Rye bread and why it should be left to the professional

Yesterday was certainly a busy breadmaking day. Aside from Pizza, Rémi also finally put his rye flour to good use. My conclusion is, unless you have a bread machine, it's more worthwhile letting the baker earned that 5 bucks.

It's just too time-consuming. Three rounds of kneading, and two rounds of glazing, it took half the afternoon and night to complete the full course of making the bread, that due to inexperience, has rooms for improvement (although I would say that his rye bread is excellent, given that it's his first time making it).

I've grown up on soft white bread and love the softness of those traditional white bread loaf you spread your kaya and butter on. Not the commercial square white bread you use for making those triangular sandwiches. So it took me a while to get used to those harder country bread that the French loves.

The French takes much pride in their bread, almost like they do with their cheese. In France, it seems that you can't call yourself a boulanger unless you have some certification, and artisan bread are highly valued.

For the undeterred, I reproduce the recipe from the "Making Fresh Bread" cookbook.

Ryebread
Makes 1 large loaf

450g rye flour
225g strong white bread flour plus extra for dusting
2 tsp salt
2 tsp brown sugar
1 and 1/2 tsp easy blend dried yeast
425ml lukewarm water
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 egg white for glazing (we used milk)

Sift the flours and salt together into a bowl. Add sugar, yeast and stir to mix. Make a well in the centre and pour in the lukewarm water and oil. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough begins to come together, then knead with your hands until it leaves the side of the bowl.

Turn out on a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, until elastic and smooth.

Brush a bowl with oil. Shape the dough into a ball, put in the bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Leave to rise in a warm place for 2 hours, until the dough has doubled in volume.

Brush a baking sheet with oil. Turn out the dough on a lightly floured surface and knock back with your fist, then knead for a further 10 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball, put it on a prepared baking sheet and cover with the damp tea towel. Leave to rise in a warm place for a further 40 minutes, until the dough has doubled in volume.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 190C. Beat the egg white with 1 tsp of water in a bowl (if you're using it for glazing). Bake loaf for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and brush the top with the glaze. Return to oven and bake for a further 20 minutes.

Brush the top of the loaf with the glaze again and return to the oven for a further 20-30 minutes, until the crust is a rich brown colour and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the base with your knuckles. Cool before serving.