Blackie Nygood, a reader from Georgetown, Delaware, writes as follows:

"Years ago my family used to buy a delicious bread from a family bakery. The loaf was called 'Swiss Rye,' and was a rye bread with Swiss cheese swirled generously through it. I am still acquainted with the daughter of the family, but she said all the recipes for the family breads and cakes, etc. died with the family.

"Do you think sometime in your baking experiments you could come up with a similar loaf? I remember driving home in my father's old Ford from weekly shopping and having the family eat an entire loaf before we even got to the house!"

What an evocative image, sharing a warm loaf of fresh bread with siblings and parents, riding home in the car. And what a pleasant challenge, to recreate a childhood memory, or at least help it along.

Sue created a cheese-swirled rye loaf, then added some onions for a little extra zing. We think you'll enjoy this hearty loaf... perhaps in the car during your next family road trip. We found it's also a great base for Reuben sandwiches.

Dough
2 3/4 cups (12 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached Special Bread Flour
1 1/4 cups (4 1/2 ounces) medium rye flour or pumpernickel
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 to 2 teaspoons Deli Rye Flavor (optional, but VERY good)
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 to 2 teaspoons caraway seeds (optional)
1 teaspoon burnt sugar syrup or caramel color (optional, for a medium dark loaf)
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) water

Filling
3/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) Golden Baking Onions or french-fried onions, OR 1 large onion, peeled, chopped, and sauteed in 1 tablespoon olive oil until lightly browned
4 to 5 ounces Swiss cheese, diced in 1/4-inch pieces (1 cup)

Manual/Mixer Method: Whisk together all of the dough ingredients except the syrup and water. Add the syrup or caramel color (if you're using it) and the water, mix, then knead to form a slightly sticky dough. Continue to knead until the dough becomes smooth and shiny. Try not to add any extra flour as you knead, or the bread may become dry. Place the dough into a greased bowl, turn to coat, and cover. Place it in a warm spot to rise for 1 to 2 hours, until the dough has expanded by at least a third.

Bread Machine Method: Place all of the dough ingredients into the pan of your bread machine, program the machine for Manual or Dough, and press Start. Check the dough about 10 minutes before the end of the final kneading cycle, and adjust its consistency as necessary with additional flour or water; it should be slightly sticky and wet to the touch, but still quite elastic. Allow the machine to complete its cycle.

Filling: Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased or floured surface, then pat it out into a 12-inch square. Sprinkle the dough with the onions and cheese. Fold it into thirds (like a letter) to enclose the onions and cheese. Form it into a 15- to 16-inch fat baguette -- in other words, a batard. (Or divide and shape it into two smaller loaves). Place the loaf/loaves on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, and cover lightly with greased plastic wrap or a dough cover. Allow the bread to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Baking: Just before placing the bread into the oven cut 4 to 5 diagonal slashes across the top, each about 1/4-inch deep. Spritz the bread with water, then place it into a preheated 400°F oven. Bake it for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven heat to 350°F and bake for an additional 15 minutes (for 1 large loaf). For two smaller loaves, check after an additional 10 minutes. Bread is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 190°F.

As with any loaf containing rye, allowing it to cool for several hours or overnight will reduce the slight gumminess that rye has when it first comes out of the oven. But with this bread, it'll be hard to wait, as its aroma is so enticing! Yield: 1 large batard or 2 small loaves.

Nutrition information per serving (1/2 inch slice of the large loaf, or 2 slices of the smaller loaf, 30g): 79 cal, 2g fat, 3g protein, 13g complex carbohydrates, 1g dietary fiber, 3mg cholesterol, 126mg sodium, 42mg potassium, 10RE vitamin A, 1mg iron, 39mg calcium, 46mg phosphorus.

This recipe reprinted from The Baking Sheet Newsletter, Vol. XII, No. 2, Winter 2001 issue.