When many people think of rye bread they envisage the dark brown, strongly-flavoured loaves sold in American supermarkets. These loaves are not coloured and flavoured primarily by rye, but by additives to the dough such as cocoa, coffee and fennel. Polish-style rye breads are lighter and taste similar to a nutty wheat bread, without the strong and bitter taste of darker ryes.
This recipe combines high-grade white flour for lightness with rye for flavour and wholemeal flour to add stability. The bread can be made all-wholemeal or all-white if desired, but the quantity of rye flour should not be increased as this would result in a weak dough.
Makes one large freeform loaf.
Ingredients for Pumpkin Rye Bread:
- 1 cup rye flour
- 1-2 cups high-grade white flour
- 1-1½ cups wholemeal flour
- 1 ½ tsp yeast
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup cooked, mashed pumpkin (not hot)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tsp salt
- sesame or sunflower seeds to sprinkle
Method for Making Pumpkin Rye Bread:
- Sift one cup each of rye, high-grade and wholemeal flours into a large bowl; add yeast and brown sugar.
- Make a well in the centre.
- Pour apple cider vinegar, mashed pumpkin, olive oil and water into the well. Beat with a large spoon, gradually incorporating the wet ingredients into the flour mixture.
- Turn out onto a heavily floured surface and knead for five minutes. Depending on the consistency of the pumpkin, you may need to add as much as 1 ½ cups extra flour.
- After five minutes, cover the dough with a teatowel and leave for ten minutes.
- Add the salt to the dough and knead for a further five minutes, adding more flour if necessary, until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky. Form into a ball.
- Oil the washed bowl and turn the ball of dough in it until covered; cover dough with a piece of gladwrap placed directly on the surface and leave to rise for a few hours until doubled.
- Punch down the dough and knead briefly to release any large air bubbles.
- Shape the dough into a freeform loaf (this recipe is slightly too large for a loaf tin) and place on a greased baking tray. Slash if desired and sprinkle with sesame or sunflower seeds.
- Place the gladwrap back over the loaf and leave to rise until nearly doubled.
- Remove gladwrap and place loaf in a cold oven. Turn oven to 180C and place a pan of boiling water on the rack below the loaf.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack and serve with butter.
Pumpkin Rye Bread Variations:
- The loaf may be sprinkled with poppy seeds, rock salt, coarse cornmeal, pumpkin seeds (pepitas) or a combination before baking.
- This loaf looks attractive shaped as a fat oval with a small braid running down the centre.
- Butternut squash can replace the pumpkin in this recipe.
Sarah Tennant - Sarah Tennant is a onetime English major who lives in New Zealand with her husband and two small children. Her interests range from ...
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