Medium Rye Bread with Seeds

I love rye bread with caraway seeds, but this time I decided to add something different - a little bit of anise seeds. The flavor isn't so noticeable that most people would be able to pick them out, but they do add that subtle extra "something" that makes this bread a little more interesting than the usual rye.

I only added a small amount of the anise - feel free to increase the amount and see if you like it better.

I used whey in this bread, because I have it left over from making yogurt. Water would be fine as well.

Medium Rye with Seeds

1 1/4 cups whey (or water)
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 cup medium rye flour
2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1/8 teaspoon anise seeds

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the whey (or water), yest, sugar, and rye flour and let it sit until it becomes bubbly, about 10 minutes.

Add the bread flour and knead until the dough becomes elastic. Add the salt, olive oil, and seeds, and knead until the oil is completely incorporated and the seeds are evenly distributed.

Form the dough into a ball, drizzle with a bit more olive oil and put the dough back into the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until the dough has doubled, about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and sprinkle some cornmeal on a baking sheet.

Remove the dough from the bowl and form it into your preferred shape. Place it on the prepared pan, seam-side down, and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside to rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Slash as desired and bake at 350 degrees until nicely browned, about 40 minutes.

Cool completely on a rack before slicing.

This has been submitted to Yeastspotting.