Light Rye Bread

Total Time: 3 hrs 40 mins Preparation Time: 3 hrs Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• 1 cup water, to boil
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 cup milk or 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 (1/4 ounce) packages dry active yeast
• 3 cups rye flour (i used king arthurs)
• 3 -3 1/2 cups flour
• additonal flour, for dusting hands and for kneading
• beaten egg
• 1/2 cup butter, to rub over finished loaves

Recipe

• 1 i like to measure out all my ingredients prior to starting bring 1 cup water to a boil, mix it with the milk, shortening, sugar, and salt in a large bowl, and let it cool to lukewarm.
• 2 measure 1/2 cup warm water in a seperate bowl, stir in yeast, and let it stand for 5 minutes to dissolve, you should have bubbles forming in yeast.
• 3 add the dissolved yeast and the rye flour to the first mixture and combine thoroughly.
• 4 add enough of the flour so that you can handle the dough.
• 5 turn out onto a lightly floured board or a kneading slip mat.
• 6 knead for a minute or two, rubbing additional flour onto your hands not the dcugh so it will not end up being a dough bread.
• 7 let dough rest for 10 minutes.
• 8 resume kneading for 10 minutes, adding the remaining or additonal flour as necessary.
• 9 put the dough in a greased bowl, i lightly oil mine, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm draft free place until almost double in bulk, 1 1/2- 2 hours.
• 10 i let all my doughs rise on my running dryer.
• 11 punch dough down, cut dough in half, and shape into two loaves.
• 12 you can do a freeform loaf or i patted dough into a square the length of the loaf pan and rolled it tightly and pinched the ends.
• 13 place in greased loaf pans, you can use vegetable spray, cover with plastic wrap or if you have plastic bags with ties they work wonderfully.
• 14 let is rise until doubled in bulk, it should be a shorter rise time.
• 15 preheat oven to 375 degrees and brush your loaves with beaten egg, it will give the bread a shine.
• 16 bake for 40-50 minutes.
• 17 mine baked for 40 minutes.
• 18 to tell bread is done, you can remove the bread from one pan tap on bottom of bread, when bread is done it will sound hollow or use a thermometer inserted into bottom of bread, bread is done at an internal temperature of 190-200 degrees.
• 19 remove bread from pans and rub with butter.
• 20 then place loaves on their sides on a cooling rack and let cool.