Finnish Rye Bread

The past two weeks have been busy with work, family, and housework. I decided that I needed a break from it all, all of the errands, dishes, crying, traveling, etc.

Tonight I thought it would be fun to bake bread from a cookbook I inherited from my grandmother. The cookbook was written by a relative of mine, Beatrice Ojakangas. I don't remember exactly how we are related, but we are. She has a pretty sweet job and maybe one day I can live up to the Martha-ness of her, my grandmother, and my mother.

The dough is rising now, but I will let you know how it turns out.

Note: Leave about 3 hours from start to finish the bread. There are very few ingredients and it is very easy to knead with a mixer, but it takes quite awhile for the dough to rise.

FINNISH RYE BREAD
1 cup water
2 tsp. packed brown sugar
1 Tb. butter or oil
1.5 tsp. salt
3/4 cup dark rye flour
2.25 cups flour
1.5 tsp. active dry yeast

Heat the water unit warm, between 105 and 115 degrees, pour it into the warmed mixing bowl, and add the yeast. Let stand 5 minutes, until the yeast begins to bubble. Add the brown sugar, butter, salt, and rye flour. Beat well. Slowly add half of the bread flour, and beat until a soft dough forms. Cover, and let stand 15 minutes. Knead the dough in the mixer with the dough hook, on medium to high speed, adding the remaining flour as necessary, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and is smooth and springy but still soft to the touch. Remove the dough hook, cover the bowl, and let the dough rise until doubled, about 1 hour. (You can also mix by hand or in a food processor following the same directions)

Lightly grease an 8 or 9 inch round cake pan or a rimless baking sheet. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board or lightly oiled surface. Punch the dough down, and shape it into a round loaf. Place the loaf, with the smooth side up, into the pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until the loaf is golden and wooden skewer inserted into the loaf comes out clean and dry. Brush the top of the loaf while it's still hot with melted butter, if desired. Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.