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.
I wish I liked rye bread. Never have gotten use to the flavor.
ReplyDeleteHope you have a great weekend
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.
ReplyDeleteWe 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.
Delete