Here's a recipe for a TERRIFIC loaf of bread. I've made it a number of
times for luncheons at church and it's always received with open arms
and rave reviews. Afterwards there are always a few people who come
around hoping there's some extra they can take home!
>From "The Complete Book of Breads", by Bernard Clayton, Jr. published
by Simon and Shuster, first edition, page 203.
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Swedish Limpa Rye
[two large round loaves]
This is one of the author's favorite loaves from among a dozen limpa
recipes in his files. It has the chili-like flavor of crushed cumin
seed, the unmistakable fragrance of fennel, and the pleasant goodness of
orange. Studded with raisins, the loaf rises up to become a handsome
brown ball. It sends forth a good aroma when toasted and buttered.
INGREDIENTS: 2 packages dry yeast
2 cups warm water (105-115 Fahrenheit)
2.5 cups medium rye flour
.25 cups EACH sugar and molasses
1 teaspoon EACH cumin and fennel, crushed or ground
Grated rind of 2 oranges
1 cup raisins, light or dark
4 cups all-purpose or bread flour, approximately
3 tablespoons shortening
1 tablespoon salt
BAKING SHEET: One baking sheet, greased or teflon
PREPARATION: In a large bowl or cup dissolve yeast in water. Stir briskly
20 mins. with a fork or whip. Let it stand 5 minutes to begin its
fermentation.
With a large wooden spoon stir all of the rye flour, sugar,
molasses, cummin, fennel, orange rind, raisins, and about
1.5 cups of white flour into the bowl. Beat until smooth--
about 100 strokes.
Add 1 cup flour, stir, and beat in the shortening and salt.
By hand add more flour, a little at a time, until the dough
cleans the sides of the bowl and is stiff. If a raisin works
its way out, push it back into the dough. The slight
discoloration that sometimes comes with working fruit into
white dough will not be noticed in this dark loaf.
KNEADING: Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board or counter top.
10 mins. Since this will be a slightly sticky dough, it may help to
grease the fingers beore beginning. Knead until the dough
is smooth and no longer sticky.
FIRST RISING: Put the dough into the large bowl (which has been washed
50 mins. and greased), cover tightly with plastic wrap and leave in
a warm place (80-85 f) until it doubles in bulk. You can
test if it has risen by poking a finger in it; the dent
will remain.
SHAPING: Punch down dough with quick jabs of the fist and fingers.
15 mins. Turn it over; let rest for 10 minutes. Turn the dough onto
the board, knead briefly to press out the air. With a sharp
knife, cut into two pieces. Pat and roll the dough into round
balls. Place on opposite corners of the baking sheet. Flatten
slightly.
SECOND RISING: Cover the dough with wax paper or foil and return to the warm
45 mins. place until doubled in volume. You can test if it has risen
by poking a finger in it; the dent will remain.
BAKING: Preheat the oven to 375f. With a razor blade or sharp knife,
375f slash a cross on top of each loaf. Bake in the oven. When the
45 mins. loaves are crusty and tapping the bottom crust yields a hard
and hollow sound, they are done. If not, return to oven for
an additional 10 minutes. If the loaves appear to be browning
too quickly, cover with a piece of foil or brown sack paper.
FINAL STEP; Remove from oven and place the loaves on a wire cooling rack.
This limpa makes exceptionally good toast. The loaf freezes
well.
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My observations are that this is one TERRIFIC loaf of bread... and the
author is correct in his statement that it makes exceptionally good toast
but it usually doesn't last long enough to get anywhere near a toaster.
When I make it I tend to find that it needs either a little LESS rye flour,
or a little MORE water than the recipe calls for. I'd suggest that you may
want to try 2.5 cups of water instead of 2, but you may want to try it as
written first, just to see how you like it.
Since it contains quite a bit of rye flour, it's low in gluten, and really
does get sticky, so the cautions about dealing with stickiness are entirely
appropriate.
Also, since it contains a lot of rye (even more if you don't add extra
liquid or cut back the rye a bit because it gets too stiff before you can
get all the white flour worked in) it tends to take a lot of kneading and
also may not rise well. I'd take that as a hint to do what I suggested
above, i.e., add water or cut back on the rye a bit.
Also, it may be my oven, but I find it tends to burn on the bottom if
baked at even 350 degrees. The last time I made it I dropped the temperature
to around 335-340, and covered the bottom of the baking sheets with aluminum
foil (shiny side down) to prevent the bottom from getting so much heat. This
just means the crust won't get quite so dark, and it may take a few more
minutes in the oven to finish baking.
And, I find it works better to make each loaf on a separate baking sheet,
as they tend to crash into each other and become Siamese twins.
Enjoy!
Fred
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