Cummin Rye Bread
When I was very little sliced bread wasn’t as popular as it is now. Star bread and later Albany would deliver loaves of unsliced white and brown bread to our shop. Then you could still buy half a loaf of bread if you wanted to.
The smell alone used to make me want to eat the whole loaf by myself. Often my parents would crack open a bottle of Coke, cut thick, hot slices for us and spread a thick knob of butter on each. I enjoyed watching the butter melt into the bread. Freshly baked bread with butter is one of the best things in life and even though I don’t enjoy it with a Coke anymore, I still feel like a child when there’s a loaf in my oven.
This loaf is inspired by the naan bread. I wanted to create something that resembled a bit of home and had history. This recipe is a variation from allrecipes.com its NY Jewish Rye Bread recipe. The only difference from that recipe and mine is that instead of caraway, I used jeera and instead of sugar, I used honey. I also lowered the salt a bit and used 1 packet of yeast (10g)
Did you know: Cummin or jeera as is commonly known is for digestion. When boiled and cooled it can relieve constipation, bloating and will settle a sore or upset tummy.
Ingredients
2 cups white stoneground bread flour
1 cup Rye flour (I used Bio-Wheat)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 packet of instant yeast or 2 1/2 tsp of instant yeast
1 1/2 tbsp cummin/jeera seeds
1 cup warm water
2 tbsp honey
1/4 cup olive oil
Method
In a large mixing bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients for 1 minute.
Mix in the honey and water and olive oil. The mixture should come together quickly. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and rest it for 30 minutes.
Change the paddle of your mixture to a dough hook and knead for exactly 8 minutes.
Turn out onto a floured surface and continue to knead until the dough is soft and pliable. You should press it and if the dough springs back slowly it is ready. If it doesn’t, continue kneading and form a large round ball.
In a large bowl, add 1 tsp of oil into it and coat all the sides.
Coat the dough well in oil by swirling it around in the bowl.
Cover with cling film and let it rest in a warm place for 1 hour.
In the meantime, spray a small loaf pan with spray-and-cook and dust it with flour.
When your dough is ready, transfer the ball to the pan. You can shape it but don’t knock it down or squash the dough and shape in any way. Let it rest for 1 1/2 hours.
In the baking pan, your dough will double in size.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 170 degrees for 35 minutes.
