German Blended Rye Bread
Best with: Palouse Heritage Rye and Turkey Red Wheat
This is one of our own family recipes!
This is a soft, blended rye loaf in the German home-baking tradition: mostly wheat flour, with enough rye for that familiar rich flavor. It bakes in ordinary loaf pans and makes three loaves at once, so there is plenty for sandwiches, toast, and the freezer.
About the Grains
Turkey Red is America's first true hard red bread wheat. German Mennonite immigrants from Russia and Ukraine brought it to the Kansas plains in the 1870s, and German families from Russia carried it on to the Palouse, where it became the foundation of the region's bread wheat. Before Turkey Red, most bread in the Northwest was made from soft white wheats. It is a fitting wheat for a German rye loaf.
Rye is a hearty, time-honored grain prized for its rich, earthy flavor with subtle notes of spice and sweetness, bringing distinctive character and centuries of Northern and Eastern European baking tradition to every loaf.
At a Glance
Makes: 3 loaves
Rise: about 1 hour, until doubled
Bake: 35 minutes at 375°F
Ingredients
5 cups Palouse Heritage Turkey Red flour
2 cups Palouse Heritage Rye flour
¼ cup brown sugar
3 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter
2 ¼ tablespoons dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6 ounces (¾ cup) warm water, for the yeast
Instructions
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the white sugar, mix, and let it rise to the top of the cup
Mix the yeast mixture with the milk
Add the rye flour, Turkey Red flour, brown sugar, melted butter, and salt. Then knead by hand or in a mixer for 10 minutes
Place the dough in a greased bowl and let it rise until doubled, about 1 hour
Turn the dough out of the bowl, punch it down, and knead briefly
Shape into 3 loaves and place in 3 greased loaf pans
Bake at 375°F for 35 minutes
Notes
Fresh-milled flour: always recommended for this bread.
Freezing: with three loaves from one batch, you can cool the extras completely, wrap them well, and freeze.
