This book has 13 recipes for rye breads, and I'm excited to try a few more because rye bread is better for you for these reasons: it contains much more dietary fiber, which helps digestion and keeps you full longer; it has a lower glycemic index, causing a slower rise in blood sugar; and rye provides higher amounts of micronutrients like magnesium, iron, and B vitamins.
Today, I decided on a fruit rye bread and almost had a disaster. After the first knead, I realized my new bread machine doesn't have an add-in alarm for the dough setting. In addition, the dough ball was knocking the bread machine off kilter on the counter after the first 50 minutes. I thought back through the ingredients and realized that I used only half the water. I decided to start the cycle over and had a sloppy mess in the machine with water spraying all over the inside pan and cover. Ugh. I ended up taking the ball and sloppy dough out of the pan and kneading it on a floured counter surface and plopping the wet mess back in and resetting the machine to mix and knead. I wanted to see how the consistency was AND if it rose after the 90 minutes.
At that point, I needed to mix in the nuts and raisins by hand. I ended up with a shaggy sausage-shaped dough and hoped for the best. I let it rise in the proofing oven for one hour, brushed it with beaten egg and hoped for the best after baking for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. It's not bad but I'll try again and hope for a rounder loaf, possibly baking it in a shaped pan.
3 T. vegetable oil
1-1/2 T. sugar
1-1/2 tsp. salt
3 T. cornmeal
1-3/4 c. + 2 T. bread flour
1 cup + 2 T. rye flour
1 T. yeast
6 T. raisins
6 T. chopped pecans
