My dad's favorite bread is the slightly sweet, slightly dense Swedish Rye Bread. So I adapted our family recipe for Swedish Rye for the bread machine, that means he can make it too! He's a popular guy at potlucks, now, walking in with a warm loaf of just-baked bread. All the widows swoon!
REVIEWS
"I made your recipe for the rye bread and it came out perfect ..." ~ Pauline
"Just made bread by hand, tastes great." ~ Fishook
"... excellent. Slightly hearty, but at the same time very light, fluffy, moist and smooth." ~ Rosa's Yummy Yums
On cool Saturday mornings, the oven seems to plead, “Make bread! Please! Make bread!” Most loaves emerge plump and fragrant, demanding to be sliced and buttered on the spot.
Enter my summer nemesis, a bread machine borrowed to convert a recipe for Swedish rye, a family favorite.
What trouble! Only three of the first fourteen loaves were perfect. I made one silly mistake after another, like forgetting to insert the kneading blade or to press the Start button. From much trial and many errors, I learned that an automatic breadmaker certainly isn’t goofproof.
I learned that the extra oomph in rapid-rise yeast creates a round top on heavy, European-style bread. I learned to store yeast at room temperature. I learned to open the lid during the first kneading cycle to scrape flour from the sides. Finally, I learned to close the lid, let the machine do its work and hope for perfection. Lucky you, I think I’ve got it. Here’s the recipe, Swedish Rye Bread for the bread machine, along with the make-it-by-hand method, both work great.
I love the taste and texture produced by Bob’s Red Mill’s dark rye flour but other ryes work too. Wheat gluten is a favorite breadmaker trick but lightens this bread too much. When mixed by hand, this bread works beautifully with a "slow rise" in the refrigerator overnight. For years, I baked Swedish Rye Bread in traditional loaf pans. Now I usually form two round loaves, they hold up beautifully and look so pretty in a basket, a nice hostess gift. (2012) I no longer have a bread machine so always mix this bread by hand, even a mixer is unnecessary. But I'm puzzled that the much-tested bread-machine version can use so much less flour than what's needed to make a hand-workable dough. Is it possible that a bread machine is a calorie-saver? For just-buy-the-box convenience, Bob’s Red Mill also sells a stone ground rye bread mix for bread machines. It includes some caraway but I add fennel and orange zest to the mix. It’s not the same but good! Have you seen a Butter Bell? It keeps butter just the right temperature for easy spreading. It’s a must if you love bread ‘n’ butter!
Do you have a favorite recipe you've adapted for a bread machine that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. Follow Kitchen Parade on Facebook! FAMILY RECIPE: SWEDISH RYE BREAD
Time to table: 3-1/2 hours
Makes a 1-1/2 pound loaf
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BREAD MACHINE
- 1-1/4 cups (275g) warm tap water
- 1 tablespoon soft butter
- 1/2 tablespoon table salt
- 1/4 cup (70g) honey (or sorghum or part molasses)
- 1/4 cup (50g) brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons fennel seed or ground fennel or a blend
- 1/2 teaspoon caraway
- Zest of an orange
- 1-1/2 cups (190g) bread flour
- 1-1/2 cups (190g) rye flour
- 1 packet (2-1/4 teaspoons, 7g) rapid rise yeast
- Butter
Add ingredients in order listed, not letting yeast touch liquid. Set for white bread and light crust. When baked, transfer to a cooling rack, brush top with butter.
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS WW Old Points 2.5, WW PointsPlus 4-
HAND MIX
- 1 packet (2-1/4 teaspoons, 7g) active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon warm tap water
- 1-1/4 cups (275g) warm tap water
- 1 tablespoon soft butter
- 1/2 tablespoon table salt
- 1/4 cup (70g) honey (or sorghum or part molasses)
- 1/4 cup brown (50g) sugar
- 2 tablespoons fennel seed or ground fennel or a blend
- 1/2 teaspoon caraway
- Zest of an orange
- 1-1/2 cups (190g) bread flour
- 1-1/2 cups (190g) rye flour
- Up to about 1 more cup bread flour, as needed
- Butter
In small bowl, proof yeast with sugar and 1 tablespoon warm water. (If it doesn’t bubble up, the yeast is dead and you’ll need to repeat this step with new yeast.)
In large mixing bowl, mix water, 1 tablespoon butter, salt, honey, brown sugar, fennel, caraway and orange zest with a wooden spoon. Gently stir in 1 cup bread flour and proofed yeast. Add remaining bread flour and rye flour until combined, then knead for 5 minutes, adding bread flour as needed.
Transfer to a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place til double. With a fist, gently deflate the dough. Form into a loaf, transfer to a greased loaf pan, cover and let rise in a warm place until double.
Heat oven to 375F. Bake loaf for 35 – 45 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, remove from pan, brush top with butter, finish cooling.
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS WW Old Points 3, WW PointsPlus 5LATER NOTES
(2007) In Switzerland, Rosa's Yummy Yums wrote: "This Swedish Rye Bread is excellent ... slightly hearty, but at the same time ...very light, fluffy, moist and smooth. ... incredible and original flavor originates from the caraway/fennel seeds as well as the orange rind ... The crust is gorgeously crunchy and tasty ... not too dark, yet not plain at all, this loaf will [please those who like] white and brown breads [and] brioche type breads. A must-try for all of you bread addicts and homebakers!" See Rosa's beautiful loaves.
(2012) Recipe updated.
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Fennel seeds must add nice aroma and texture!! I could smell it right now!!YUM!!
10/06/2006
I also love the butter bell. It has taken our guests awhile to figure it out. The water scares them. I like that when we go away for a week I don't have to put the butter in the fridge and them come home to stone hard butter and a desire for soft butter on bread.
10/06/2006
Fennel wouldn't have occured to me, I' have to try it.
Oh, and I fixed the post you comment on. Thanks.
10/07/2006
10/11/07
Chrispy ~ Please do, especially your own recipes.
Danielle ~ Thanks! I learn so much from others, it's nice to pass a little along.
Kevin ~ Fennel somehow turns Swedish rye into, well, Swedish rye!
10/11/06
6/13/2007
Fishook
Cheers,
Rosa
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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. But I also love hearing your reactions, your curiosity, even your concerns! When you've made a recipe, I especially love to know how it turned out, what variations you made, what you'll do differently the next time. ~ Alanna