Polish Buttermilk Rye Bread

When I think of rye bread I used to think of heavy dark bread like a pumpernickel, but after looking around at some bakeries, I noticed that not all rye's are created equal.  So I googled rye bread and found a ton of variations, light rye, sourdough rye, dark rye, and German rye.  I have worked with other bread before, the usual suspects, focaccia, brioche, pizza, and lavash to name a few.

The recipe that I tried was a little different, it used buttermilk and a 3 to 1 bread flour to rye flour to create a light coloured, not dense bread.

So I rolled up my sleeves and got to it.

 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast (not rapid rise)
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups rye flour
• 6 cups Bread flour

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl or bowl or a stand mixer, add all ingredients and mix well. Knead on low 7 minutes in mixer or 10 minutes by hand. 
2. Transfer to a large greased bowl. Flip the dough to grease the bottom and cover with oiled plastic. Let rise in a warm place until doubled. 
3. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking pan with parchment paper. Punch down dough and form into 2 oblong or round loaves. Place on prepared pan, cover with oiled plastic and let rise until almost doubled. 
4. Brush risen dough with egg whites for a shiny crust or plain water. Make 4 diagonal shallow cuts  in the dough and bake 25-30 minutes or until internal temperature on an instant-read thermometer registers 190-195 degrees. Cool on wire racks.



What I got was a delicious bread that was hearty but not tough.  A compliment to any sandwich.