Dark Rye Bread

Makes 2 Large Loaves The Cook and Kitchen Staff are continuing to offer you some of our best recipes from "Our Daily Bread" collection. Todays recipe is for a savory dark rye bread. If youve ever hankered for a hunk of coarse bread to liven up an oh-so-hum-drum sandwich, weve got a recipe for you! Todays recipe produces a fantastic dark rye bread that really makes a piece of pastrami perky, a necessary foundation for a Reuben or a Rachel sandwich, or a perfect partner for a fish dinner. In a small mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in one cup of warm water to proof. In a large mixing bowl, sift white flour and rye flour together until well combined. Place remaining warm water, molasses, shortening, salt, and cocoa powder in separate bowl and mix well. Add yeast mixture and 4 cups of the mixed flours. Mix until a sponge-like dough forms. Add remaining flour and mix until all flour is veru well incorporated into the dough. Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface and hand knead until the dough is smooth and silky, about 10 minutes. Place dough in greased bowl and turn, then cover with a clean towel and leave to rise until doubled in bulk, usually at least an hour. Punch dough down and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Divide dough into loaves and place in greased loaf pans, cover, and let rise while oven heats to 350-F degrees. Bake loaves in the center of oven until done, about 35 minutes. Remove from pans and rub tops of loaves with butter (optional). Posted to dailyrecipe@recipe-a-day.com by Recipe-a-Day <recipe-a-day@bignetwork.com> on Sep 11, 1998, converted by MM_Buster v2.0l.