Sifted Rye Bread - Sigtebrød.
This is a very old type of Danish bread. When I worked at a Bakery in Denmark, we only sold a few, if non, sifted rye breads a day. And the customer would most likely be an old person. I think younger people wanted the fancy seeded breads. But quite frankly the sifted rye bread is very tasty. The crumb is a little more compact, without being dense. The recipe calls for "sigtemel" which is a sifted flour made from 30% rye and 70% wheat.
Makes 2 breads.
Ingredients:
- 50 g live yeast (4 teaspoons dry yeast)
- 400 ml tempered water
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 300 ml (1¼ cup) buttermilk
- 300 g all-purpose flour
- 700 g sigtemel (210 g dark rye flour + 490 g all-purpose flour)
- ½ teaspoon ground caraway seeds
- 5 teaspoons salt
Directions:
Dissolve the yeast in the water. If you use dry yeast add a few pinches of sugar.
Add buttermilk, flours, ground caraway seeds, salt and honey, and knead the dough for 5-8 minutes to build up the gluten. Let the dough rise for about 60 minutes in a warm spot.
Knead the dough for a few minutes, and divide the dough in two.
Use the heels of your hands to gently flatten the dough into a rough rectangle. Fold the bottom third up, like a letter fold. Fold the bottom third of the dough over on itself. Press the folds with the heels of your hands, to seal. Fold the dough once more, building up the surface tension. This will help the loaf rise evenly and keep its shape.
Place the loaf in a greased pan with the seam facing down. Repeat with the second loaf. I have a large pan that will hold both loafs, letting them “grow” together.
Preheat oven to 400℉ (200℃).
Let the loaf rise for another 40 minutes. Poke the top with a fork, and brush it with some milk. Bake loaf for 30-40 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
Enjoy!