This sandwich type of bread is yummy when it is made properly. That means, among other things, the finished product should be slightly moist but not compacted. My goal was to make a perfect rye bread with enough gluten in it to stay soft and slightly chewy. Think about a stack of tender, moist, hot pastrami with melted Swiss cheese on top, or simply a similar stack of corned beef, with the sandwich bread grilled on the outside (using a thin coating of butter and a hot skillet) and coated on the soft interior side with deli brown mustard. You want rye bread robust enough to hold the contents with a texture that is not dry.
My experience with rye breads available at the supermarket isn't all that good. Typically the bread is sliced too thin, the loaves are rather small and expensive, and the bread isn't strong enough structurally to hold a nice large stack of steaming, hot pastrami, etc. The slices of bread tend to break due to their thinness and drier texture. I intended to (and did) fix all of those deficiencies.
Based on what I did, some people would say I made a version of pumpernickel bread, because I used whole rye flour. But given at least four varieties of rye flour I simply chose the one reputed to have the best taste. I got lucky. The brand of whole rye flour I bought is excellent. Also, I used the best bread flour and also high quality gluten (see below).
Okay, it came out as perfect rye bread for hot sandwiches. It is also delicious at room temperature simply with a light spread of butter, and especially as rye toast. You might also enjoy ham and Swiss on rye with mustard as a cold sandwich. Anyway, now you too can make it and enjoy it.
Note that the dough, when forming initially in the electric mixer bowl using the paddle accessory, will be fairly dense, so you may have to process it in two batches. I use a powerful Kitchen-Aid® stand mixer with a 6 quart stainless steel bowl, and any mixer you might use of lower power or size will require you to make the dough in two batches. Only mix as long as needed to form the dough, which will happen quickly once all of the flours have been added to the mixing bowl.
Put the dough hook accessory on the electric mixer and knead the dough for about eight minutes.
You will put the kneaded dough into a 3 quart bowl that contains a small amount of canola oil. Then roll the dough in the oil to coat the surface of the dough. Then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and keep it in a warm place. I use a proofing oven that operates at 100 degrees F.
Allow as much time as needed for the dough to rise, both initially and just before baking. That means the rising times may (likely will) be two hours instead of one hour, especially for the first rise.
Finally, note that I have put a steaming step into my recipe that begins when the risen dough is put into the oven to bake. Initial steaming has multiple benefits, but the reason I do it is to get a perfectly crispy crust.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 tsp. of Active Dry Yeast (I buy jars of Fleischmann's® active dry yeast)
1 1/2 cups of lukewarm water (100 degrees F)
2 cups of King Arthur® bread flour (To get the desirable extra gluten of their bread flour [12.7%])
1/2 cup of Anthony's® Premium Vital Wheat gluten (This is used [generously] because rye flour only has a small amount of a type of gluten [secalin] that is poor in helping dough rise)
1 1/2 cups of rye flour (Use whole rye flour if you can. I use "One in a Mill®" brand imported whole rye flour)
1 1/2 tsp. of sea salt
2 tbsp. of brown sugar
2 tbsp. of dark Karo® syrup
3 tbsp. of canola oil, divided
1 or 2 tbsp. of caraway seeds
Pam® canola oil spray
Directions:
Mix the yeast with the lukewarm water in a large (6 quart) electric mixer bowl. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
Whisk together the three flours with the salt in a separate 3 quart bowl.
Add 2 tbsp. of the canola oil and the rest of the ingredients (except the Pam® spray) to the electric mixer bowl and mix on low speed for two minutes.
Gradually add two cups of the flour and salt mixture to the electric mixer bowl while mixing on low speed.
Mix for three minutes, then slowly add the remaining flour and salt mixture, then mix on low to medium speed until a dough forms. Use a spatula if needed, temporarily stopping the mixing, to force all ingredients down to the bottom of the mixing bowl and away from the inside surface.
A fairly dense dough will form. If it is too dense for the electric mixer to process with the paddle accessory then do it in two batches.
Put the kneading accessory (dough hook) on the electric mixer and knead all of the dough for eight minutes on low to medium speed.
Put the remaining one tablespoon of canola oil (or maybe a bit more) into a 3 quart bowl, spread it around the bottom and a couple inches up the inside of the bowl.
Transfer the kneaded dough to that bowl, rolling it around to coat the dough surface with the oil.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it into a proofing oven (100 degrees F) or set it aside in a warm place, for one to two hours, until it has doubled in volume.
Punch down the risen dough gently and put it into a bread pan or baking dish (4" x 12" or 5" x 9") that has been sprayed with Pam® (unless you are using a non-stick baking pan). Form the dough to fill the pan/baking dish end to end.
Spray the top of the dough lightly with Pam®.
Cover the bread pan/baking dish loosely with plastic wrap. That starts the period of the second and final rise of the dough.
Put a 12" diameter cast iron skillet on a low oven shelf. Be sure to use/put a baking stone on a middle oven shelf for the bread pan/baking dish if you have one. It provides evenly distributed heat.
Preheat the baking oven to 350 degrees F when the dough in the bread pan has been rising for one hour. Hold the oven temperature at 350 degrees F for a minimum of twenty minutes to allow extra time for the baking stone and the cast iron skillet temperatures to actually be at 350 degrees F.
Let the bread finish rising on a counter or in the proofing (not baking) oven for one to two hours. Check the bread after one hour, and if it is fully risen then get ready to start the baking. It is important to allow enough rising time for the top of the dough to be 1" or 1 1/2" higher than the top of the baking pan/dish.
Remove the plastic wrap from the risen dough and cut a series of shallow slits in the dough (using a lame if you have one or else a very sharp knife) about one inch apart, side to side.
Heat 1 1/2 cups of water in a Pyrex® or similar microwave safe 16 ounce glass measuring cup to boiling in the microwave oven, about 3 minutes.
Put the baking pan/risen/slit dough into the oven on a middle shelf, on the baking stone (if you have one).
Pour the boiling water into the cast iron skillet and immediately close the oven door.
Bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes or until it has an internal temperature of 195 degrees F to 205 degrees F. Use an instant read thermometer to test the internal bread temperature by puncturing the top of the center of the loaf with the tip of the thermometer probe and sticking it into the center of the loaf of bread.
Remove the rye bread from the oven, invert the loaf pan/baking dish and let the bread fall gently onto a cooling rack on a wood cutting board. Turn the bread upright. Set the baking pan/dish aside.
Allow the bread to cool to room temperature. This will take about two hours.
Store the cooled bread in a cellophane (or plastic) wrapper, then in a plastic bag type of bread wrapper, and seal them tightly with a twist tie. Double wrapping the bread preserves freshness.
When you are ready to eat some of the bread then slice it as thick as you like (1/2" to 5/8") with a bread knife. Then close the bread wrappers and seal them with the twist tie.
From what I've read, this type of bread has a short shelf life of about three days ... unless you seal it and freeze it. My rye bread is fine for at least five days. I'm smiling.
In some future experiment I will use calcium propionate and potassium sorbate to avoid any possible mold growth and to extend freshness shelf life. That variation worked well when making Scali bread and I'm betting it will work great with rye bread too. But for now I am thoroughly enjoying what I made.
Enjoy! This bread is very tasty with perfect texture.