I posted this a few years ago. But this year's batch was really good, so it seemed worth posting again.
Swedish Rye
(makes 1 full size or 4 small loaves of bread)
First make the sponge:Scald 1 cup of milk (whole is best, but skimmed works for those of you counting cholesterol)
Pour it onto a mixture:
- 1 tablespoon butter (can substitute margarine)
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1.5 tsp fennel
- 1.5 tsp instant coffee
- 1/4 tsp salt (can omit, if you want)
Then add:
- 3 tablespoon sugar
- 1.5 tsp orange peel
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 cup of rye flour
- 1 cup of whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup white flour.
Then make the loaf:
Add 2 cups of white flour to the sponge, gradually kneading until firm and consistent. Usually takes about 10 minutes for the whole loaf, and another 5 minutes if you choose to break it into small loaves. Once your loaves are ready, let them rise in a warm place for an hour or two.
Baking:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake 50 minutes for full-sized loaf, 28 minutes for small size loaf.
Cool on rack, and then:
Devour with honey or peanut butter (also makes a mean grilled cheese sandwich). Both the making and the eating of this bread will improve your mental health.