Dark Rye Bread

This is a recipe from The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book. All of her recipes are made with 100% whole grain flours. This bread is a good all-around loaf for sandwiches and just perfect for a Reuben sandwich. Below is the exact recipe from Laurel's Kitchen, but I have had better luck with this recipe using a couple of different mixing techniques. Read both methods and decide what will work best for you, they are the same ingredients just put together differently.

Yields: 2 loaves
Bake: 50 minutes
Oven: 350 degrees

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Ingredients:
2 tsp. active dry yeast (7g)
1 c. warm water (235g)

3 c. rye flour (385g)
4 c. hard red wheat flour (600g)
2 T. carob powder (18g)
2 1/2 tsp. salt (14g)
1/2 tsp. caraway seeds

1 c. tepid water (235g)
1 1/2 T. honey (30g)
2 T. cider vinegar (30g)
2 T. vegetable oil (30g)

1 c. more water if needed to knead (235g)*

Directions:

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water, put to the side
2. Mix the flours, carob, salt, and seeds in your mixer bowl.
3. In a small bowl mix all of the liquid ingredients together, except for the last cup of water*
4. Add the yeast mixture and the vinegar mixture to the flour in the mixing bowl gradually. Mix until all the the flour is wet, it will be stiff. Let the dough sit for 5 minutes to fully absorb the liquid.
5. Put your dough hook on your mixer and knead, if the dough is very stiff, add 2T - 1/4 cup for of water you have held back on. Knead until the water is absorbed, stop kneading and wait 3-5 minutes. Knead again if the dough is still stiff repeat this until the dough becomes soft.
   
6. Rye is a difficult dough to work with, it can become sticky all of the sudden, so add the water slowly.
7. It may be easier to handle with wet hands so dip your hands in cool water and shake off the excess. Form the dough into a ball and put it smooth side up in a bowl.
   
8. Let it rise in a draft-free place until a 1/2 inch hole from your wet finger does not fill in.
   
9. Press flat, form again in to a smooth round, and let it raise again as before. The second rising will take about half as long as the first.
10. Deflate the dough and form into two 8"x4" pan loaves or three hearth  loaves.
11. Let them rise in a warm place until the dough slowly returns a gentle indentation made with your wet finger.
    
12. Put the loaves into a preheated 350 degrees F. oven for about 50 minutes.
13. You do not need to slash the loaves.
14. Once baked remove from pans and cool completely.

Same Recipe but different mixing techniques:
The reason I have adopted a few different techniques is wheat and rye do not absorb liquid at the same rate. Rye has more fiber and is slower to absorb liquid. Also, they both have gluten but wheat gluten is stronger and is what will lift this bread. I develop the wheat gluten first before adding the rye flour to the mix. Rye also breaks down when over kneaded, which is very easy to do. To overcome all these issues, I take the liquid in the recipe and add some to the wheat flour and develop the gluten until I get a window pane. Then add the rest of the liquid to the rye flour mix and add this to the developed wheat dough. I mix them until just combined, that way the rye is not over mixed.

Recipe:
3 c. rye flour (385g)
2 T. carob powder (18g)
1/2 tsp. caraway seeds
2 T. cider vinegar (30g)
275g water

4 c. hard red wheat flour (600g)
2 tsp. instant yeast (7g)
2 1/2 tsp. salt (14g)
2 T. vegetable oil (30g)
2 T. honey (30g)
425g water

Directions:

1. The Rye flour, carob, caraway seeds, vinegar, and water add to the mixer. Mix with the paddle attachment until is mixed. Take out of the mixer and put on the counter
2. Add the wheat flour, yeast, salt, oil, honey and water to the mixer and mix with the paddle until mixed. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
3. Put the dough hook on and knead the wheat flour for 5-10 minutes until the gluten is developed. The dough will be elastic, remove from the bowl and place dough on the counter
4. Make a disk out of the wheat dough and the rye dough. Lay one on top of the other and cut into hunks and return to the mixer.
5. Knead until completely mixed, do not over knead. The dough will be sticky, if you need too, remove and finish the kneading by hand.
   
6. Continue with the directions from step 7 bulk proof.

Hints:

• Making rye can be a challenge but well worth it, the dough will be sticky that is fine, just keep your hands moist.
• You do not need to slash these loaves.