Instructions: Note 1: OR 1 1/2 cups First Clear Flour and 1 1/2 - 2 cups KA Bread Flour

I tweaked this recipe to allow for a sourdough starter and some First Clear Flour. Excellent and easy.

Manual/Mixer Method: Pour the warm water into a mixing bowl and add a teaspoon of the malt extract or honey. Stir in the yeast, rye sourdough starter and rye flour. Let this sponge work for at least 20 minutes, until its expanded and bubbly.

Add the salt, caraway seeds, butter, remainder of the barley malt extract, rye bread improver, 2 rye sour, 1 1/2 cups First Clear Flour and enough of the bread flour to create a dough that begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. At this point, cover the dough with a towel or plastic wrap, and let it stand for about 5 minutes.

Mixer Kneading:
Remove paddle attachment and insert the dough hook. Knead the dough for 4-5 minutes. Turn machine off and allow dough to rest 2-3 minutes. Knead again by machine or hand another 5 minutes. Add only enough more bread flour to keep dough from sticking unbearably.

Manual Kneading:
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured or lightly oiled work surface, and knead until its smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, adding only enough flour (or oil on your hands and the work surface) to keep the dough from sticking unbearably. (Rye doughs will always be a bit sticky, so resist the urge to keep adding flour to eliminate this inherent stickiness; adding too much flour will make a heavy, dense, dry loaf.)

Halfway through, give the dough a rest while you clean out and butter your mixing bowl.

Shape the dough into a ball, place it in the buttered bowl, turning to coat, and cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise for about 1 1/2 hours, or until its just about doubled in bulk. Punch the dough down, and divide it in half. Shape each half into an oval, place them on a lightly greased [or corn-meal] parchment-lined baking sheet, [pizza peel] cover, and let rise for about 30 minutes.

[After doubled, glaze with egg white/milk or cornstarch glaze from _Secrets of a Jewish Baker_*. Make slashes. Bake at 425F for 15 min ..Lower heat to 400F and bake another 15 - 30 min depending on size of loaves.] Crust should be a dark brown, and interior temperature should measure 190 to 200F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a wire rack.

"While bringing 1 cup water to a boil, dissolve 2 Tbsp cornstarch in 1/4 cup cold water; whisk into boiling water until mixture thickens. Brush on loaf before slashing & placing in the oven, and again as soon as you take the bread out of the oven." from _Secrets of a Jewish Baker_.

Quarter Recipe:
boil 1/4 cup water
Mix together
1 Tbsp + 1/4 tsp water
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

YIELD: 2 loaves.

Results: Excellent and beautiful.

Weather: Delightful. Overcast and very cool in AM, high about 65. By 1:00, sun was out and temps rose to the low 70s. Ambient kitchen temp by 12:00 noon. 70F.

Ingredients: Use 4 ozs less bread flour than recipe called for.

Method: As written.

Divided dough in half after mixing. Kneaded separately.

Weight: 2 lbs, 8 3/4 ozs after kneading

Comments: This dough came out nice and supple, slack without being sticky.

If you would like to email yourself the recipe for later use, or share the recipe with your friends or family, enter the email addresses below and this recipe will be emailed to you and others as well.