this looks terrific -- gorgeous looking loaf, neat recipe. Thanks!
What a gorgeous loaf. And thank you for all the info! I completely agree with your suggestions for sandwiches and mustard. All as I was reading and oogling the pictures, I was thinking the same thing!
Angie,
Boy would my husband love this bread. He is quite a fan of hearty rye breads. We usually buy them in a Russian store near by.
Looks great!
The loaf looks beautiful! It seems to be worth trying... I am very short of time nowadays but later I will give it a try one day :-)
That bread looks amazing Angie. And delicious. I've never tried rye sourdough, but I have tried making a sourdough bread with rye flour. There was definitely learning curve there. Happy weekend. Hugs-Erika
Che brava, il tuo pane è riuscito veramente bene! Sarà molto buono!
What a great bread!....and your right!!...Europe is blessed with the variety of breads....I remember that in Southern Italy you move from one village to another (10 minutes driving), and you have local breads totally different from one another......I love your bread!......Abrazotes, Marcela
This dark bread looks amazing!
Un pane favoloso, complimenti!!!
As always, your bread looks beautiful.
How amazing does this bread look!
xoxo
Lovely
www.mynameislovely.com
Rye bread is our favourite!
I love your recipes so much! They are absolutely precious and innovative.
Such a beautiful loaf with an amazing crust. And I bet it tastes amazing (I love dark rye breads)
Oh I love rye bread. This is perfect for Easter
Oh this looks so delicious.
Absolutely stunning! Love the crust. I would like to taste one loaf of this amazing bread
You are a professional in making breads, Angie..this looks so good !!
Ooh, I'd love a thick slice covered in butter. Such a gorgeous loaf with the slashing and floured surface!
You make the most beautiful loaves of bread!
Another perfect creation Angie! Like what Pam said you make the most beautiful loaves of bread!
You are great in breadmaking, it looks fantastic and delicious with butter. Agree with you Angie as breads in europe are the best.
This loaf of bread is so beautiful. I didn't realize all of the health benefits rye has to offer. All the more reason to eat/make it. :-) ~Valentina
Oh Angie, this loaf is fantastic. A true weakness of mine, good bread.
Wow fantastico!!!!
mmm rye bread. so tasty!
This bread must to be delicious
Angie te ha quedado fabuloso :-)))
Hello Angie,
Your rye bread looks yummy! Thank you for the recipe!
Take care, have a happy weekend!
Your breadmaking skills are on a class of their own. Worthy of a standing ovation, my friend!
We often rye bread but this one looks amazing.
This is an excellent showcase of your baking skills :)
Your rye sourdough looks perfect Angie. I don't think mine has ever looked as good. I gave up on make 100% rye sourdough a long time ago. I liked the result, but always found it difficult to get out of the tin. Now I make a freestanding one with a good proportion of wheat flours included.
As always, any thoughts, comments, and suggestions that you may have are welcome and greatly appreciated. Please remember to use the "Name/Url" when commenting rather than linking to your profile page for more exposure!