Mini Rye Loaves

Sometimes you just have to have some fun with your bread dough. These little mini loaves were adorable! To amuse myself I also made a couple rye hamburger buns, rolls, and a tiny pizza crust. ;) The smaller items were a little on the tough side with the dense dough though.


Mini Rye Loaves

1 pack active dry yeast
2 cups Rye flour
2 cups Spelt flour
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup warm skim milk
1 tbls oil
1 tbls raw honey
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup non fat plain yogurt
3 tbls vital wheat gluten
3 tbls caraway seeds

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. (I just use warm water from the tap.) Add in warm milk, oil, honey, cocoa powder, caraway seeds, and salt. Stir in yogurt....I heat up my yogurt slightly just to take the cold out of it. It's not critical that you do that but it works for me. Add in rye flour and vital wheat gluten. Add in spelt flour. At this point your dough should be quite stiff. Turn it out onto a board and knead in as much flour as needed. Continue to knead dough for about 8 to 10 minutes adding flour to keep dough from sticking. Place in bowl and cover, letting rise in a warm place for about an hour. I generally use the microwave for this step...heating up a mug of water to steaming before putting my bread bowl inside.

After bread has risen turn back out onto your board and punch down. Shape dough into small loaves and place on greased cookie sheet. Slash the tops if you desire. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes in a warm spot. Preheat your oven to 350 and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.