Old Milwaukee Rye Bread Recipes

Steps:

• Prep:.
• To make the sponge, blend all ingredients of the Sponge above and stir 25 times with a wooden spoon. Cover tightly with plastic wrap to prevent moisture loss. It will rise and fall over the course of 3 days. Stir each day. Watch and smell the magic!
• This can be used as little as 6 hours after mixing, but I went the full three days with wonderful results.
• On the day you're baking, uncover and add the water, molasses, 1 tbsp caraway, egg, salt,rye flour, and about 2 cups of the white flour. Beat until smooth, about 100 strokes and add the shortening.
• Add the remainder of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time and stir or mix by hand until the dough is somewhat sticky still.
• Kneading:.
• Turn the dough out on a floured work surface and knead by hand with a strong push, turn and fold method for 8-10 minutes. Use a dough scraper to help and add sprinkles of flour to control stickiness.
• First Rise:.
• Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with wrap again. Leave at room temp until doubled, about an hour.
• Punch down and let rise an additional 10 minutes.
• Shaping:.
• I shaped mine into 2 round loaves as I mentioned, but I'm sure this could be panned or shaped how you'd prefer.
• Second Rise:.
• Cover loaves and let them double, about 40 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375F 20 minutes before baking.
• Baking:.
• Rye loaves should be cut on top. Diagonally for long loaves, or tic tac toe for rounds, but it's up to you.
• Brush tops with the egg/milk mixture and sprinkle with the last tbsp of the caraway seeds.
• Bake for 40 minutes until they pass the thump test or until they're done by your method of testing.
• Cool on metal racks.
• Keeps for a week in a plastic bag, or you can freeze it for months!
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• SPONGE: Dissolve yeast in water. Stir in rye flour. Cover tightly. May be used any time after 6 hours up to three days. On bake day, uncover sponge, sprinkle on the new yeast and add water. Blend well. Add molasses, egg, salt, rye flour and 2 cups white flour. Beat until smooth. Add oil, stir in the balance of the flour 1/2 cup at a time. Knead for 5 minutes. Let rise 1 hour & 10 minutes. Punch down and let rise 10 minutes. Shape into 2 loaves. Let rise 40 minutes. With a razor, slash diagonal cuts on loaves. Bake at 375F for 40 minutes. Brush with butter after removing from oven.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Beat in the molasses, butter, rye flour, cocoa, caraway seeds, salt and 2 cups all-purpose flour until smooth. Stir in enough remaining all-purpose flour to form a stiff dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours. , Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Shape each piece into a loaf about 10 in. long. Grease 2 baking sheets and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place loaves on prepared pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. , Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Steps:

• In the bowl of a standing mixer, whisk together the flours, caraway seeds (if using), salt and yeast. Put 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water into a small bowl, then stir in the honey and oil.
• Using a dough hook attachment at low speed, gradually pour in the liquid mixture. Mix just until a cohesive dough starts to form and no streaks of dry flour remain, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of the bowl halfway through. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let dough rest for 20 minutes.
• Turn mixer to medium-low and knead until smooth and elastic, easily clearing the sides of the bowl, about 8 minutes. The dough should be moist but not sticky; if needed, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Lightly oil a medium-size mixing bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead 30 seconds, shaping dough into a smooth round ball. Place seam side down in the oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Stack 2 rimmed baking sheets and line the top sheet with aluminum foil. Punch the dough down to deflate. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Press and stretch into a rough 6-inch square.
• Lift and fold top 2 corners of dough into the center of the square and press gently to seal. Lift and fold down the upper third of the dough toward the center and press gently to seal. Lift and fold down the top half of the dough to form a loaf, and pinch the seam closed. Turn the loaf seam side down, gently slide hands underneath, and transfer to the prepared pan. You should have an oval loaf about 8 inches by 4 inches; use hands to shape as needed. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise until loaf increases in size by about half, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, place a rack in the lower third of oven and heat to 450 degrees. When the dough has risen, make 3 deep slashes across the top, using a sharp paring knife or razor blade. Place in oven, reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake until deep golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating pan once during baking.
• Meanwhile, dissolve cornstarch in 1 cup cold water. Simmer in saucepan or microwave until clear and syrupy. Transfer hot, baked bread immediately to a wire rack and brush top and sides with cornstarch mixture until glazed and shiny. Let cool completely before slicing.

Steps:

• Soak the cracked rye berries in 1/4 cup of water until most of the water has been absorbed, at least 30 minutes.
• Place ingredients into the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Add the soaked rye with the bread flour. Set bread machine for the DOUGH cycle, and press START.
• When the machine indicates the end of the cycle, remove the dough, punch down, and let rest for 10 minutes. Divide the dough into halves, press out any air bubbles, and form into round or long loaves. Place them onto a baking sheet, and allow the loaves to rise in a warm place until they have doubled in size, about 35 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Brush the tops of the loaves with remaining milk. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until the loaf makes a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom.