I happen to love rye bread for its aroma and slightly pungent taste. Caraway seeds are usually added to Rye breads which gives this very unique taste. Caraway is related to the fennel/cumin variety and that type of flavor is not unknown to Indian cuisine. So when I was trying to come up with a recipe that used these seeds into an easy simple bread, I just couldn't wait to get baking.
The potato gives this bread a nice softness on the inside. The crust is just beautiful and thin, and this is by far the best flavor I have had in a bread. It would blend beautifully into a panini or a simple grilled sandwich.
I finally got a well aerated bread. Here is a macro shot to prove what good hydration can do to your bread. Spraying the insides of the oven with water and placing a small bowl of water in the oven while the bread is baking are all methods which also help with hydration.
Bread baking by far is the most fulfilling experience in the kitchen.
Potato Caraway Whole Wheat Bread
Ingredients:
Whole wheat flour - 3 cups
Whole wheat pastry flour - 1 cup
All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Vital gluten - 2 tbsp
Salt - To taste
Bakers yeast - 3 tsp
Warm water - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Mashed boiled potato - 1 large
Caraway seeds - 2 tsp
Olive oil - 3 tbsp
Method:
Combine all the three flours, salt and vital gluten and set it aside.
In another large bowl, take the warm water and add the sugar. To this sprinkle the yeast and let it bloom for about 10 minutes. It should start to foam up.
To this add the dry ingredients, mashed potato, caraway seeds and olive oil. Add water as needed to form into a soft dough.
Knead the dough for about 10-15 minutes by hand, lesser if you are using a kneader attachment on your stand mixer.
The dough will be pretty sticky. Do not add more flour, the dough should be very soft and supple.
Grease a large bowl with oil, and toss the dough around allowing it to coat well in oil. Cover and set in a warm place to rise and double in size. It should take about 2 hours.
After the first rise has taken place, punch down the dough (it will be sticky and kneading again is kind of tricky, so skip handling the dough too much.)
I just shaped mine into a round, and let it rise for another hour or so. If you'd like, use two loaf pans and divided the dough equally and let it rise again.
Bake at 375F for about 60 min or the bread manages to give a hollow sound when tapped at the bottom.
Allow to rest, and slice.
