Recipe: Bohemian Rye Bread and Hoska (Bohemian Sweet Bread) for Bonnie

Bohemian Rye Bread
A recipe from The Sourdough Home
This recipe is for one large loaf.

2 cups starter (see note 1, below)
7/8 Cups Water
1 2/3 Cups White Flour
3 Cups Rye Flour
4 tsp Salt
2 tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp Caraway seeds
1/4 cups sugar (see note 2, below)

Method:
Mix the starter, rye flour, water, caraway seeds, salt, sugar, and softened butter. Mix well. Add the white flour a half cup at a time, until the dough is too stiff to mix. Pour out onto a floured surface, cover it with a cloth, and let it rest for 15 minutes. Next knead for 10 minutes or so, until the bread is smooth and satiny. Form the dough into a ball, wash the mixing bowl, oil it lightly, put the ball of dough in the bowl, and turn the dough over to make sure it's covered evenly with oil. Cover the mixing bowl, and place the loaf in a warm place (80 - 90F) to rise until doubled. Once the dough has doubled, punch it down, knead it a few times, and cut it into rough loaf shapes. Let the dough rest covered for 30 minutes or so. Complete the loaf forming. You may want to put this bread into a banneton or brotform. Cover the loaf and let rise until almost doubled. Preheat your oven to 450F. One it's at temperature, put the bread in the oven, put a cup of hot water into the pan on the bottom of the oven, and bake 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350F. Bake another 45 minutes or so. As with most rye breads, this is better, and easier to slice, the second day than the first.

Notes:
1. I use a white flour starter for this bread. You may use a rye starter and adjust the amounts of rye flour and white flour called for to compensate for the difference.

2. The sugar in this recipe is a vestige of the origins of this recipe as a commercial baker's yeast recipe. I'm not at all sure it's needed, and will try the recipe without the sugar and report back here with results.

2a. Well, I tried it without sugar, and adding 1/2 cup of altus. The bread was greatly improved. It is more sour, has a more distinctive rye taste, and even the caraway came forward. Highly recommended. (Please note - this changehas not been incorporated into the great flour test because it would invalidate the rye bread tests done so far.)

Hoska (Bohemian Sweet Bread)

1 (0.6 ounce) cake Compressed Fresh Yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup > butter
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups scalded milk
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 pinch ground ginger
1 pinch ground mace
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon milk

Dissolve yeast in warm water. In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter. Add beaten egg and salt. Stir in cooled milk, and then the yeast. Add l l/2 cups sifted flour; beat to smooth batter.
Cover and let rise until light, about one hour.
Stir spices into the dough. Add 4 l/2 cups of flour to make a soft dough. Place on a lightly floured board, and knead until smooth and elastic. Knead in raisins. Put in a well oiled bowl, and turn once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover. Set aside to rise until double in bulk, about 2 hours. Divide dough into ten parts, roll into desired lengths, and let rise about l5 minutes. On a heavily greased baking sheet, make a braid of three parts, and pinch the ends together. Twist the remaining two pieces together, and place along the middle of the braid. In a small bowl, beat together egg yolk and milk; brush the loaf with this mixture. Let the second loaf rise about 45 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes. Transfer bread to a wire rack, and cool completely. Cover while cooling with a towel to make a soft crust.