Rye Oat meal Raisin Bread

Yesterday I made Rye Oat meal Raisin bread. I felt like it had been a long time since I had baked bread. Bread baking is more like my obsession now. It gives me so much pleasure which is difficult to put in words. Further I have to test the oven in my new gas stove. We like rye; it is like either you like rye or hates it. Hubby wanted me to try rye flour in the bread. I love bread for breakfast rather than oatmeal. But then oatmeal is healthy, so I decide to use oatmeal and also added some raisin to get the extra flavor and it become Rye oat meal raisin bread. 

Next my biggest confusion was which spices to add, I know caraway goes well with rye, so incorporated that one into this bread, and then added Fennel too. Fennel has a sweet strong aroma which I love. I was planning to use rolled oatmeal, but when I opened the bottle it has been spoiled, so used quick oats. This bread has hardness from rye, sweetness of raisin and honey and nuttiness from oats along with aroma from caraway and fennel. If you don’t like caraway or fennel you can skip them too.

My initial plan was to make breakfast toast with slice of bread smothered with butter. But the bread tasted really good that I forgot to use butter and start eating them as such. This recipe is inspired from all my favorite bread baking books like Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads: Revised and Expanded and Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes by Jeffrey Hamelman also from this The New York Times article. I took ideas and step from all these three and made this recipe. This time I made an overnight poolish too. I think it may enhance the flavor of rye flour in this bread. We love this bread, going to make this one more often.

One year ago Kuih dadar/coconut crepe/ coconut pancakes

Print Recipe from here

What you need

For poolish

Rye flour: ¾ cup (3.00 oz)
Unbleached Bread flour: ¼ cup (1.30 oz)
Instant yeast: 1 teaspoon (0.05 oz)
Water: 1 cup (8 oz)












For Dough

Rye flour: 1 ¼ cup( 6.5 oz)
Unbleached Bread flour: 1 ¼ cup (3.00 oz)
Unbleached Whole wheat flour: ½ cup (2.55 oz)
Oat meal: ½ cup (1.55 oz) I used quick oats
Raisin: ½ cup (2.5 oz) I used golden raisin (If you wish you can double the amount)
Water: ¾ cup
Honey: 1 tablespoon
Canola oil: 1 tablespoon
Salt: 1 ½ teaspoon
Fennel seeds: ¾ teaspoon
Caraway seeds: 1 ¼ teaspoon
Cornmeal: 1 teaspoon (sprinkling, optional)
Egg wash: (1 egg + 2 tablespoon of water) (optional)
Poolish: all the above

How I made

Night before baking in a bowl stir in Rye flour, bread flour, yeast and water and mix everything with a wooden spoon and cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature ( around 70-76 F).

One hour before baking soak raisin in ½ cup warm water and set aside. This soaking will prevent burning of raisin while baking. After 40 minutes of soaking, drain the raisin in kitchen towel to remove extra moisture. Don’t throw the water set aside for mixing dough if needed.

In a small bowl soak oats in ¼ cup water for 15 minutes and set aside.

In a bowl of kitchen aid mixer fitted with paddle attachment, stir in the flour and yeast and mix well. Then add honey, salt, oil, oat meal, caraway seeds and fennel seeds( set aside ¼ teaspoon each for sprinkling on the top) and poolish and mix well for 3 minutes. Then add soaked raisin and mix very well to incorporate into the dough. Then change to dough hook and knead the dough for about 8 minutes or until the dough starts leaves from the sides and form a ball. In between add 2 tablespoon of raisin soaked water to form sticky dough. Then transfer the dough to well floured area and knead for another 5 minutes or until they become shiny, supple, non sticky dough. The dough should pass the window pane test and register 77 to 81 F. If you are kneading by hand it takes about 15 minutes of kneading. 

Transfer the dough to a well oiled bowl and coat them with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for first rising or until they double in size. It took about 1 hour and 45 minutes. 

Transfer the dough the well floured surface and gently degas and shape the dough into loaf. Place them in well oiled loaf pan. Mist the top with oil and sprinkle caraway seeds and Fennel seeds. (Skip this step if you are using egg wash). If using egg wash then brush them with egg wash and sprinkle with caraway seeds and Fennel seeds and cover with oiled plastic wrap and set aside for second rising. It took about 45 minutes.

By the end of the second proofing preheat the oven to 400 F. Keep an empty broiler pan in the lower rack of oven. Add boiling hot water into the broiler pan when you are ready to bake the bread. (This will create steam, necessary to make the thick crust).

Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until the center become golden brown, and make a hollow sound when thumped in the bottom. If using instant thermometer, when it is done bread should register 185-190 F. Rotate the loaf pan at 180 degrees in between around 20 minutes of baking.

When the loaf is finished baking, remove them immediately from the pans and cool on rack for at least 1 hour, preferably 2 hours, before slicing and serving.

Enjoy as much as you wish. 

Preparation time: Over night for poolish + 4 hours and 15 minutes
Yield: 1 loaf
Verdict: Yummy
Will you make it again

This gorgeous bread is going to Bread baking Day event: 34 hosted by me originally started by Zorra.

 It also going to Susan's  Yeast spotting

Swathi