Rye bread

Place 200 grams of rye flour and 200 grams of strong white or strong wholemeal flour in a bowl. Rye flour is low in gluten and so you don’t get the rise that you do with strong white flour so using a 50/50 mix helps with the rise. Mix in half a teaspoon of salt and 7 grams (2 teaspoons) of fast action yeast. Add 300 mls of warm water which you make with 200 mls of cold water and 100 mls of hot water. Mix in a tablespoon of honey or maple syrup to the water and add to the flour mixture in the bowl and combine until it’s ready to knead. You may need to add a little more warm water to combine it all together. Knead for 10 minutes on a lightly floured surface and then leave to prove in a lightly oiled bowl covered in lightly oiled cling film in a warm place for at least one hour and up to two hours until it’s doubled in size.

After proving knead again lightly for about a minute then shape into an oblong to fit in a loaf tin. I’ve found that low and zero gluten bread sticks to a tin that has only been oiled so I flour the tin after I’ve oiled it. To do this put a tablespoon of flour in the oiled tin and then turn it on it’s side and gently shake moving it around as the sides and bottom become coated in flour.  Because the texture of rye flour is dense I made two smaller loaves as opposed to one big one. Cover with lightly oiled cling film and leave in a warm place for a further 1 – 1.5 hours so that it is doubled in size.

Bake in an oven preheated to 220 C for around 30 minutes for a loaf in a large loaf tin and 20 – 25 minutes if you use two smaller tins. I slash the top of the loaf and you can dust it in rye flour too if you like. It will sound hollow when rapped on the bottom with your knuckles.