This week for the Great British Bake Off Bakealong it was time to bake a rye bread. I have made rye before so this was nothing new to me. We also had to make an open faced sandwich, a Smørrebrød by it’s Danish name. I decided I wanted to try something different so I found a recipe for an easy marbled rye in The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. I played with how to “marble” it and did it two ways; one was a 6 strand braid and the other a classic roll.
Easy Marbled Rye Bread
Makes 4 loaves
For the Light Rye
- 1 1/2 cups white rye flour
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 3/4 tsp instant yeast
- 1 TBS molasses
- 2 TBS shortening
- 1 1/4 cups plus 2 TBS warm water
For the Dark Rye
- 1 1/2 cups white rye flour
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 3/4 tsp instant yeast
- 1 TBS cocoa powder
- 1 TBS molasses
- 2 TBS shortening
- 1 1/4 cups plus 2 TBS warm water
egg wash made with one egg and a splash of water
Make the Light Rye:
- Add the flours, salt and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached
- Stir to mix
- Add the molasses, shortening and 1 1/4 cups of water. Mix on low until the dough forms a ball. Add the additional 2 TBS of water only if needed. The dough should be tacky but not sticky.
- Remove the paddle and add the dough hook and knead for 4 minutes.
- Form the dough into a ball and place into a greased bowl and cover and let rise for 90 minutes
Make the Dark Rye
- Add the flours, salt, yeast and cocoa powder to the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached.
- Mix well
- Add the molasses, shortening and 1 1/4 cups of water. Mix on low until the dough forms a ball. Add the additional 2 TBS of water only if needed. The dough should be tacky but not sticky.
- Remove the paddle and add the dough hook and knead for 4 minutes.
- Form the dough into a ball and place into a greased bowl and cover and let rise for 90 minutes
Shape the Loaves
- Turn the dough balls out and cut into 12 pieces each.
- To make a classic marbled rye roll out two dark and two light into 8 x 10″ rectangles
- Stack them light/dark/light/dark and roll up jelly roll style and seal the edges.
- Place into a greased loaf pan. Set aside to rise
- To make a braided loaf take three light and three dark pieces and roll into strips.
- Line them up one light, one dark, etc. Braid.
- Place in greased loaf pan to rise.
- Repeat with remaining pieces.
- Let rise, covered for 90 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Brush loaves with egg wash and bake in preheated oven for approx. 45 minutes until loaves sound hollow when tapped.
- Remove immediately from pan to cool on a wire rack.
- Do not cut until completely cooled.
How Was the Marbled Rye Bread?
This is a simple, uncomplicated rye without a starter so it’s not a strong flavored bread. It does have a taste of rye but it’s not like a classic Jewish rye. I also despise caraway so I don’t ever use it. It can be added it you like it.
It does make for a very pretty loaf of bread and for making a rye bread this is a very simple way of getting there.
Open Faced Reuben from Marbled Rye Bread
Part of the challenge this week was to present an open faced sandwich so I figured a Reuben would be perfect. I had a lot of canned homemade sauerkraut so it was a perfect choice.
A slice of the rye, Russian dressing (mayo, ketchup and relish), the sauerkraut topped with corned beef and swiss cheese. I decided to get fancy and made one in a woven style and one in alternating meat and cheese. I topped both with a little more dressing and they were good to go.
Questions? Comments? Leave them HERE
Easy Marbled Rye Bread Recipe
- Prep Time: 3 hours 10 min
- Cook Time: 45 min
- Total Time: 3 hours 55 minutes
- Yield: 4 loaves 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Bread
Ingredients
For the Light Rye
- 1 1/2 cups white rye flour
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 3/4 tsp instant yeast
- 1 TBS molasses
- 2 TBS shortening
- 1 1/4 cups plus 2 TBS warm water
For the Dark Rye
- 1 1/2 cups white rye flour
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 3/4 tsp instant yeast
- 1 TBS cocoa powder
- 1 TBS molasses
- 2 TBS shortening
- 1 1/4 cups plus 2 TBS warm water
egg wash made with one egg and a splash of water
Instructions
Make the Light Rye:
- Add the flours, salt and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached
- Stir to mix
- Add the molasses, shortening and 1 1/4 cups of water. Mix on low until the dough forms a ball. Add the additional 2 TBS of water only if needed. The dough should be tacky but not sticky.
- Remove the paddle and add the dough hook and knead for 4 minutes.
- Form the dough into a ball and place into a greased bowl and cover and let rise for 90 minutes
Make the Dark Rye
- Add the flours, salt, yeast and cocoa powder to the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached.
- Mix well
- Add the molasses, shortening and 1 1/4 cups of water. Mix on low until the dough forms a ball. Add the additional 2 TBS of water only if needed. The dough should be tacky but not sticky.
- Remove the paddle and add the dough hook and knead for 4 minutes.
- Form the dough into a ball and place into a greased bowl and cover and let rise for 90 minutes
Shape the Loaves
- Turn the dough balls out and cut into 12 pieces each.
- To make a classic marbled rye roll out two dark and two light into 8 x 10″ rectangles
- Stack them light/dark/light/dark and roll up jelly roll style and seal the edges.
- Place into a greased loaf pan. Set aside to rise
- To make a braided loaf take three light and three dark pieces and roll into strips.
- Line them up one light, one dark, etc. Braid.
- Place in greased loaf pan to rise.
- Repeat with remaining pieces.
- Let rise, covered for 90 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Brush loaves with egg wash and bake in preheated oven for approx. 45 minutes until loaves sound hollow when tapped.
- Remove immediately from pan to cool on a wire rack.
- Do not cut until completely cooled.
Notes
prep time includes rising times
Keywords: rye bread, marbled rye bread, bread, homemade bread
