Recipes
Orange Cardamom Rye Bread
Serves 2 loaves
| Prep Time: 2 1/2 hours
| Cook Time: 50 mins
| Total Time: 3 hours 20 mins
You may need: Orange Cardamom
Discover The Recipe
Dense, hearty rye bread is a meal in and of itself, and nobody has perfected the art of baking with rye like the Nordic countries. A mainstay of Nordic gastronomy for centuries, rye flourishes in the glacial till soil of Scandinavia, and was cultivated in the region ages before softer wheats arrived in northern Europe. Robust and chewy with an earthy backbone and a malt-like sweetness, rye is outstanding in both sweet and savory applications. While it’s common to see caraway seeds and other spices in rye bread, one of our favorite variations is the cardamom and orange zest scented rye bread found throughout the region during the holidays.
This orange cardamom rye bread recipe uses the Piquant Post Orange Cardamom to compliment the earthiness of the rye without overwhelming it. Orange zest and molasses give the loaf a festive twist, while cocoa powder adds an intoxicating bitter note that amplifies the cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg in the Orange Cardamom spice blend. The rye is tempered with bread flour to aid in gluten development, but feel free to increase the rye flour and decrease the bread flour for a more compact and richly flavored result. This recipe yields two loaves, and works just as well with dill and smoked salmon as it does with a smear of jam. Delicious, versatile, packed with nutrition and relatively easy to make, this orange cardamom rye bread is sure to become a regular in your baking rotation.
Ingredients
4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups warm water (just barely warm to the touch)
2/3 cup molasses (regular, NOT blackstrap)
Zest of 1 orange
1 Tbsp Piquant Post Orange Cardamom
1 Tbsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
2 cups rye flour
5 cups bread flour
Notes
Feel free to tweak the recipe by adding a little more rye flour and less bread flour if desired for a stronger rye flavor.
This bread will really remind you of traditional Scandinavian brown bread and is perfect sliced for smorgasbord sandwiches. Learn more about the tradition of smorgasbord here!
Try serving this bread topped with butter, smoked salmon and dill, or liver paté, sautéed mushrooms and crumbled bacon. For more creative toppings for this hearty Scandinavian bread, check out this article about smorrrebrod, or Scandinavian open faced sandwiches.
For the perfect accompaniment to your smorgasbord, try our Smoked Trout Rillettes, Crunchy Orange Chicken Salad, and Nordic Potato Salad, or our tasty Vegan Orange Raspberry Cardamom Scones.
Instructions
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water with the molasses. Put yeast mixture into a large metal bowl.
Add the orange zest, Piquant Post Orange Cardamom, salt, vegetable oil, cocoa powder, 2 cups of rye flour and then 2 cups of bread flour, mixing into the yeast mixture after each addition with a wooden spoon.
Add more bread flour, a cup at a time, until the dough is not so sticky and it is too hard to mix it with the wooden spoon.
Knead for 5-7 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. If you have a stand mixer, you can mix it for the same period of time using the dough hook attachment.
Spread some vegetable oil around a large bowl and place the dough in it, turning it so it gets coated in the oil.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp cloth. Let rise at room temperature until it has doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
After the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, knead the dough a few times and then divide it by cutting it in half with a sharp knife.
Shape each half into a loaf. Place dough loafs onto a flat baking sheet or peel that has been sprinkled with corn meal, depending if you want to cook the loaves in pans or directly on a baking stone. Cover with plastic or a damp cloth.
Let the bread rise again, this time not doubling in volume, but rising by about half of its volume, about 30 to 45 minutes, half as long as the first rising.
If you are using a baking stone, place the stone in the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F for at least half an hour before baking.
If baking on a stone and not in the pan, score the loaves a few times on the top of the dough with a sharp knife or razor blade, right before putting it in the oven.
Put loaves in the oven. Mist the loaves if you have a mister.
Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until done. The bread should sound hollow when tapped.
Alternatives & Substitutions
Try adding in dried fruit like currants or raisins for a sweeter version that’s great in the morning with jam or as a snack in the afternoon with tea or coffee.
If you love Piquant Post Orange Cardamom, try Danish Jukelage(Danish Fruit Bread), our Swedish Cardamom Buns(Kanelvullar), or our Cardamom Orange Coffee Cake!
Post pictures of your masterpiece meal on social media and tag us. We repost!
Be sure to leave comments and feedback on your meals and experiments in the comments for others to read.
Orange Cardamom Rye Bread
Serves
2 loaves
Prep Time
2 1/2 hours
Cook Time
50 mins
Total Time
3 hours 20 mins
Piquant Post spice you'll need: Orange Cardamom
Ingredients
4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups warm water (just barely warm to the touch)
2/3 cup molasses (regular, NOT blackstrap)
Zest of 1 orange
1 Tbsp Piquant Post Orange Cardamom
1 Tbsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
2 cups rye flour
5 cups bread flour
Instructions
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water with the molasses. Put yeast mixture into a large metal bowl.
Add the orange zest, Piquant Post Orange Cardamom, salt, vegetable oil, cocoa powder, 2 cups of rye flour and then 2 cups of bread flour, mixing into the yeast mixture after each addition with a wooden spoon.
Add more bread flour, a cup at a time, until the dough is not so sticky and it is too hard to mix it with the wooden spoon.
Knead for 5-7 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. If you have a stand mixer, you can mix it for the same period of time using the dough hook attachment.
Spread some vegetable oil around a large bowl and place the dough in it, turning it so it gets coated in the oil.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp cloth. Let rise at room temperature until it has doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
After the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, knead the dough a few times and then divide it by cutting it in half with a sharp knife.
Shape each half into a loaf. Place dough loafs onto a flat baking sheet or peel that has been sprinkled with corn meal, depending if you want to cook the loaves in pans or directly on a baking stone. Cover with plastic or a damp cloth.
Let the bread rise again, this time not doubling in volume, but rising by about half of its volume, about 30 to 45 minutes, half as long as the first rising.
If you are using a baking stone, place the stone in the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F for at least half an hour before baking.
If baking on a stone and not in the pan, score the loaves a few times on the top of the dough with a sharp knife or razor blade, right before putting it in the oven.
Put loaves in the oven. Mist the loaves if you have a mister.
Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until done. The bread should sound hollow when tapped.
Notes
Feel free to tweak the recipe by adding a little more rye flour and less bread flour if desired for a stronger rye flavor.
This bread will really remind you of traditional Scandinavian brown bread and is perfect sliced for smorgasbord sandwiches. Learn more about the tradition of smorgasbord here!
Try serving this bread topped with butter, smoked salmon and dill, or liver paté, sautéed mushrooms and crumbled bacon. For more creative toppings for this hearty Scandinavian bread, check out this article about smorrrebrod, or Scandinavian open faced sandwiches.
For the perfect accompaniment to your smorgasbord, try our Smoked Trout Rillettes, Crunchy Orange Chicken Salad, and Nordic Potato Salad, or our tasty Vegan Orange Raspberry Cardamom Scones.
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