Rye Raisin Pecan Bread

I adore the King Arthur Flour recipe for raisin, rye and pecan bread!  The raisins give the bread a wonderful sweetness.  The mixture of rye and white flours gives a more wholesome flavor.

I make some changes to the recipe:

• One kind of rye flour, the kind found in grocery stores, is used.  I don't want to buy several grinds of flour, like pumpernickel.
• Oil is substituted for the butter.
• The first loaf shown is made with all purpose flour.  The second loaf is made with bread flour.

This bread was made several times before, as a freestanding loaf, and in my cast iron pot.  When a fellow seller at the Farmer's Market gave me some of his rye flour to try, I just had to make it into this bread.

It takes 2 days to make this bread, because a starter is made the night before.  The starter contains only 1/8 of a teaspoon of yeast, all purpose flour, and a small amount of water.  The result is a stiff dough, which is placed in a small oiled bowl.  The bowl is covered and left on the counter overnight.

I had planned to take a picture of the starter, twice, but forgot.  Sorry.  You'll just have to try making this wonderful bread!

The next morning, I mixed together the ingredients, except the raisins and pecans.  The dough rose for about an hour.  It was a bit sticky and puffy.  It didn't double in size, which the recipe said was normal.  I used my mixer to add the nuts and raisins.  Some extra flour was added--the recipe called for kneading in the nuts and raisins on a floured surface.  Therefore, this was the time to add extra flour!

The first time, a freestanding loaf was made on my stone.  I wish that I had put the dough in a bowl to rise, so it wouldn't spread out so much:



The second time, the dough rose and baked in a 9" baking pan:

This made a nice round loaf.  However, I'd like a bit more rustic look.

The second bread was a gift for a friend, who did a favor for me.  It was hard to resist, as the aroma was wafting out of the oven. 

My friend just called and said the bread was fabulous--most of the bread never made it home (it was shared with a friend).

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you will leave a comment, and post what you baked.

Judy