Dark Rye Sourdough with Caraway

This is the bread German and Amish immigrant communities carried into Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. Dense, deeply flavored, and it keeps a full week without going stale.

Ingredients

• 1 cup active starter
• 1 1/2 cups whole rye flour (180g)
• 1 cup bread flour (125g)
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1 tablespoon caraway seeds

Method

1. Mix all ingredients into a sticky, cohesive dough — it will not feel like a wheat dough.
2. Transfer to a well-oiled loaf pan and smooth the top with wet hands.
3. Bulk ferment 8 to 12 hours at room temperature. There’s no second shaping step.
4. Bake at 375°F for 45 to 55 minutes, to 210°F internal.
5. Cool completely, ideally 12 to 24 hours, before slicing.

Rye bread cut too early is gummy. Cut the next morning, it’s perfect — the crumb keeps setting long after the oven.

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