THE BEST RYE-BREAD
 

It is well and good to have breads with lots of ingredients, but it is often good to "go simple".

  Voila:

                  3-4 cups rye meal or kibbled rye 
                  1 cup wholemeal rye flour 
                  starter -some dough from last time or start as below (after the bread recipe) 
                  water 
 

Mix the above ingredients - adding water to make a mix of "porridgy" consistency.
Leave to sour. This can take from 12 to 24 hours. I live in Australia and find that in summer no more than 12 hours is needed,and in winter it may be safe to let it be for up to 24.Of course the activeness of the starter will affect this as well. However.... 

When the souring process is done, add 1 tablespoon sugar,1 teaspoon salt,a handful of caraways,1 teaspoon dried yeast, 1 cup plain flour some water (about half a cup),and wholemeal rye flour to make a fairly stiff dough. 
Knead by hand till the dough starts to "talk" (so the latvians call that sound),and it starts to come away from the hand.
Form loaves - I find that this quantity yields 2 goodsized loaves, put in bread pans (previously oiled), smooth over and leave in a warmish place till you notice a definite increase in size.
Remember to scrape out the dough container and store the "scrapings" in water in an airtight jar in the refrigerator. This is your starter for next time.

As for the bread in the pans, when the loaves have "grown", bake in a hot oven 400 F or 200 C for about 50-60 mins. Unless you have a fanforced oven, you will need to keep an eye on the baking and turn the loaves (after about 20-30 mins} to prevent burning.
When done, remove from pans,put on a wire rack, cover with thick tea towels and leave to cool.

Very Latvian : Very yummy with or without any kind of topping.!!!
 
 
 

If you are making rye bread for the very first time and have no starter, the easiest way to start a starter is thus:

Mix 1 cup of  rye flour with 1 tablespoon plain yoghurt or kefir and enough water to make a mix of "porridgy" consistency.
Sprinkle some flour over the surface of this, cover with a clean tea-towel and leave in a draught-free place till the 
mixture turns sour.
If will work faster if the place is warmish (20C+).

             Any questions: Anna