Sunday, December 29, 2013

Swedish Rye









Today I baked my grandmother's Swedish Rye bread recipe again.  It's not too sweet, just 3 T of sorghum, and it makes 3 loafs.  The house is filled with the scent of baking rye flour, and faintly, anise and fennel. I remember eating fresh slices of it with fresh raspberry jam, at my grammy's  house in Northern Minnesota, at the end of summer. Or, spread thickly with butter,  out at the lake when we were done swimming,

I remember learning to bake it myself when I was almost 16 yrs old.  I also remember one year, when I was still teenaged,  I baked Swedish rye loaves in our summer cabin's old wood cook stove.  The loaves came out very lopsided, and burned on top, on the side closest to the firebox.  I remember burning lots of kindling,  hot,  to get the old oven up to 400º,  and there was a crack in the top of the woodstove when I had finished baking, that I don't think was there when I started. The cabin was heated up like a sauna.  It's a wonder I didn't burn down the cabin.

I packed up one of the loaves in a box filled with spruce branches, and mailed it back to my sweet, new boyfriend.  Aha!  We've been married for many, many years now.  I think he was awestruck by my baking skills, and Grammy's recipe.

Happy New Year, and I hope you have sweet  memories of the old, good years, too.
 
Grammy's Swedish Rye Bread  (3 loaves)
3 c warm water
3 T molasses (or, sorghum)
2 t salt
2 cups med. rye flour
1 1/2 pkg yeast
1 cup graham flour (whole wheat)
3 T butter (melted in the warm water)
1/2 t fennel seeds
1/2 t anise seeds
5-6 cups unbleached flour

Let rise twice in buttered bowl,  then rise again in loaf pans.  Bake 15 min @ 400º
                                                                                             15 min @ 350º
                                                                                              30 min @ 325º

12 comments:

Alice said...

Lovely weaving, and lovely memories of bread baking. I'm in bread-baking mode now, too, and I'm trying to imagine the rest of your Swedish rye recipe. The 3T of sorghum, the rye, the anise & fennel, and I think I've almost got it. Salt & yeast, of course. And maybe a little wheat flour?

Susan said...

Alice,
I added the recipe in just now, and I see it is a little skimpy on details. The rising takes a couple of hours in a warm house.

Anonymous said...

your rye bread reminds more of a nowadays danish rye bread, it seems that Swedes lost their rye bread baking culture after your ancestors immigrated to the US :)
Thank you for the recipe and the nice pictures, weavings are inspirational, as always.
Alfia.

Anonymous said...

- I literally ran into the kitchen and baked the bread. It is wonderful. Picture on my blog. Your weaving is also wonderful.

Susan said...

Jean, I looked at the Swedish rye loaves you baked, and they're beautiful. I wish mine looked that good. Thanks for giving the recipe a try. (I tried to leave a comment at your blog, but Wordpress proved too challenging)

jan said...

Susan, thank you for your postings, both weaving and baking! May 2014 be a happy year for you. Best wishes.

Anonymous said...

Susan - the bread taste even better than it looks - thanks for the recipe. I will check out the comment problem on Wordpress. I have problems with some Blogger sites depending on how they are set up. It is very annoying not not friendly. Wishing you a creative new year filled with bright colours, fine threads and just a little cat hair!

Debbie Pavick said...

Happy 2014 Susan! It was great to see you both the other evening. I am always inspired by your creativity and this bread seems like something I just might be able to do.
Deb

Susan said...

Alfia, I've eaten a Danish rye that seemed to be made of dark rye and water, very simple. Is that traditional?

Jean, when I want to write a comment, Wordpress wants
my password. I was part of a group blog on Wordpress, but have long ago forgotten the password. It may not be a problem with any one else

Debbie,
It was a fun evening! You are such a good cook, this bread would be a snap. I always love to see what's on your table, to get some fresh ideas of food to try. I never thought I'd have a recipe on this blog. I was terrified I'd accidentally write 3 cups instead of 3 T and shatter someone's trust. Whew.

cindy bush cambier said...

Oh, lovely! We had all but limpa rye on our traditional Swedish Christmas Eve board...could have "Googled" a recipe, but it is oh so much more lovely to identify a recipe with someone you know. Thank you for sharing yours...and your story.

Anonymous said...

The bread is tasty, thank you for the recipe! I adore your rabbit puppet, those ears are just the best.

Nina said...

I am a beginner weaver in California, and I just found your website. I love your weaving! Would you mind sharing what type and weight of yarn you are using? Thank you!