My love of caraway seeds started early, my Mum used to make seed cake or sometimes just seed buns filled with these liquorice/aniseed flavoured seeds and I couldn’t get enough of them. Those are the same flavours you will can enjoy in this healthy and delicious Rye and Caraway Bread.
My introduction to rye bread came later in thin slices covered with sweet pickled herring for smorgasbord, first at a little restaurant in Perth and later at the iconic, and much missed, Danish Food Centre in Glasgow’s St Vincent Street.
However, it’s been a very long time since I made my own rye bread and I think it was a combination of watching the Hairy Bikers in Sweden and Rachel Gillon, of A Wee Pinch of Sugar, mentioning herring on BBC Radio Scotland Kitchen Cafe, suddenly I was longing for rye bread and pickled herrings!
I used my Kenwood Chef and dough hook to knead this loaf, but you can make it by hand. If you use the dough hook you can knead for a slightly shorter time 5- 6 minutes.
The bread was delicious, slightly sweet with the treacle and a lovely dense loaf that sliced beautifully, held together well and made a good base for those pickled herrings.
Rye and Caraway Bread
Ingredients
- 250 g rye flour and a little extra for dusting and a little extra for dusting
- 250 g strong white flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 7 g packet of fast action yeast
- 20 ml black treacle
- 1 tbsp caraway seeds
- 300 ml water
- a little olive oil for kneading
Instructions
- Place the rye and strong white flour in a bowl and mix together.
- Add the salt to one side and yeast to the other
- Add the treacle and most of the water and mix together to create a soft dough, add a little more water if it is too dry.
- Put some olive oil on your work surface and put the dough on top
- Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and slightly stretchy (it won't be as stretchy as an all wheat flour loaf)
- Oil a bowl and put the dough in the bowl and cover with cling film or a tea towel, leave to rise for two hours until doubled in size.
- Once the bread has risen, bring it back to the work surface and fold it in on itself to knock the air out of it.
- Shape into a round and place on a flour dusted baking sheet, Cover again and leave to rise for 2-3 hours until doubled in size again
- Brush with a little water and sprinkle with a few extra caraway seeds, then slash with a knife.
- Heat the oven to 220 C and bake for 30 minutes
Notes
This bread keeps really well, I was still eating it 6 days later and it still tasted fresh and good.
Nutrition
I’m entering this for Bready Steady Go! The blogging challenge run by Bready Steady Go! and Utterly Scrummy Food For Families to encourage all of us to bake more bread
Choclette says
This looks lovely Janice and with such good slashes too. My rye bread, which I’m mostly pretty happy with, always looks a bit insipid. Guessing the nice colour of yours comes from the treacle. I do always add caraway seeds to mine though.
Janice Pattie says
Thank you Choclette. Yes, the treacle does add to the colour.
Choclette says
Just tried out the recipe review. Wasn’t quite what I expected, but useful to find out how it works.
Janice Pattie says
I hadn’t tried that myself Choclette, not what I expected either! Will investigate further
Emma says
You simply can’t beat herring on rye with a side of pickle *drool*
Janice Pattie says
Yes, indeed Emma. One of my favourite snacks
Camilla says
Lovely rye bread Janice, I haven’t made any for far too long!
Janice Pattie says
Thanks Camilla
Jacqueline Meldrum says
I love a good rye bread Janice. This brings back memories of our breadmaking course over at Bread in Fife. Such a fun day. I need to get back into breadmaking again.
Janice Pattie says
ha ha, yes Jac. That was a fun day.