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the dough until it is smooth and almost silky though gently slubbed, of course, with caraway. The dough will be ragged and unpromising for nearly 20 minutes, but will become really smooth at last. Form the dough into a ball and place it smooth side up in its bowl.

Cover and keep in a warm, draft-free place. After about an hour and a half, gently poke the center of the dough about ½ inch deep with your wet finger. If the hole doesn’t fill in at all or if the dough sighs, it is ready for the next step. Press flat, form into a smooth round, and let the dough rise once more as before. The second rising will take about half as much time as the first.

Press the dough flat and divide in two. Round it and let it rest until relaxed, then deflate and shape into loaves. Let them rise in a warm, draft-free place until the dough slowly returns a gently made fingerprint. Bake about 45 minutes at 350°F.

Orange Rye

1 tablespoon dried rose-hip pieces (7 g)

1 cup water (235 ml)

2 teaspoons active dry yeast (¼ oz or 7 g)

¼ cup warm water (60 ml)

3 tablespoons honey (45 ml)

1 cup cold buttermilk (235 ml)

4 ½ cups whole wheat bread flour (675 g), finely ground

2 cups whole rye flour (255 g)

2 teaspoons salt (11 g)

grated peel of 2 oranges

1 tablespoon anise seed

½ cup tepid water, or as required

2 tablespoons butter (28 g)

Marvelously perfumey, delicately flavored, feather-light.

Simmer the rose hips in 1 cup of water for 5 minutes, until the liquid is a light reddish-brown; strain, reserving the tea.

Dissolve the yeast in ¼ cup warm water.

Dissolve the honey in the rose-hip tea, and add the buttermilk. Combine the flours, salt, peel and seeds. Stir in the yeast mixture and buttermilk mixture. The dough should be somewhat stiff, but not too stiff—add more water if necessary. Knead in the remaining ½ cup of water, adding it generously the first 10 minutes. Knead the butter into the dough now, and add more water cautiously thereafter until the dough softens. Stop if the dough becomes sticky.

Place in a covered bowl to rise at warm room temperature, until the dough feels spongy and a ½-inch finger-poke fills in slowly, about 1 ½ hours. Deflate and let rise once again about 45 to 60 minutes. Divide in half and round. Let the dough relax.

Shape into regular loaves, or rounds to bake in pie tins, or make rolls—all these work beautifully with this bread. Place in greased pans and keep in a warm place for the final rise, 85° to 90°F. Let the dough rise until spongy to the touch, when a fingerprint fills in slowly, even if it takes an hour to get there—this one should be light. Bake at 350°F about 45 minutes. When done, brush the crust with melted butter.

Raisin Rye

1 cup raisins (145 g)

1 cup water (235 ml)

2 teaspoons active dry yeast (¼ oz or 7 g)

½ cup warm water (120 ml)

3 cups whole rye flour (385 g)

4 cups whole wheat flour (600 g)

1 teaspoon salt (16.5 g)

½ teaspoon caraway seeds

3 tablespoons molasses (45 ml)

2 tablespoons cider vinegar (30 ml)

2 tablespoons oil (30 ml)

raisin water plus additional water if needed

water as required for kneading, about ½ cup (120 ml)

One of our most popular and toothsome ryes, this is a mildly sweet, all-occasion bread that makes outstanding rolls as well.

Cook the raisins for 5 minutes in 1 cup water. Drain, reserving the liquid to use as a part of the water measure.

Dissolve the yeast in the ½ cup warm water.

Stir the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Combine the molasses, cider vinegar, oil, and raisin water in a 2-cup measure and add enough cold water to total 2 cups. Mix the yeast and the other liquids into the flour to make a somewhat stiff dough.

Knead well, using water on the table and on your hands to soften the dough. After about 10 minutes, before the dough becomes sticky, flatten it out on the board, spread the raisins on it, fold it up, and knead the raisins in. Stop kneading when the dough shows signs of becoming sticky.

Form the dough into a ball and place it smooth side up in the