Old-World Rye Bread

This was my very first attempt at making rye bread. My mom told me that rye bread don't raise blood sugar levels like white or even wheat breads do, so I decided to try it. I went in search of rye flour and it was hard to find. Our local grocery stores in Mount Vernon don't carry it so I drove to Monet to the Wal-Mart and they didn't have it either. I was just about to give up when another customer and her daughter walked up beside me so I asked them if they knew who might carry rye flour. The answer was Ramey supermarket. They had a few different brands, but the one I chose was Hodgson Mill. I already had yeast so I didn't buy more, that was my mistake. The bread didn't raise well so it turned out heavy, but the flavor is wonderful. When I buy more yeast, I am going to try again on this recipe, and there are several other recipe's that I have run across for rye bread that I am going to try also.

OLD-WORLD RYE BREAD

2 packages (1/4 oz each) active dry yeast
1-1/2 cups warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
1/2 cup molasses
6 TBS butter, softened
2 cups rye flour,
1/4 cup baking cocoa
2 TBS caraway seeds
2 tsp salt
3-1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
cornmeal

1) In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Beat in the molasses, butter, rye flour, cocoa, caraway seeds, salt and 2 cups all purpose flour to form a stiff dough.

2) Turn onto a floured surface; knead (working in the rest of the all purpose flour) until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a worm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.

3) Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Shape each piece into a loaf, about 10 inches long. Grease two baking sheets and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place loaves on prepared pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

4) Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Yield: 2 loaves (12 slices each)
Nutritional facts: 1 slice ...146 calories, 3 grams fat (2 grams saturated fat), 8 mg cholesterol, 229 mg sodium, 26 g carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 3 grams protein.


After making this bread, I see that it does have a lot of all purpose flour in it and I am not sure if it is the answer to high blood suger after all. The search continues.

By Kay Longboy