New York Deli Rye Bread

epic fail

But not for the bread. For the fact that I didn't know February 20 was National Cherry Pie Day! Or I would have made at least one and blogged about the wondrousness of this (in my opinion) perfect confection.

Ah well. Next year.

Now. Rye bread. I really thought this one was going to be an epic fail. All signs pointed to yes, as I was measuring out ingredients. I know, WHAT?! I tried to use my fancy new kitchen scale like Alton Brown uses his: one bowl, zero out the scale after each ingredient is added. smitten kitchen's recipe shows all the ingredients in grams, so I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to try this method of measurement.

I think at a certain point my scale's level of accuracy just sort of, well, got blasted by all that zeroing. By the time I finished measuring it looked like I had at least 2 times more flour than I needed and probably 2-3 times more yeast as well. But I soldiered on. And, surprise, surprise, it worked out.


There probably was more yeast than I actually should have had. The loaf did rise quickly and ended up quite large. BUT. This is delicious bread. My favorite thing about the recipe is the suggestion to grind the caraway seeds--I love the taste of them, but certain people in my family don't really like the way they feel in their mouths/teeth.


The bread is very easy to make. Yes, there's certainly lots of time involved (8-9 hours), but most of that time the dough is rising. And you are doing other things around the house. Or even leaving the house for a short errand. It has a great flavor, without the rye being overpowering. I don't know that I can really comment on the texture because of my aforementioned yeast measuring foibles. I think it ended up a lot lighter than it should have been. But the crust was wonderfully crusty, the inside deliciously soft. This is definitely a better recipe than the last one I tried.

TGIP Rating--New York Deli Rye Bread--KEEPER. I will definitely be trying this one again. Next time I have a full day free. And I think I've worked out my scale usage issues.

Next up: We're having some friends over for dinner on Sunday. I asked Voiceover Man what he wanted for dessert and he presented me with a challenge: tiramisu. !! I have never made it. I'm not sure that I've ever eaten the geniune article (Olive Garden doesn't count as "genuine" Italian). And yes, I know it's not a baked good. But the requisite Ladyfingers are. And it just so happens, your friend and mine, Julia, has a recipe in her famed book. So, that's where I'm headed this week.