My grandmother loves bread with a strong taste of caraway, but ever since restrictions were put in place to slow down the corona virus pandemic, she has rarely left the house and does not go grocery shopping anymore. I wanted to cheer her up a bit and ended up baking caraway bread for her, which I then sent to her by mail. She loved it and it turned out to be a present which made both of us happy! Food is a great connector, especially in these troubled times.

Ingredients

• 300 g wholegrain rye flour
• 300 g rye flour (type 1150)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground caraway
• 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
• 130-150 g active sourdough
• 280-300 ml lukewarm yeast water
• extra caraway seeds to sprinkle on the bread before baking

How to Make It

• Activate the sourdough the night before.
• Mix the two types of flour together.
• Add the salt, the sugar, and the ground caraway as well as the seeds.
• Mix it all and as you knead the dough, slowly add the lukewarm yeast water.
• Knead the dough for about 10 minutes.

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Baking with a Clay Pot

• This was the first time I tried my new clay pot and I am absolutely thrilled with the outcome. Here is how to do it:
• Since the clay pot needs to be “watered” (i.e. completely soaked in water) for 30 minutes, simply let the dough rest in a warm spot for 8-9 hours and make sure to soak the pot in advance.
• Once the pot and the dough are ready, pour out the water, dry the pot, and fill the dough into the pot.
• Take a sharp knife and make three diagonal cuts across the loaf. Sprinkle the loaf with a bit of water and a bit of flour. If you have a pot with a lid like I do, close the pot with the lid.
• Put the pot into the oven and turn the oven on to 200° C. This is important as the pot needs to heat up slowly; putting the clay pot into a pre-heated oven can cause the clay to break.
• Bake for 30 minutes, then take off the lid and bake for another 10-15 minutes.
• Once the bread is done, turn off the oven and let the bread cool inside the oven.

The “Standard” Way

• If you do not have a clay pot, do not worry. Proceed according to the instructions below. Your bread will be just as delicious.
• Oil a bowl, put the dough in it, cover it and let it rest for 3-5 hours.
• Put the dough in a proofing basket (really, any kind of breadbasket works fine in my experience), cover it again with a moist towel and let is rest in a warm spot for another 3-4 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 200° C. If you have a pizza stone, great – put it on the oven now and heat it up thoroughly. If you do not have a pizza stone, also no problem – you can bake your bread on a normal baking tray. I recommend heating up the tray in the oven as well.
• Take a sharp knife and make three diagonal cuts across the loaf. Sprinkle the loaf with a bit of water and a bit of flour.
• Fill a fire-resistant small bowl with water and put it on the floor of the oven. Bake the bread at 200° C for 40-45 minutes.
• Once the bread is done, turn off the oven and let the bread cool inside the oven.