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Bread

Danish Rye Bread

 

This recipe produces a hearty, flavourful bread that is well worth the effort! Great for lunches and snacks. Makes 2 loaves.

 

You'll Need:

 

 

DAY 1

 

Soaking Grains:

  • 3 cups water

  • 330g cracked/steel cut rye kernels

  • 165g sunflower seeds

  • 165g flaxseed

 

Rye Dough:

  • 1 1/4 cups sourdough

  • 3/8 cup water

  • 10g fresh yeast (2 1/4 tsp original dry yeast, or 1 3/4 tsp quick yeast)

    • ​​​OR 15 g fresh yeast if sourdough is not used (1 tbsp + 1/3 tsp original dry yeast, or 2 2/3 tsp quick yeast)

  • 450g rye flour

 

DAY 2

 

  • 150g rye flour

  • 30g sea salt

  • 5g roasted malt (optional)

 

Let's go:

 

Day 1

  1. Mix cold water, rye kernels, sunflower seeds, flaxseed together in a bowl, cover it with a cloth or lid, and leave it at room temperature for 24 hours.

  2. Start another bowl: Mix the sourdough and water in the bowl and then dissolve yeast in it (you might need to use a bit more water if you didn’t use sourdough).

  3. Mix rye flour in the liquid, and cover the dough with a cloth or lid. *NB! It becomes dry – this is not wrong.

  4. This bowl will also sit at room temperature for 24 hours. The dough and soaked grains should not be mixed together before the next day.

 

Day 2

  1. Mix the dough and soaked grains together. Add the rye flour, salt, and 5g roasted malt if you like (malt makes the bread dark but is not necessary, I never use it) and knead it all together well for about 5-10 minutes.

  2. Divide the dough into two 8-cup loaf pans, which have been well greased with sunflower oil. Place the pans somewhere warm and let the dough rise by 40-50% -- it takes about 2-3 hours.

  3. Bake the rye bread at 355°F for about 1 hour and 20 minutes (or use a digital thermometer and stop when the bread is 205°F in the center). If you're making smaller Snack Buns, it takes ~40 min at the same temperature (depending on size).

  4. Flip the bread out of the pans and cool them on a wire rack.

 

 

How to keep the bread:

 

  • The bread is usually easier to cut when cooled down.

  • Keep the bread a bag at room temperature (if you put it in the fridge it'll dry faster). It should stay fresh for 5-7 days.

  • The bread is also really good toasted.

  • Since the bread takes a lot of effort to bake, it is common in Denmark to bake a lot and freeze them as whole loafs or half loafs depending on how fast you eat them. This way the bread will not get old or dry and you’ll have soft and fresh bread for a longer time. Just take a new loaf out of the freezer the day before you need it.

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