Dark Rye Bread, and snow!

The past couple of weeks have been pretty cool. And I mean that quite literally. We had a huge dump of snow here in Hanmer Springs. 

I've never lived anywhere where it has snowed before (the tiny sprinkle we had in Timaru doesn't count) so I've been super excited. It was such a novelty for me that even shovelling snow became a fun experience. 

"Everyday I'm shovelling"

 It really has been a winter wonderland here, and every morning waking up and heading out the door I felt like I was in a dream. It has been amazing. But...it also has been super cold! Great weather for soups and home-made bread. 

A bread I especially love is rye bread. It's so hearty and tasty, and seems to compliment winter soups so well. Here's the base recipe for the rye bread I enjoy making, but feel free to add any spices like caraway or ground cardamom if you want to add some extra zing. I hope you are enjoying winter as much as I am!

Ingredients:

3 teaspoons active dried yeast
1 & 1/2 cups warm water

2 tablespoons golden syrup
2 tablespoons oil
1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups of high grade flour
1 & 1/2 cups rye flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
optional - 1 teaspoon of spice, I recommend either caraway seeds or ground cardamom

Method:

Add the first five ingredients to a bowl. Add one cup of the high grade flour. Mix well, then cover the bowl and let it stand in a warm place for about 15 minutes.

Stir in the rest of the high grade flour along with the rye flour, cocoa powder, coffee powder and any spices you wish to add. (add extra flour or water as needed to make a dough to knead.)

Knead dough for about 10 minutes. It should become more elastic and spring back when touched.

Cover and place in a warm spot for about 30 minutes.

Knead again for only a minute ,then using floured hands pat the dough into a smooth ball shape.

Place onto a lightly floured baking tray and let it sit in a warm spot again for about an hour.
 

Bake at 200 Celsius for approx 30 minutes.