Flaxseed Rye

This is my version of the flaxseed rye posted by hansjoakim a couple of weeks ago.  I couldn’t resist this one.  Not only would it satisfy my ongoing and inexplicable craving for flaxseeds, but it also provided an opportunity to use-up some of the old bread I’ve had frozen and waiting for just such an occasion. 

I put together the soaker and rye sour the night before baking and the next morning both were looking good.  Then I made the mistake of starting the dough before I had my coffee.  Not usually a big deal, but this wasn’t one of my usual breads so I should have been a little less fuzzy in the head when I started.  I must have measured poorly to begin with because I could tell right from the start of mixing that the dough was too dry.  My muddled brain went from a groggy sort of panic to really bad decision making before I could stop it, and before I realized what I was doing I had added way too much water.  Ugh.  So I added flour and added flour, and the dough soaked it right up and just kept sticking to everything.  I probably could have added even more but I had been kneading for so long I felt like the dough had been abused enough. 

The sticky mess bulk fermented a bit longer than in the original method, about 2 hrs, but the dough looked pretty much the same as it did at the start.  I moved on anyway, this being a rye dough.  Shaping the dough was a whole other adventure involving plenty more flour.  I gave the loaves a fairly tight pre-shaping to try and build some strength and a very short bench rest.  With the help of yet another heap of flour I wrestled them into shape and dropped them into their baskets.  At this point I was expecting the worst and certainly expected them to stick to the baskets like they had stuck to everything else.  But they proofed up nicely and came out of the baskets cleanly.  They held their shape into the oven and my hopes began to rise.

They came out of the oven looking good (my attempts at creative scoring rarely turn out this well) and smelling even better, but I’ve fallen for that one before.  Waiting for them to cool was torture.  I took the dog for a walk; I puttered around the yard, and finally couldn’t wait any longer.  I put the knife to the bread and, hey, the crust felt nice and thin.  I started cutting and, hey, the crumb felt nice and light.  I can’t believe this turned out as well as it did.  The flavor is amazing!  This is a really great formula - highly recommended.  Thank you Hans!

Marcus