Yummy Rye Bread!

When Hubby and I got married two of his aunts went in together to get us a bread machine. We loved it! It was so much fun to set it before we went to bed and wake up to those delicious smells that would make our tummies grumble in the wee small hours.

Early this year our bread machine broke! Granted it survived ten years of our torture. But we missed it. And we were planning on getting a new one this Fall.

But I have since discovered that I LOVE making homemade bread. I love putting all the ingredients together to make something that my family can eat. I love having that yummy yeasty smell in the kitchen. I love being able to get my hands dirty in the dough. I love getting my aggressions out by kneading the dough for 10 minutes. And, who doesn't love the smell!?

I have made white, wheat, German rye, French, etc.

So I thought I would try making another rye bread. The recipe was for a traditional deli or Jewish rye.

Very easy to make. It was a little time consuming-you make a "sponge" with bread flour, yeast, water, and honey first and let that sit at room temp for a few hours till bubbly on top. Then you add the rest of the flour (both bread flour and rye flour) the caraway seed (it gives it that yummy flavor!), a little oil and a little salt. Knead like crazy. Then it has to rise a few times and shape, then, finally, you can bake it.

And everyone loved it (especially Hubby who is enjoying that I have been making so much bread lately.) We ate it for dinner with Hubby's homemade vegetable beef soup-mmmmm.

It wasn't as smooth as other breads, though. Kind of lumpy. Is that just the nature of rye bread? Does anyone have experience with rye?

I think I would like to try a sourdough if anyone has any advice. I'll have to get that starter going. Is it better with all-purpose flour or bread flour? I'll have to get some books to help me out with this!