Family Favorites...Root Beer Rye Bread

When I first looked at the old 1955 booklet “Over the Back Fence to you...Prize Yeast Recipes from Red Star”, the recipe I really wanted to try was this one, a sandwich-style rye bread with a twist.  I chose to use the book’s “Mixer Method” to make my dough…it is the method I use regularly to make bread-making simpler and faster.  I use “instant” or bread machine yeast.  The dough was somewhat sticky, use your rye flour to flour your board when shaping loaves.
This bread was a hit…you can just taste the root beer flavor, it is not a too-strong rye flavor, and the bread has that nice, firm rye texture that lends itself to thin-slicing like party rye.  It is perfect for sandwiches.  I made mine in some narrower 4” x 10” pans, because we like smaller sandwich slices.                       
Root Beer Rye Bread
  2 1/4        Cups  Warm Root Beer -- 120°-125° (20 ounce bottle)
  4               Teaspoons  Instant Yeast
  1 1/2        Cups  Rye Flour -- 4 1/2 ounces
     1/3        Cup  Dark Molasses
  1               Tablespoon  Salt
  5               Cups  Bread Flour -- 1# 6 1/2 ounces
     1/4        Cup  Butter -- softened
Combine rye flour, salt, 2 cups of white flour, softened butter, yeast and molasses in mixer bowl.  Add root beer and beat until smooth.  Stir in remaining flour to form a soft dough.
Change to dough hook and knead 6 minutes or knead by hand 8 minutes.
Cover the mixer bowl tightly and let rest in a warm place 15-20 minutes.
Punch down.  Shape into loaves, about 1# 11 ounces each and place in lightly greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2" loaf pans.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until center of dough is slightly above the pan rim, (took about 40 minutes).  Meanwhile, preheat oven.
Bake in a preheated 375° oven for 35-50 minutes.  Cover with parchment paper after first 20 minutes to prevent excess browning before bread is done.  Remove from pans and cool on racks.
I used 4 x 10" pans, so I baked for 35 minutes.  Bread temperature with an instant-read thermometer should be 200-205° as soon as it's removed from the oven.
Yield:  "2 Loaves"

If you want to make one loaf in a food processor or bread machine on the dough cycle, the recipe is HERE.

3 comments:

  1. I wish I liked rye bread. Never have gotten use to the flavor.
    Hope you have a great weekend

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  2. Just found this. I think rye bread is just okay because to me, it "needs" to be a little sweeter. This recipe is perfect. I will try it. I will make it by hand. I think if I made more bread, I would use my stand mixer, or a bread machine etc. But since I so seldom make bread I like to do so by hand. I'm looking forward to tasting this.

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    Replies
    1. We liked it this recipe about the best of all the rye bread recipes I have made over the years...but I'm getting too old to make our bread by hand anymore! and spoiled too, by having a nice, big mixer to handle the kneading. I guess when you bake all your bread every week, you get over being a "purist" and look for a method that's "good enough" but still meets the exacting standards of your family who is used to really good bread. How our mom would have loved a mixer like the big ones available now.

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