Caraway Rye Bread

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Caraway Rye Bread

star rating (29) rate this recipe »
Published prior to 2008

This seeded light, soft rye bread is delicious in sandwiches.

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 cups white rye, medium rye or pumpernickel flour
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 cup sour cream (low-fat is fine)
2 tablespoons caraway seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or First Clear Flour
3 tablespoons vital wheat gluten OR King Arthur Rye Bread Improver

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the water, sugar, rye flour and yeast, mixing to form a shaggy dough. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, and mix and knead the dough together -- by hand, mixer or bread machine -- till it's fairly smooth. (Remember, the nature of rye dough is to be sticky, so don't be tempted to add too much flour.) Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Gently deflate the dough, knead it briefly, and shape it into two smooth oval loaves. Place the loaves on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, cover them, and let them rise until they're almost doubled, about 1 hour. Gently slash the tops of the loaves in two or three places just before baking.

Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 190°F to 200°F. Remove the bread from the oven, and allow it to cool on a wire rack. Yield: 2 loaves.

Reviews

1 23  All  
  • star rating 05/02/2012
  • Cross-Eyed Cat from KAF Community
  • VERY pleased with this one! Like so many others, my dough was not shaggy at first. For the rye flour, I used a pretty coarse whole grain rye, so I was a little unsure of the quantity since this recipe didn?t offer the option of converting to weight. I ended up estimating 5.5 ounces of rye flour. I also used active dry yeast (thanks, KAF hotline Frank, for confirming the correct conversion) and substituted 7/16 cup buttermilk + 1.5 Tbsp butter for the sour cream. I think the acidity of the buttermilk really helped this turn out well. I used the Kitchen Aid w/dough hook to knead (I?m trying to experiment with this method to assist my Mom, whose arthritis is making it difficult to do hand kneading). Since this is a new procedure for me, it was a big guess, but I ended up doing 3 minutes on Speed #2 and then resting briefly, 3 consecutive times (total of 9 minutes). My first rise was FAST; probably only 30 minutes at most. The second rise was also about 30 minutes. Having read some of the other comments, I wanted to be sure not to over-proof. Baked in a 6-quart Corningware pot, starting at 450 for 30 minutes and intending to continue uncovered at 425 for another 10. However, when I took the cover off after 30 minutes, it looked too brown to stay longer. I checked temp, which was around 198, so decided to stop. This loaf was intended for sandwiches, so I wanted to err on the side of softness. Appearance, crumb and flavor were all excellent. I was a little disappointed to find that, like so many others noted, there was a sinking in the center as it cooled. I was pretty confident that I had neither under-kneaded (at 9 minutes in the mixer) nor over-proofed. Any ideas are welcome. Even with the sinking, though, this is a keeper!
  • star rating 04/17/2012
  • travellingcoder from KAF Community
  • I ended up doing a third rise because my daughter deflated it, and it still turned out well. I bough some KAF rye bread flavor and can't wait to try it again with that. I am hoping that will be the missing link to an otherwise awesome loaf.
  • star rating 04/15/2012
  • DennisnMe from KAF Community
  • I had to add at least 1 cup more flour, but this made the best bread! It stays moist and flavorful; the crust is delicious. Great recipe!
  • star rating 03/20/2012
  • HeyTrud from KAF Community
  • WOW! If you want a photo, we have one of the best RYE breads in our kitchen tonight! We used the Rye Bread Flavor & the Rye Bread improver together. We used KAF's 2-1/2 tsp.Rye Chops instead of Caraway seeds. We also cooked this in our favorite 4.5 quart Red POT very similar to Emile Henry's Crock. SurlaTable sells one w/lid for half-the-price; $70.00. Oven set at 450 degree's w/lid ON for 30 minutes; 425 degree's for 10 minutes UN-covered. Pulled out of Pot from the Parchment paper lined crock gave us the most beautiful looking, tasting Rye Bread ever! No one can possibly go wrong with this easy to follow recipe. Thank GOD & KAF for First Clear Four too. Of course, along with everything else KAF ships to our CA home. We love you KAF..we really do love every product you produce as a first rate company, also owned by employees too.
  • star rating 03/18/2012
  • Sarah d from KAF Community
  • my dough was not shaggy at first - more like a muffin batter consistency, and my first rise was a little disappointing, even after two hours. But the second rise was beautiful (i only did one loaf, as others have suggested) and after an hour, stuck it in the oven. it took just over 40 minutes, and came out nice and browned on the top, a good crunchy crust but not too think. the flavor is great, although i think i will add more caraway next time. I replaced the vital wheat gluten with potato flour, and used bread flour in place of all-purpose. also cut the salt back to 1 tsp. can't wait to make some reubens with this!
  • star rating 01/14/2012
  • LAHANNA from KAF Community
  • I would like to know how can I substitute vital wheat gluten OR King Arthur Rye Bread Improver, I can't find it in México. Thanks.
    You could try adding potato flour and/or diastatic malt powder to this recipe. To help with the rise, some bread flour in place of some or all of the all-purpose or clear flour could be considered. Please send us an email for further assistance. Elisabeth
  • star rating 01/13/2012
  • Prue from FdLHReFEbued
  • I could watch Schindler's List and still be happy after reading this.
  • star rating 10/22/2011
  • sissymae from KAF Community
  • Darn, wasted two times ingredients, the bread would NOT rise,,As somebady said on another recipe, " I now have TWO rye scented door stops". I won't waste any more ingredients. By the way, I am NOT a novice baker, have been baking bread since 1955!!!
    Sorry to hear that this recipe did not work out well for you. Please don't hesitate to contact our bakers to help troubleshoot. MJR @ KAF
  • star rating 10/19/2011
  • plmezzano from KAF Community
  • This bread is in the oven as we speak so I cannot really rate it on taste but it looks good. Anyway, I made a mistake in making the recipe and added all the ingredients in at the beginning, letting it sit for 20 min and then kneading it in the mixer. So far so good. The loaves seem a little small, they got their oven spring but they just seem small but...maybe that is how they are suppose to be. I am bringing one to my mom and dad so they can try it. Will come back and let you know how they liked it.
  • star rating 10/03/2011
  • suloo from KAF Community
  • help! i've made this bread twice and it sinks down about 1/2 inch or so in the middle after i slash and put it in the oven. i followed the recipe with the exception that i added rye bread improver vs the whole grain. i do not add any additional flour upon machine mixing. the dough is very,very,sticky. what causes the sink problem? other than that, it's a great bread.
    This would be a question best suited to talk over with one of our Bakers. Please contact us on email, chat, or phone and we'll be able to better help troubleshoot! ~JDT@KAF
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