Can we call it a success?

One of my goals for this year is to get more involved in bread baking. I enjoy working with the dough and the anticipation of waiting to see if it comes out how you would like it to. One of the breads I have yet to tackle is Jeff's favorite kind- Rye Bread.

I have been looking at a specific recipe, Marbled Rye Bread, for the longest time but it just seemed really daunting and I would just pass over it. So let's start the New Year by diving in head first!

Working with two doughs, one remains light while the other is darker in color. Since I did not have any caramel coloring at home, I had to use coffee and cocoa so the darker rye is not as dark as I would have wanted. After kneading, the dough was supple and a little tacky. After resting, each dough is cut into 4 and then rolled into oblong pieces. 2 pieces of each color were stacked together, alternating colors. They are then rolled in a batard (torpedo) fashion and allowed to proof in loaf pans. After baking for about 20 minutes, I rotated the pans and the smell of fresh bread poured out of the oven. These gave off such a warm molasses aroma. Finally, they were done and now we had to wait a couple hours to take a slice. Here is what we ended up with.

A light egg wash gives a dark golden shell which, when cut into, yields a softer type bread that is great for hearty sandwiches. Caraway seeds are scattered throughout to lend a unique flavor to this rye bread. It is a big recipe to type up, so I'll try to get it posted within the next day or so.

The DVD from Netflix tonight will be Sliding Doors. I actually think I caught the end of this the other day on TNT while on the elliptical, but I'm not sure. I got the menu planning done for the week and I am anxious to get started. Stick around and see what we come up with for the first week of 2006!

Recipes
Marbled Rye Bread