Dark Mild sweet rye bread - old old recipe!
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My grandmother's recipe brought me here today. I have made this several times and it always turns out "ok." No one else has taken over the baking of this beloved bread so my so-so version has been going on for many years now. It has wonderful flavor, but always turns out a little dry. So we slice it, toast it, and with butter it's delicious!!! It's wonderfully chewy and moist and sweet. The aroma is incredible. But I remember when grandma made it we could eat plain slices and make sandwiches and not be forced into toasting it.
The thing is, the recipe doesn't say how much white flour! Just "add flour until you have a stiff dough" and then "add flour if it's too sticky. It's not even listed as an ingredient. It's sooooo sticky and then I add maybe too much flour? I know there's some sort of math I can do to calculate the amount I need so that it's not a big guessing game but I'm a little lost as to how to figure that out with the overwhelming amount of info out there. Someone posted a calculation a few years ago but they seemed unsure about it.
I'd love to hear any and all tips on working with this kind of recipe. And it's amazing satisfying slightly dense bread that is so versatile. Delicious toasted with coffee, and also the slight sweetness is amazing with savory sandwiches. It's as follows:
Rye Bread AKA Grandma Bread (3 loaves)
2 cups rye flour
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup molasses
3 tsp salt
1 heaping teaspoon Anise seed
2 envelopes dry yeast
4 cups boiling water
1) Measure rye flour, shortening into a large bowl. Mix well with a large spoon.
2) Add 4 cups boiling water, stirring while adding water.
3) Add salt, sugar, molasses, anise seed, and stir. Let cool to warm (room temp).
4) Add yeast, which has been dissolved in warm water. Mix well.
5) Stir in white flour - mix well to make a stiff dough.
6) Turn out on floured surface. Knead 5-10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic, adding enough flour to keep dough from sticking.
7) Place in greased large bowl. Let rise in warm place until double in size. Form into three loaves and let rise until double in size. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.