Let's talk bread: Rye Bread

Lately, I've been in a rut. Mostly because I'm stuck in the endless cycle of work/sleep. My days off fall during the week when no one is available. And baker hours suck. I get in these ruts of hating my job and the habits it puts me into.

While I may not like all aspects of my job, there are a few things about it that I enjoy. The main one being bread. I get to make some awesome bread. I sometimes forget how much I have learned in the past two months, and how much of it I have had to teach myself. 

I work by myself. Everyday, at 5 am I come in, turn on the ovens, get my mixing bowls, and start measuring out all the breads I have to make that day. Baguettes, brioche, white toast, rye baguettes, ciabatta, the list goes on. It's stressful, but I like the product I am making. While the world is just rising, I am in my small bakery creating dough that will eventually turn into bread others will eat.

I cannot stress enough how important time is when bread baking. It is your number one ingredient. You have to have the patience to let your bread be. For this rye bread, time is all it takes to let it fully develop and come out tasting great. 

While I may not have a recipe for this rye bread (mostly because the recipe isn't mine to share), I can offer a few words of advice.

-As I said earlier, rye bread needs caraway. Its something you can eyeball. I mix my caraway seeds in with my bread, but you could top it with the seeds instead.

-If you do choose to put seeds in your bread, make sure you wait till the last few minutes of mixing. Otherwise, the seeds will tear the gluten and create a tough bread. 

-Use old dough in your recipe. Old dough creates flavor. If you don't have old dough, don't worry about it, but if you do, use it!

So while I go on being in my rut (and getting over myself), bake and enjoy some rye bread. Rustic and nostalgic, rye bread is true comfort.