Memories are peculiar.
We can forget important things and yet remember some other trivial ones, with no logical explanation. Then, those mundane marks in our subconscious will influence our future decisions, without us even realizing it.

When, I and 5 other wonderful ladies — Rachel (our project organizer!), Natasha, Aimee, Sammy, Emily — decided to undertake a lil’ project for our food blogs based on The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham, each of us had to choose a recipe from each chapter. As I sat down to browse the various (and vast) options, my eyes set immediately on a recipe for the first post on Yeast Breads. Orange Rye Bread.

For some reason, my mind insisted I was craving rye. And since I love oranges, I could only try to imagine how wonderful the two would be together.

It wasn’t until much later that I realized “rye” was perhaps the only English word for which I can exactly pinpoint the moment I first heard and learned it. It was the day I had to read the novel the Catcher in the Rye.
(Note: for those that don’t know, English is my third language which is why “rye” was unknown to me.)

To be honest, I don’t know if and how much influence that fact has impacted my choice. But, I know for sure that the word rye must have apparently made enough impression to remain this memorable  a decade later.  Hopefully, the recipe I’ll present to you will be just as memorable — just try and taste it and get back to me in 2022 😉

My own opinion is that it is quite worth it and that, if it’s an example of what the next chapters are going to be like, I’m really going to love The Breakfast Book. Because it was a charm to work with the dough, and the result was a fluffy, light, and flavorful bread. Perfect for a bright morning with a good cup of coffee (or tea!).

While I did make a couple of changes, I will post the original next to the changes I made. So here it is:

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp dry yeast (original: 2 packages)
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1tsp + 1tbsp sugar (I used white)
• 2 cups rye flour (I used light rye)
• 1 tbsp caraway seeds
• 3 tbsp finely chopped orange zest (original calls for 2, but doesn’t overwhelm the bread at all)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup warmed milk
• 2 tbsp soft/melted butter (original: 2 tbsp shortening)
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (original: about 1.5 cup)

Directions:

1. Combine warm water with the 1 teaspoon sugar and the yeast in a large mixing bowl. Let rest for about 5 minutes until foamy.
2. Add rye flour, caraway seeds, orange zest, salt. With wooden spoon, stir everything together, but not too much.
3. Add milk, butter, sugar, and egg. Mix again with wooden spoon, then slowly add the all-purpose flour until the dough begins to form a ball. At this point, transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead until smooth — it took me about 5 min, though the book calls for 6-8. (The dough will be quite soft and sticky, that’s normal).
4. Place the kneaded dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rest until it doubles in volume. Give it a punch, then divide it into two. One half place in a greased bread pan, and the either divide into 8-10 equal parts and form rolls to place on a greased baking sheet. Let rest for another hour, then preheat oven to 375F and bake.
5. My rolls needed 16 minutes to be ready (book calls for 20-25) and my bread took about 40 minutes (instead of 45). I suspect that my oven might be stronger and that I should test at 350F next time, although I think both the bread and rolls turned out great. They are really delicious and very satisfying. Soft, they are perfect paired with some butter right after they get out of the oven.

Hope you enjoy this recipe! I certainly did! And please, check out the posts of the wonderful food bloggers that are participating with me in this project:

• Rachel, Ode To Goodness
• Natasha, Claro Southwick
• Aimee, Homemade Trade
• Sammy, Rêve du Jour
• Emily, The Bon Appétit Diaries

Lastly, Happy 4th of July to all of you tomorrow!!!