LIGHT RYE BREAD

LIGHT RYE BREAD

Ingredients

500g rye flour
500g strong white bread flour
20g fresh yeast (or half a sachet of instant)
20g salt
700g warm water
25g caraway seed, lightly cracked with a rolling pin

Method

Combine the lot in a bowl and stir initially with a fork or scraper then dump into the bowl of a mixer and give it a good seven minutes at top speed with the dough hook. You could do this by hand but, if I'm perfectly honest, you could also buy the excellent pre-made rye loaf from somewhere like Poilane.
Shape into a large ball, coat with a little more flour and place in a bowl covered with a clean tea towel.
Leave the dough to rise. In a warm place, it will achieve 1½ times its original size in an hour or two. Slow the rising process down - in a cold porch, or even in the fridge - and it will take all night, developing better, sourdough flavours as it does.
Half an hour before you're ready to cook, put a baking sheet in the oven and turn it up full. 5 minutes before baking, fill a small ovenproof dish with hot water from the kettle and stick it in the bottom of the hot oven.
Finally turn your dough out of the bowl straight onto the hot baking sheet and stuff it back into the hot, steamy oven as fast as you can. Try to leave the door open for the shortest possible time so the temperature doesn't drop.
After 10 minutes, drop the oven temperature to 180C and open the door. This lets you check on your loaf and allows the oven temp to drop a little faster. After about 20 seconds, close the door and leave for another 20 or so minutes.
At the end of this time the loaf will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. It should cool thoroughly before slicing.