Tangerine Rye Bread

Remember how I was raving about stuffed bread? Well, I made some last week (while I was "working from home" and having our tub re-glazed) and.. all things considered, it turned out pretty well!  Oh, and so did my stuffed bread.

Tangerine Rye Bread
from Cold Weather Cooking
(by Sarah Leah Chase)

In a small saucepan, heat the following ingredients, stirring frequently, until the butter is melted and the mixture is warm to the touch (about 115 degrees).
1 12-oz. bottle dark beer
1/2 c (packed) brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2 T butter

Pour the above mixture over:
2 T active dry yeast
in a large mixing bowl and let sit until quite foamy, about 10 minutes.

Using a wooden spoon, stir into the yeast mixture until smooth:
1 1/2 c unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1 T whole fennel seeds
1 T finely zested tangerine peel


Gradually add the following to make a soft dough:
2 1/2 c rye flour
1 1/2 to 1 c (additional) all-purpose flour
Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, 7 to 8 minutes.  Transfer the dough to a buttered large bowl.  Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.


[Has anyone else ever noticed that rye bread is very reluctant to absorb moisture? My rye breads are always sticky and I feel like I have to keep adding more and more flour. Any suggestions?]

For my stuffed bread, I then rolled the dough out into a rectangle (I would suggest rolling it on parchment or wax paper) and topped it with:
6 slices of chive goat cheese
Sauted peppers, onions, and leeks
Thin slices of peppery smoked ham
(I think it also would have been great with some sliced pepperoncinis and some spinach)

Follow Ashley's fabulous instructions on closing the bread and shaping. I couldn't give you any better advice (I won't go into details about why I suggest rolling the dough out on parchment, or why you should definitely follow Ashley's instructions, rather than making up your own...)

Let the bread rest while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Bake for 25-35 minutes (depending on how thick you rolled the bread). Serve warm :)

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However, if you want to follow Chase's original recipe, she makes Tangerine Rye Rolls (I used half the recipe for the bread and did half a recipe of rolls).

For Rolls: 
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Punch the dough down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.  Cut the dough into 24 equal pieces.  Roll each piece several times with the palms of your hands to form a nice roll shape.  Place the rolls about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 45 to 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Using a razor blade or scissors, cut or snip a small X on the top of each roll.  Beat in a small bowl:

1 large egg

1 T water
and brush over each roll.

Bake until light golden brown and hollow sounding when the roll is tapped on the bottom, 20 to 25 minutes.  Serve warm or cooled with a crock of sweetened butter.  These rolls will freeze well and are great to keep on hand for unexpected entertaining throughout the winter months.  They also make nice bases for turkey sandwiches.