This morning we woke up to freezing rain and sleet and some dripping pathetic excuse for snow on the ground. When I say freezing rain I mean frozen raindrops. Not as mean as sleet, just sticky frozen. It is dark and cold. A wintry mix. I took the torch with me to do the morning walkabout. We are very close to the shortest day. It is on the 22nd. So do not despair, more light is on the way. Just a few more days. Isn’t it interesting that Christmas day is almost exactly at Winter Solstice. 
Thankfully I had some sourdough bread on the rise as it is certainly a bread making day.
The freezing rain is beginning to freeze TO the windows. Well that is not so good.
And the lovely pans that I won from Sawson’s fabulous giveaways have arrived! She told me I could not open them until Christmas but I disobeyed!! So do have a look over at Chef in Disguise, as well as being an extraordinary cook, I believe she has more goodies to give away!
Plus I would like to thank Katherine and Greg over at Rufus’ for helping me get the new Kitchens Garden Facebook page up and running. Well, it is still toddling (I need to solve a few issues with my Paddington Bear Brain vs technology allergy, so I hate to tell you Katherine but I will be sending one more panicked email), but it is UP and ready for us to begin.
Our goal over on the Kitchens Garden Facebook is to get gardens into yards and good food into kitchens and the neighbours talking. We are hoping that this spring (or right now if you are IN the summer hemisphere), that you plant One for me and One for you. Plant your garden, or window box, or pot of herbs and then help your neighbour plant theirs. Share plants and share produce. Bite isolation on the bum.
Raisin Rye Bread (now this was fun)
- 1 cup sourdough culture
- 1cup water
- 1tsp salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 cup of raisins soaked for 30- mins in warm water and drained
- 1 1/2 cups rye flour or wholemeal flour
- 2 cups unbleached flour
- 1 egg and 1 tablespoon milk to glaze.
Dough proof: ( a fancy term I just learnt)
PAY ATTENTION NO SKIMMING! Mix culture, water, salt, sugar, oil, raisins. Add the flour slowly while mixing. Turn out and knead for about 20 minutes. (Do NOT knead it every now and then as you rush about trying to find a cat because you saw a mouse in the basement. )
Proof overnight 8 – 12 hours at room temperature. (DO NOT leave the dough sitting for over 18 hours because you forgot about it! )
Gently ease dough onto floured board and rest 30 minutes, (DO NOT drop it from a great height splat onto the board in a sleepy haze). Mine was quite flat (I wonder why?) so after 30 minutes I kneaded in more flour.
Loaf Proof.
Shape dough by pulling pieces from the outside up and over to the centre of the dough to form a ball. ( DO NOT pull great handfuls OFF because it has no elasticity and just keep dumping them back on the top.) Place in bread pan, baking sheet or willow basket and allow to rise again and double in size (2 -4 hours).
(DO NOT cram it into an old scone basket because you do not have one of those willow things!)
Once risen turn out onto tray. (WHAT?.. that is wrong too? Why is it cracking in half?)
Glaze with egg and milk mix. (DO NOT pour glaze into cracks to try and halt the avalanche!)
Cook at 375F (190c) for 40 mins.
Cool on wire rack. (If you can find a rack wide enough)
DO take lovely shots of the butter in the hope that your readers do not look too closely at the bread.
DO NOT get wild when you husbands face puckers up like a lemon as he bites a slice and says “Well, I don’t know about the sweet raisins in this sour bread.”
“Not Sour bread darling, Sourdough.” I say.
“Isn’t that what I just said?” he says and out we go to the barn to check Mama.
Mama is just the same, no improvement. The treatments will continue for three days then we will reassess.
Yes, she is alright Daisy, and no you cannot come and see!
This recipe was from Classic Sourdoughs by Ed and Jean Wood – they did it better.
c
The Kitchen's Garden 
75 responses to “How (not) to make Sweet and Sourdough Raisin Rye bread.”
Congratulations on getting your pans..I hope you liked them..thank you for the shout out 🙂
we get that frozen rain here too..just the sound of it hitting the glass of the window makes you cold..
as for sourdough I have been having my share of troubles with it too..but more on that later
If you need any help with facebook I more than happy to assist..I have a page running for my blog for some time now and I think I can help if you want
Oh excellent swanson, you are a star, I shall email you.. I have definitely made an error in the set up.. I love the pans, i so seldom indulge in new stuff that it is a real treat for me! Talk to you soon. c
I Found you through a comment you made on Tea’s blog… another Kiwi here, still living in NZ and TOTALLY oblivious to the ‘don’t share your veggies shit’ [signed the petition and passed it on – thank you]
I have coeliac disease, so can’t eat bread [unless it is gluten-free (in which case – don’t bother thanks)]
I hope the Mama is ok, and I hope the cat caught the mouse [mine bring the mousies IN – ack!]
Hot here now, so preparing for a Kiwi Christmas.
Glad to have found you XO
Hi Janet and welcome, I have a few gluten free readers and i cannot eat bought baked stuff esp bread so I am totally in sympathy! And thank you so much for passing on the garden fiasco in NZ. That has got to berought to the attention of the people. Why aren’t the papers full of it!!? Plant cabbages in your front garden and make a sign. I so wish i was in NZ at the mo. this has got to be LOUD! c
This is one of the things I haven’t made yet sour bread, maybe because I am afraid not making it the way I wanted or it may become hard but this post encouraged me to make one soon. This is a keeper!
My fav is the french sourdough loaf, it is SO easy and always works! Maybe I should post that too.. c
I was given a friendship cake (type of sourdough), a few days ago.
His name is Herman. 😉
I have to feed him, milk, flour and sugar tomorrow! Ha…
Oh I had one of those years ago, London, I can still taste the cake we used to make with it, A pity you are not in the US I would be begging you to send me a wee bit! c
I’ll make sure to follow your instructions because I think I received a bread maker for Christmas!
A bread maker, how exciting! That will make your life so much easier. You have to turn it off for the night so that the sourdough can sit for the 8 – 10 hours, then you turn it back on in the morning. I only know this because my guide has a bread maker! You care going to wake up to the smell of bread in the morning.. wow! c
…I wish I could bake! This bread sounds wonderful! The weather, not so much. I hope Mama is feeling better!
You can bake parsley, it the failing at baking that is hard to do!! c
Yumm….I’m printing this out for sure! With my daughter home for the holidays I’m teaching her bread baking and she will love this one!
I just ate some as toast with a coffee and it is so much better this morning! thanks spice! c
I baked yesterday. One loaf came out lovely, the other is a darned door stop.
Am I a bad person for being grateful that you have failures too!.. c
Thanks for stopping by my blog and saying ‘hi’. :o) I heard once how appropriate it is that the ‘Light of the World’ came into the world at it’s darkest season.
Hi Carole, and Welcome, What a lovely saying, very appropriate!.. c
And here’s me thinking that kind of weather was reserved just for Skye! You deserve some kind of award for getting up so early to tend to all those beasties – thankfully our small population of ducks and chickens prefer NOT to have a pre-dawn wake-up call!
Christine
My barn flock put up a bit of a grumble too! But soon the sun will start rising a bit earlier! Thank goodness. c
I’ve had some interesting breads too. One of my last rye loaves split open on the top in the loaf proof stage. It still tasted good 🙂 Hubby doesn’t like caraway seeds in the rye bread, but I do!
carraway seeds are great with cheese.. yum.. c
That’s my kind of bread, I must get a new sour dough culture growing over the holiday. Great to see you on Facebook. have a fabulous Christmas. Alli x
You too Alli, say Hi to the beach for me!! c
Sweet faced Mama and sweet Daisy…I do hope that Mama will be all better soon. That bread sounds good and LOOKS great to me!
It is actually really good as toast!! the next morning.. c
You are a delight and a joy! In the New Year I will put my guru hat on again if you like, in the meantime, keep taking those gorgeous photos and doing all the wonderful things you do. Best wishes to Mama, hope she gets better soon.
thank you, My Guru! You may call me grasshopper! c
Unfortunately, making bread is lost on me, as Liz is the bread maker in the house.
So good to see me Daisy…lovely picture of her. 😉
She is very shiny and healthy Jed, with a very healthy appetite, all good signs!