GERMAN RYE BREAD

I love the taste of rye bread. It has a deep, lightly roasted flavor with a faint earthy aroma, especially when it’s warm goodness wafts from the oven or it’s just been toasted and slathered with softened butter! Mmmm! … Ok, I’m back. I just had to take a moment there! Did I mention I love rye bread?

This particular “caraway-free” rye bread is another tradition found in and around western Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado. The Volga Germans that settled in these states brought with them various recipes for a rye bread developed from a “starter” that is meant to ferment for a few hours up to over night before adding additional flour and allowing the dough to rise another 2-3 times. The “starter” in this recipe speeds up the process a little by using buttermilk, therefore the first mixture and rise is indeed the “starter”, eliminating the need for a 24-hour fermentation time. The recipe and process is not complicated, however it will require your intermittent attention for 4-6 hours-but be assured-the wait is definitely worth it! You’re welcome!

**If you would like to know more about the Volga Germans that immigrated to Russia during the mid-18th century, the Volga Germans website has a plethora of information. There’s even a page where you can look up surnames and match them to original locations in Russia. It’s a great site for the slightly curious to the erudite history buff!

German Rye Bread

a delicious light rye bread without caraway-a tradition of the Germans in Western Nebraska.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Time for dough to rise 4 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 5 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Side Dish

Cuisine American, German

Servings 15 -20

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 1/2 Cups water
• 1 Small Potato peeled About a 2” square piece or 2 Tbsp (optional)
• 4 Tbsp Butter cut into 4 or 5 pieces
• 1/2 Cup Buttermilk
• 1 Package Active Dry Yeast
• 1/4 Cup Sugar
• 2 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 2 Cups Rye Flour Medium Rye is best, but light or dark Rye Flour will work
• 3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil Or your preference of a neutral oil.
• 1 Egg Beaten, to use as an egg wash

Instructions

 

• In a small saucepan, place in the potato and water. Cover and bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and let the potato steep in the water for about 5 minutes, remove and discard the potato. Cool the water until lukewarm, between 105°-110°. (You will use it at this temp. when you add the yeast.)
• In a separate saucepan, or in the microwave, heat the butter and buttermilk together until the butter melts. Cool until it’s lukewarm.
• In a large bowl, place in the Active Dry Yeast and Sugar, and then pour in the potato water, (at 105°-110°). Stir to combine and let rest for about 5 minutes to let the yeast activate.
• To the mixture add the Butter and Buttermilk, and then the salt. Stir everything to combine.
• To the mixture, add the Rye flour. Mix this until it is very smooth.
• To this mixture add half of the All-Purpose Flour. Continue to mix and combine. You will probably need to use your hands at this point. 

  From here, gradually add in the rest of the All-Purpose Flour a little at a time until you get a medium-stiff dough. (You may not use it all, or you may need to add a little more. It depends how it comes together in your environment.)

  Turn the dough out on a floured board and kneed until it is very smooth, adding more flour to the board if the dough seems to be too sticky. (It should be a little tacky, but not be sticking to the surface.) This should take about 10 minutes. 
• Use your hands to rub olive oil all over the inside of a large bowl. (Select one twice the size of the dough to give it room to rise.) Place the dough in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel, and let rise until doubled in size. Approximately 90 minutes.
• After the dough rises, punch the dough down. (Use your fist to punch down the dough in the middle.) Cover the bowl again with the plastic wrap and kitchen towel and let it rise again, until double.
• Oil or spray two pie plates. Divide the dough into two pieces and form them into round loaves, and place each in a pie plate *You can also make them into a loaf shape and place them each into a prepared loaf pan.
• Cover the loaves with a kitchen towel and allow to rise for 30-40 minutes.
• Preheat your oven to 375°F
• Brush the loaves with a layer of the beaten egg wash. Place the loaves on the middle rack in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until nicely brown on top. Remove them from the oven and brush softened butter over the top.

Notes

1. At times I’ve had difficulty finding Medium Rye Flour. King Arthur offers their Medium Rye Flour online. I’ve used both light and dark rye flours and they are both very good too. 

2. This bread freezes well. Cover in plastic wrap and place inside a ziploc. It will keep up 3-4 months. To thaw, just take it out of the freezer the night before you want to serve it. 

3. This bread will not have a hard top crust, like a sourdough or French Boule. It will have a softer top, but toasts really well for breakfast or sandwiches. It is great just served warm with some butter.

4. My Grandmother passed along a way to test the correct water temperature for the yeast. She simply touched the water with her wrist. If the temperature was “almost” too hot for her wrist, it was the right temperature. I tend to use this method and it’s always worked.  

Keyword Bread, Rye Bread

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Light Rye Bread Flour Loaves

Dark Rye Flour Loaves