Deli-Style Rye Bread with Caraway Seeds

This recipe is from the book "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day"
by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.  If you really enjoy this bread, pick up the book for more details and wonderful recipes to try.

This bread is called "Deli-Style Rye".

The bread dough recipes take 5 minutes to mix in a container as shown.  There is no kneading.  The bread rises two times - once just after it's made, and second rising just before baking.  The beauty of this recipe is you make the recipe (which makes 4 loaves) and you store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Then you can bake a loaf when you want fresh bread every few days.

Makes four 1-pound loaves. This recipe can be doubled or halved.

Equipment needed for the best crust.
1 Pizza Peel (Wooden with a handle)
1 baking stone

Ingredients:

3 cups of lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons of granulated yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons of salt (I cut this down to 2 teaspoons)
1 1/2 tablespoons of caraway seeds, plus more for sprinkling on the top
1 cup of rye flour
5 1/2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
Cornmeal for pizza peel (flat wooden paddle the dough rises on)

Cornstarch wash (to brush over the top)
Using a fork, blend 1/2 teaspoon with a small amount of water to form a paste.
Add 1/2 cup of water and whisk with a fork.
Microwave or boil until the mixture appears glassy, about 30-60 seconds on high.
It will keep in the refrigerator for two weeks.

Directions:

1.  Mixing and storing the dough:  Mix the yeast, salt, and caraway seeds with the water in a 5-quart bowl, or lidded (not airtight) food container.

2.  Mix the remaining dry ingredients without kneading, using a wooden spoon.  You can also use a food processor with a dough attachment (14-cup capacity), or a heavy duty stand mixer with a dough hook.

3.  Cover (not airtight) and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on the top), approximately 2 hours.

4.  The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold.  Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 14 days.

5.  On baking day, dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece.  Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.  Elongate the ball into an oval-shaped loaf.  Allow the dough to rest and rise on a cornmeal-covered pizza peel for 40 minutes. Use a good quantity of cornmeal to cover the peel so the dough doesn't stick when you are sliding it off onto the baking stone.

6.  Twenty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 450F, with the baking stone placed on the middle rack.  Place an empty broiler tray on any other shelf that won't interfere with the rising bread.

7.  Using a pastry brush, paint the top crust with the cornstarch wash and then sprinkle with additional caraway seeds. Slash with deep parallel cuts across the loaf, using a serrated bread knife.

8.  Slide the loaf from the pizza peel, directly onto the hot stone. Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray, and quickly close the oven door.  Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until deeply browned and firm. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in baking time.

9.  Allow to cool before slicing or eating.