A lovely Rye Bread

This recipe uses a technique called "sponge" to raise the bread dough to perfect consistency.

Prepare the Sponge:

1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 3/4 cups warm water
1 cup coarse rye flour
1 cup unbleached white flour or bread flour

In a large mixing bowl, bud the yeast in the warm water.  Add the flour and mix thoroughly.  Cover the bowl and let it sit in a warm place for 45-60 minutes.  It will form the appearance of a sponge when the yeast has fermented the mixture.

Prepare these ingredients to mix into the sponge:

1/4 cup honey or molasses
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons caraway seeds (optional)
1 egg

Mix together the above ingredients in a small bowl.  Make sure that the oil has completely blended with the other ingredients.  Add to the sponge and beat well for a few minutes.  The ingredients should meld into a soft, rubbery, gooey mass.

Remaining ingredients:

2 cups white flour
2 cups coarse rye flour

Add the flour one cupful at a time, beating with each addition.  When the mixture becomes more like a stiff ball, turn it onto a floured surface and continue to add small amounts of flour as you knead it.  The dough will be sticky and you may need to scrape it off the surface and from your fingers as you knead.  After about 10 minutes of kneading, the dough will become a smooth round ball.  When it can no longer take additional flour, turn it into a very large bowl that you have coated thinly with vegetable oil.  Cover the bowl and let it stand in a warm place for 45-60 minutes.  When it has doubled in bulk, flour your fist and punch it, which will deflate it somewhat.  Then turn it out of the bowl onto your floured surface, knead it again for another 10 minutes.

Then cut the dough in half with a knife.  Form each piece into a rectangle by flattening it with a rolling pin to about 1/2 inch thick.  Then roll each flattened piece tight, like a jelly roll, and tuck the ends under each loaf. 

Grease two loaf pans and set the loaves in them, or sprinkle a cookie sheet with corn meal and set the loaves on it at least an inch apart.  Set them in a warm place to rise for 20-30 minutes.  When the loaves have risen to the top of the loaf pans, they will be ready to bake.

Preheat your oven to 375 degree F and bake for 40 minutes.  Remove from the pans and tap the bottoms of the loaves.  If they shound hollow, they are done.  Cool on a rack completely before slicing.