This recipe is a very slightly modified version of The Easiest Rye Bread Ever from King Arthur Baking. It really is easy, and it’s delicious. The only changes I make are to substitute a tablespoon of white distilled vinegar for a tablespoon of the water, and to add 2 tablespoons of caraway seeds.
I strongly recommend using a cooking scale to weigh your ingredients. It’s really easy and makes for reliable results. I just put the mixing bowl on the scale and add ingredients to the correct weight.
The Easiest Rye Bread Ever
from King Arthur Baking
Equipment
- Oven
- Mixing bowl
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Something to stir with
- Baking parchment
- 4-5 quart Dutch oven
- Cooling rack
Ingredients
- 1 & 1/2 cups Lukewarm water About 100 degrees F, 340 grams
- 2 & 1/3 cups Unbleached bread flour 280 grams
- 1.5 cups Medium or dark rye flour 163 grams
- 1/4 cup Dried milk
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons Table salt (not kosher)
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons Instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons Vegetable oil or softened butter 25 grams for oil, 28 grams for butter
- 2 tablespoons Caraway seeds
- 1 tablespoon Distilled white vinegar
Instructions
- To make the dough: Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Mix until there are no dry spots; a plastic bowl scraper is your best tool if you're mixing by hand. Using a stand mixer, mix at low speed until all of the flour is moistened. The texture of the dough will be soft and sticky due to the pumpernickel flour.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough rise at room temperature for 2 hours. Then refrigerate overnight, or for up to 48 hours.
- To bake bread: Grease your hands, and scoop the dough out onto a lightly greased or floured work surface. Shape it into a ball and place it, smooth side down, on a piece of baking parchment, then put into a bowl to keep it from spreading out too much. Cover the dough and let it rise until it's very puffy, about 2 to 3 hours.
- About 45 minutes before the end of the rising time, start preheating the oven to 450°F with a 4- to 4 1/2-quart baking pot or casserole with a lid inside. Note: Make sure the manufacturer's directions for the baking pot or casserole you use say it's OK to preheat both the empty pot and lid in the oven before using.
- When the loaf is fully risen, remove the hot casserole from the oven, then pick up the dough with the baking parchment (using oven mitts) and put the parchment and the dough into the casserole. Make several slashes in the dough. Cover the pot with the lid, and place it on a middle rack in the oven.
- Bake the bread for 25 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes; the loaf should be lightly browned, and the interior should register at least 195°F on a digital thermometer.
- Remove the bread from the oven and use the baking parchment (and oven mitts) to place the bread on a cooling rack. Cool for several hours before slicing.
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