Rye bread Recipe: Low Fat, Low Sugar

Rye flour, unmixed with wheat flour makes a very heavy loaf. You can vary the proportions of the two to suit your own tastes, but two-thirds rye flour to one-third wheat flour makes an excellent loaf.

Makes two 1 lb loaves

1 oz / 25 g fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon dried yeast +1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 pint / 150 ml warm milk

1/4 pint / 150 ml warm water

1 lb / 400g rye flour

8 oz / 200g strong plain white flour

8 oz / 200g fine oatmeal

4 fl oz / 100 ml olive oil or 1 oz / 25 g lard

1 oz / 25 g molasses

salt to taste

• Mix the water and milk together, crumble the fresh yeast into the liquid or mix in the dried yeast and sugar. Keep warm until the yeast is working well.
• Mix all the dry ingredients together. Then mix in the molasses and oil, or rub in the lard.
• Slowly, mix the flour into the liquid until a uniform dough is formed.
• Knead for 10 to 15 minutes into a stiff dough.
• Cover with an oiled polythene sheet and leave in a warm place for one hour when it should double in bulk.
• Knead again for a minute and then place in two greased trays.
• Cover the dough with an oiled polythene sheet and keep warm until the dough has risen again.
• Bake in a preheated oven, gas mark 7, 425F, 220C for 45 minutes or until done ( check with a skewer ).
• Turn out of the trays and cool on a wire rack.