GENE'S KITCHENAID SWEDISH RYE BREAD
Author: 
Serves: 4 Loaves
 
Ingredients
Sponge Mixture:
  • 2 pkg. dry yeast
  • 1 c. warm water
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 heaping tsp. sugar
  • 1 c. all-purpose flour
Anise Seed/Water Mixture:
  • ½ c. hot water
  • 2 Tbsp. anise seeds
Bread Mixture Dough:
  • ½ c. Crisco shortening
  • 1 c. hot tap water
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ½ c. Dark Molasses, NOT Sorghum
  • ½ c. brown sugar
  • ½ c. white sugar
  • 1 c. fine ground rye flour (Red Mill or King Arthur brands)
  • 5½ c. all-purpose flour (divided)
Making and Baking:
  • Crisco
  • butter
Instructions
Sponge Mixture:
  1. Use a 2-quart plastic or glass bowl. Dissolve 2 pkg. of dry yeast in ½ cup warm water; not hot to feel, just warm. Take another ½ cup warm water and stir in ½ tsp salt, and 1 heaping teaspoon white sugar. Add to yeast mix bowl and mix with fork. Add 1 cup white all-purpose flour and mix well with fork. Cover and set aside in warm place while going on to next step.
Anise Seed/Water Mixture:
  1. Use a 4 cup glass or plastic bowl and add ½ cup hot water and add 2 Tbsp. of anise seeds. Heat in microwave until water boils for 15-30 seconds. Shut off and let stand for use in next step.
Bread Mixture Dough:
  1. Place into KitchenAid bowl, using dough hook, to mix slowly while adding Crisco shortening, hot tap water, salt, molasses, brown sugar, and white sugar. Add the heated anise seed/water mixture. Add 1 cup rye flour and 1 cup all-purpose flour.
  2. Mix well in mixer at low speed until well blended. Add the Sponge mixture from earlier and mix well together. Add the remaining 4½ cups white all-purpose flour, mixing slowly as you add into mixer. This dough will be thick and nearly cleans the sides of the mixer bowl fairly well, but may be a little sticky to your fingers. Stir the dough slowly 1-3 minutes more minutes to get a well-mixed dough.
First Dough Rising:
  1. Remove the dough hook and bowl, grease top and sides of dough with a good Crisco coating. This keeps dough from hardening on surface while rising. Cover bowl with light cloth or plastic and set in a warm place to rise until about double in volume. I use the oven with only the oven light on to have a warm place for rising bread. Will take probably 1-2 hours, depending on stiffness of dough and temperature. (NOTE: This recipe makes a total of about 4 pounds, 6 ounces of bread dough, so it should make 4 loaves using just over 1 pound of dough for each loaf.
Making into Loaves and then Rising Loaves:
  1. When double in volume, divide the dough into about four one-pound loaves, depending on the size of pan you plan to use. Grease generously with Crisco three or four aluminum or foil bread pans, which are about 3-4” wide, 6” long, and about 3” deep. These foil pans are usually available in groceries in pack of three. Best to have metal aluminum or foil pans, rather than steel, which makes a darker crust on the bread.
  2. Roll each piece of dough with the palm of your Crisco covered hands to make a smooth, elongated loaf to fit into each pan. Set in a warm area again, cover with light cloth or plastic and let rise until double in size, usually an inch above the top edge of the pans, and rounded nicely. Should take 1 to 2 hours, or more, but don’t let rising get over pan edges. Bread will enlarge more while baking.
Baking Loaves:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place one rack so loaves will be in middle of oven. Place all four loaves on the rack and bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. Then turn down temperature to 325 degrees, without opening door, and bake for about 12-15 minutes more, until loaves are browned uniformly. To test when a loaf is done, remove one loaf from pan and hold gently and turn over and tap the bottom gently. If it is done throughout it will have a hollow sound and be nicely browned. If it’s not a soft hollow sound, place back in pan and bake 3-5 more minutes.
  2. Place hot loaves on a cloth to cool. After cooling 10-15 minutes coat entire loaf with butter to keep crust soft and also to help make it easier to slice as well as add some butter flavor.
  3. When completely cool, place in separate plastic bags with seal after removing as much air as possible to keep fresh longer. Can freeze up to 2 months and then toast to get warm and flavor back.
Notes
Gene Larson
Recipe by Larsons' Favorite Recipes at https://www.larsoncookbook.com/genes-kitchenaid-swedish-rye-bread/