Swedish Rye Bread

Erma, thirty years now you have been trying to educate me on the finer points of corn breads. I guess we Yankees, just don’t get it. We like ours cake like and made of yellow corn meal.

We may not understand cornbread, but we Yankees do have you southerners beat all to pieces on ethnic yeast breads. If you want a hearty bread for sandwiches, it is hard to go wrong with Swedish Rye Bread. The secret is the caraway seeds for the unique flavor. Kids who refuse to eat “brown bread” will eat this one.

Swedish Rye Bread:

¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup molasses
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons shortening
1 ½ cup boiling water
1 package dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
2 ½ cups rye flour
3 tablespoons caraway seeds
3 ½ to 4 cups white flour

Combine the brown sugar, molasses, salt and shortening in a large bowl like the KitchenAid Mixing Bowls. Pour over the boiling water, stir and then cool. Stir in the yeast to the warm water.

When the molasses mixture is lukewarm, stir in the rye flour, yeast, and caraway seeds. Beat well.

Begin mixing in the white flour until you have a soft dough. Knead for about 10 minutes on a floured board until satiny. Place dough into a greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Punch down the dough, divide into two balls and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Shape into loaves and place in greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise another 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on wire racks. Brush warm crust with melted butter if you wish a soft crust.

Makes 2 loaves.

This makes a great base for a Ruben Sandwich.