Best Overnight Swedish Rye Bread Recipes

SWEDISH RYE BREAD I

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in warm water.
• Scald milk. Transfer milk to a large bowl, and add salt, molasses, brown sugar, and melted shortening. Cool to lukewarm, and add dissolved yeast. Add rye flour, beating with mixer. Gradually beat in white flour. Place dough in a greased bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover with a damp towel, and allow to rise till double in bulk in a warm place.
• Punch down the dough, and place on a lightly floured board. Knead until dough becomes elastic, and does not stick to the board. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Divide into 3 equal portions, and shape into loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch bread pans. Let rise until double in bulk.
• Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 35 to 40 minutes.

SWEDISH LIMPA (RYE BREAD)

Steps:

• In a saucepan, mix together molasses, water, brown sugar, fennel, and salt. Bring to boiling point, then gently cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add shortening. Let stand until lukewarm.
• Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup lukewarm water. Add cooled molasses mixture and mix well. Stir in the rye flour. Beat until smooth. Cover and let rise at room temperature overnight, about 9 to 10 hours.
• In the morning add 5 cups white flour, and place remaining 1/2 cup on a pastry cloth or board for kneading. Turn out the dough and knead until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise until double in size, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• Cut dough in half and shape into 2 loaves (round is more traditional). Place in 2 greased 9 inch pie pans. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise until light, about 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Bake for 45 to 55 minutes. Remove and brush tops with melted butter.

SWEDISH RYE BREAD

Steps:

• Grind the caraway seeds, anise seed, and fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle or a spice or coffee grinder and place in a large bowl with the orange zest and milk.
• In a large warmed bowl, mix the yeast and molasses with 1/4 cup warm (105° to 115°F) water. Let stand about 5 minutes or until the yeast foams. Add the milk mixture, salt, and melted butter. Beat in the rye flour until smooth. Beat in enough bread flour to make a stiff dough. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board. Knead, adding flour sparingly, until the dough is smooth and springy, about 10 minutes. If desired, you may mix and knead the dough in a heavy-duty mixer using the dough hook.
• Cover and let rise until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Punch the dough down. Turn it out onto a lightly oiled board. Knead to squeeze out air bubbles. Divide the dough into two pieces and shape into two oblong loaves. Grease two 9 × 5-inch loaf pans. Place the loaves in the pans smooth side up. Cover and let rise until almost doubled, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Position the oven racks so that the top rack is in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to convection bake at 325°F. Bake on the center rack for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the bread comes out clean and dry. Remove the bread from the pans and cool on a wire rack.

SWEDISH RYE BREAD

Steps:

• In a bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup water. Add sugar, molasses, shortening, salt and remaining water; stir well. Add rye flour; beat until smooth. Add enough all-purpose flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours. Punch dough down. , Shape into 4 round loaves. Place on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, 45-60 minutes. Bake at 350° until golden brown, 30-35 minutes. Brush with butter.

NORDIC WHOLE-GRAIN RYE BREAD

Steps:

• On Day 1, make the starter: In a medium-size bowl, mix 3/4 cup warm water with the buttermilk or yogurt. Whisk flour and yeast together, add to the buttermilk mixture and use your hands to mix together until sticky and moist; add more warm water as needed. Cover tightly and set aside at cool room temperature overnight, or up to 24 hours.
• Also on Day 1, soak the grains: Mix 4 cups cold water with the rye berries (or meal) and sunflower seeds. Cover and set aside at cool room temperature overnight, or up to 24 hours.
• On Day 2, make the bread: Drain the soaked grains in a colander. Measure 35 ounces/1,000 grams of the grains and place in a deep bowl. Add 14 ounces/400 grams of the starter and mix well. (Any remaining starter can be saved to use with other bread recipes.) Add the flour, salt, malt (or molasses), yeast and 2 cups water. Mix dough firmly by hand to combine. The dough should be grainy, but quite runny and wet, almost like a thick batter. To achieve that texture, add cold water, 1/4 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. To test: When a walnut-size piece of dough smeared on the rim of the bowl slides slowly and smoothly down the inside, like a snail leaving a trail, the dough it is wet enough.
• Thickly butter 3 medium or 2 standard-size loaf pans. Divide the dough evenly among the pans, filling them about half full. Cover and let rise at room temperature until dough almost fills pans, about 2 hours. (Dough will not rise more during baking.)
• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Bake loaves for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 360 and bake until firm and glossy brown, 80 minutes to 2 hours more depending on size and moisture content of loaves. Let cool completely in the pans before turning out. Bread freezes well, and lasts for at least a week at room temperature, wrapped in paper.