A New Hearty Sourdough Rye Bread

Here is the dough, resting on the wooden "peel" sprinkled with corn meal.



Here is the "La Cloche" pre-heating in the oven.



Here is the loaf right before I put it into the La Cloche.



Here is the finished loaf!

AND, here is the recipe:

Hearty Sourdough Rye Bread

Ingredients:
1 cup bubbly sourdough starter
1/2 cup milk kefir
1 teaspoon Real Salt
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons Sucanat
1 cup freshly ground whole grain rye flour
1 Tablespoon Caraway Seed
freshly ground whole wheat flour

Method:

Mix together all of the ingredients except the whole wheat flour in a large bowl. Then, begin adding the whole wheat flour, a little at a time, until it makes a fairly stiff dough, like you could knead it. Then, using sprinkles of whole wheat flour, knead the dough for 10 minutes.

Oil the bowl, put the dough in and turn it over so the top is oiled. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. I put this together early yesterday afternoon, and before I went to bed I punched it down. This morning I completed it.



Form the loaf into a nice smooth round and place on a peel sprinkled with plenty of corn meal.

Place La Cloche or a baking stone in your oven and pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees F, for 30 minutes.

When the loaf is nice and springy, brush the top with an egg that has been mixed with 1/2 shell of water. Sprinkle more carraway seeds on top. Slash the top in 3 places. Slide it into the La Cloche or onto your baking stone. (If you have neither, then just use a baking sheet that you do have. It should not be pre-heated.)

Bake for 25 minutes and then remove the top of the La Cloche and bake for 5 more minutes. Cool on a wire rack. If using a baking stone or sheet, if the bread is getting too brown, put a tent of aluminum foil or a piece of brown paper bag on top to protect it. It took 30 minutes total to bake mine sufficiently. You will have to gauge it to your oven.