WHOLE WHEAT AND RYE SOURDOUGH BREAD

 Whole Wheat and Rye Sourdough Bread

This is a recipe that I found into "KING ARTHUR FLOUR" website because I was looking for a rye /wheat flour bread recipe, to use my sourdough starter.

I went to a GREAT CLASS  about sourdough at “King Arthur Flour” class center in Vermont  and the recipe I have for white flour and sourdough starter (fed or unfed) is a wonderful bread, well raised, tasty, the crumbs are perfect, the crust ... divine!

But as I ADORE the rye bread, I was looking for a variation of the white flour recipe. The tip that I learned in class is that we have to increase the quantity of water in order to have a perfect RYE SOURDOUGH BREAD. The recipe ask for a mixer of rye/or wheat flour  with unbleached white flour.

This is a perfect recipe and if you have this bread, right from the oven (after the necessary time to cool) it is perfect bread for a great sandwich... or just with butter, as I would like it!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 3/4 cups (14 ounces) lukewarm milk
2 cups (16 1/2 ounces) sourdough starter, fed or unfed*
      NOTE: *If you feed your starter first, the dough will rise a bit more quickly.
1/4 cup (1 7/8 ounces) packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon whole anise seeds
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) white rye flour
1 cup (4 ounces)  Whole Wheat Flour
3 1/2 to 4 cups (14 3/4 to 17 ounces)  All-Purpose Flour

 Directions:
Combine the yeast, milk, the sourdough starter, sugar, salt, cardamom, and seeds. Stir in the rye flour and beat until the batter is smooth. Add the whole wheat flour, then the unbleached all-purpose flour, a cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has formed a shaggy mass, turn it out onto a lightly floured counter.

Knead the dough and add just as much flour as you need to keep the dough from sticking to the counter. The dough should be a little tacky, but not sticky.
MY NOTE: I used the bread machine, 2h for a dough cycle.

 Place the dough in a greased bowl. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let rise until it has doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Gently deflate the dough and place it on a lightly floured counter. Shape as desired; you can make one huge loaf, three normal loaves, four mini loaves, or about 24 rolls. You can also reserve a small amount of dough and roll it into long, thin strips that can be snipped with scissors to form a stalk of wheat to decorate the top of each loaf.

Cover the loaves and let them rise for about 45 to 60 minutes, or until they're puffy.
 Bake them in a preheated 400°F oven for about 25 minutes, or until the bread is nicely browned and sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom.
Remove from the oven, and cool on a rack.

This recipe comes to   "KING ARTHUR FLOUR" website  from Marilyn Mulgrew of Rochester, New York.