Thanks for the nice comments. JessicaV, I was really surprised at how the oiled knife just glided through the dough. May an expert breadmaker will shed some light on deflation. That wouldn't be me! Sharon, we like this bread a lot. I only had light rye flour so the rye flavor was subtle but the vinegar and sour cream really add to the taste. I didn't have caraway so subbed a scant teaspoon of fennel seed which I ground course (measured the seed and then ground). I hope you try it. I am really pleased with the results of using the bread machine for the dough and then baking in the oven. I had stopped using my breadmaker years ago because I didn't like the way it baked the bread. I hope others will dust off vintage macines, Lee Here is the recipe that Laurie posted: Sour Cream Rye Bread from "The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook" by Beth Hensperger, (2000) Havard Common Press, Boston, MA page 139 2-pound loaf 3/4 cup water 2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 7/8 cup sour cream 3 TBLSP dark honey or molasses 3 TBLSP vegetable oil 2 1/2 cups bread flour 1 1/2 cup dark rye flour 1 1/2 TBLSP instant potato flakes 1 TBLSP + 2 tsp. gluten 1 TBLSP + 1 tsp. caraway seeds 1 1/2 tsp. ground coriander seeds 2 tsp. salt 1 TBLSP bread machine yeast or 2 1/2 tsp. SAF yeast Add wet ingredients and then dry ingredients into loaf pan in the bread machine. Use the standard setting. I bake mine in the bread machine but you can use the dough setting I guess. If using the bread machine to bake, set the crust on medium. Beth says the loaf is delicate when coming out of the pan so remove carefully and cool it standing on its side. I left it in the bread pan overnight to cool so didn't notice any delicacy taking it out. Lpink's notes: I used low fat sour cream and some non fat greek yogurt since I was almost out of sour cream. I drastically reduced the caraway and corriander. I used crushed caraway since I don't like seedy rye. I think I only used about 1/3 of both for the recipe. The flavor was still good with just that amount. I also used somewhat less salt, again maybe 1 1/2 tsp. I used half honey and half molasses for the sweetener. I also used some whole wheat bread flour in place of the plain bread flour, but not a whole lot, like maybe the equivalent of 1/2 cup for this recipe.

I love the caraway seeds in rye bread, Dad didn't, so much. I told him it was too bad, if he wanted me to share, he'd eat it my way. LOL Actually, I divided the dough in half and added caraway to one loaf and left his without. Ann T's recipe is very good, I like it a lot. When I don't have sour cream, I make this one which calls for yogurt, I always have that because I make my own several quarts at a time. This is a dark pumpernickel rye from Dorie Greenspan. Carol/Readinglady first pointed me toward it, and for that I thank her. I've found prune lekvar in cans occasionally, but it's easy to make it using the directions in the recipe. I will admit that Dorie Greenspan completely lost me on the shaping and the resting in the sling, LOL. I cut the recipe in half, toss the wet ingredients in the bread machine after melting the chocolate, butter and shortening. I follow with the dry ingredients, top it off with the yeast and salt, set it on dough. When it's done kneading and rising I shape, rise and bake. (shrug) It works for me, but I'll give you the whole package deal, in case you want to do it that way. (grin) Pumpernickel Rye Bread 1 cup boiling water 1 tablespoon instant espresso 2 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped 1/4 cup unsulphured molasses 1 stick (4 ounces) [1/2 cup] unsalted butter, cut into small cubes 5 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast Pinch of sugar 1/2 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F) 2 cups plain yogurt, at room temperature 1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening 1/2 cup prune lekvar* (also sold as prune butter in specialty markets and some supermarkets) 2 tablespoons ground caraway seeds (grind whole seeds in a spice or coffee grinder) 1 1/2 tablespoons caraway seeds 1 tablespoon salt 3 1/2 cups coarse rye meal or medium rye flour 6 cups (approximately) high-gluten flour, bread flour, or unbleached all-purpose flour Melted butter, for greasing the mixing bowl * Prune Lekvar: Put 3 cups (packed) pitted prunes in a medium saucepan, cover with water, and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the prunes are very soft, about 10 minutes; drain, reserving 1 tablespoon of the liquid. Place the prunes and liquid, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, and 1/3 cup sugar in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process until puréed. Scrape the prune butter into a bowl and stir in 1/4 cup very finely chopped walnuts. Packed in a tightly sealed jar, the prune butter will keep in the refrigerator for at least 2 weeks. Makes about 1 cup. Brush a large (about 8-quart) bowl with melted butter; set aside. Mixing and Kneading Put the boiling water and espresso powder into a small heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir to dissolve espresso. Add the chocolate, molasses, and butter and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter and chocolate melt. Pour the mixture into another large (about 8-quart) bowl. Meanwhile, whisk the yeast and pinch of sugar into the warm water; let rest until creamy, about 5 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir the yogurt, shortening, lekvar, caraway seeds, and salt into the butter-chocolate mixture. When the ingredients are well blended and the mixture is just warm to the touch (no hotter than 110 degrees F), stir in the yeast and the rye meal. Using lots of elbow grease, stir in enough of the high-gluten flour, 1/2 cup to 1 cup at a time, to make a very moist dough. (You’ll probably use almost 6 cups of flour.) When it is too difficult to stir the dough, turn it out onto a work surface well dusted with high gluten flour and knead until smooth and elastic but still soft and moist, about 10 minutes. The dough may seem a little pasty at first ��" because of the rye meal ��" but its texture will change with energetic kneading. While you’re working, add only as much additional flour as you need to keep the dough from sticking to the table and your hands. (You can make this dough in a heavy-duty mixer fitted with a dough hook. Once the yeast and rye meal have been added to the other ingredients, mix on low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, for about 2 minutes. Add about 5 cups of the high-gluten flour, 1 cup at a time, and beat on low speed for 3 to 4 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and beat in as much additional flour as needed to make a soft dough that will clean the sides of the bowl, then beat for about 8 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.) First Rise Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to the buttered bowl. Cover the bowl with buttered plastic wrap and top with a kitchen towel. Let the dough rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until it has doubled in volume. Second Rise When the dough is fully risen, deflate it, turn it over, cover as before, and let it rise for about 1 hour, or until it doubles in bulk again. Rolling and shaping Deflate the dough, transfer it to a lightly floured work surface, and divide it in half. Work with one piece of dough and keep the other covered with a towel or plastic wrap. Lay 2 clean kitchen towels on the counter and sprinkle them with flour; keep close at hand. On a lightly floured surface, pat the dough into a rectangle about 8 inches by 14 inches. Starting at the short end farthest from you, roll the dough into a tight roll, pinching and sealing the seams you form with each roll as you go. Stand the roll on end and push your fingers down into the loaf, tucking some of the dough into the loaf as you burrow your fingers down into it. Then squeeze the end of the dough to elongate it, pinch it to seal, and fold each corner into the center, creating two triangles ��" it’s like making hospital corners on a bed. Tuck the end under the bread, attaching it to the bottom seam, and repeat the borrowing, squeezing, folding, and tucking with the other end of the coil. Rotate and plump the dough to get a nicely shaped, rounded oval. Place the loaf, seam side up, diagonally on one of the floured kitchen towels and form a sling by joining the opposite corners of the towel, slip an S-hook through the hole, and suspend the sling from a cupboard or door knob (or tie the ends of the towel together to form a sling and suspend it). Shape the second piece of dough in the same manner and tuck it intoa sling. Rest The loaves should rest undisturbed in their slings for 40 minutes. The Topping and Glaze Sesame and/or caraway seeds )optional 1 large egg white 1 teaspoon cold water Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. If the loaves are to bake on a baking or pizza stone, preheat the stone too and generously dust a peel with cornmeal. Of they will bake on baking sheets, brush or spray one or two large, preferably dark steel, baking sheets with vegetable oil and sprinkle with cornmeal. For added flavor, use some sesame and/or caraway sees in combination with the cornmeal to dust the peel or sheets. (To create steam in the oven, you’ll be tossing ice cubes and water onto the oven floor. If you don’t think your oven floor is up to this ��" it can be tricky with a gas oven ��" put a heavy skillet or roasting pan on the oven floor and preheat it as well.) Whisk the egg white and water together and push the mixture through a sieve; reserve. Release the slings and transfer the loaves, smooth side up, to the prepared peel or baking sheet(s), keeping the loaves at least 3 inches apart. These loaves are very big and unusually soft, so handle them carefully. Give the loaves a last plumping with your hands and using a sharp serrated knife or a single-edge razor blade, slash the top of each loaf 3 times: The slashes should run horizontally across the loaf at a slight angle and should be about 1 inch deep. Paint each loaf with a generous coating of glaze, taking care not to paint the slashes. Sprinkle the loaves with caraway and/or sesame seeds, if you’re using them. Baking the bread Put 4 ice cubes in a 1-pint measuring cup and add 1/4 cup cold water. Put the loaves into the oven, immediately toss the ice cubes and water onto the oven floor (or into the pan), and quickly close the oven door to trap the steam produced by the ice. Bake the loaves for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for 35 to 40 minutes more, or until the loaves are deeply browned and the bottoms produce a hollow sound when rapped. (The internal temperature of the loaves should measure 200 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.) Remove the loaves and cool on a rack. The loaves must cool completely before they can be cut, so plan to wait 2 to 3 hours after baking. Storing You can keep the bread in plastic bags at room temperature for 2 days or wrap the loaves airtight and freeze them for up to 1 month. Thaw, still wrapped, at room temperature. This is a moist and sweet rye bread, very good with bean soup. Annie

I use the recipe from the Outback Steak House. I make it a couple times a month DH loves this bread. If I remember I do add caraway seeds but I forget most of the time. It�s dark and moist bread perfect with a salad. Ingredients 2 packages dry yeast 1/2 cup warm water 1 tablespoon sugar 1 cup warm water 1/2 cup dark molasses 1 tablespoon salt 2 tablespoons oil 2 cups rye flour 2 1/2 -3 cups bread flour Directions Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Soften yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Stir in the sugar and let stand 6 minutes or until it�s bubbly. In large mixing bowl combine the yeast/water combo above along with 1 cup warm water the molasses, salt, oil and rye flour. Mix this until it makes a nice smooth batter. Work in the bread flour until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky. It should be very pliable and elastic. Knead the dough for a few minutes and then let it rise in a greased bowl until it�s doubled. Punch the dough down and shape into 2 large round loaves. Placed the loaves a few inches apart on a greased and cornmeal dusted cookie sheet. Sprinkle a bit of the cornmeal over the top of the loaves as well. Let loaves rise in a warm place until doubled. Bake loaves at 375 for about 30 minutes or until the crust makes hollow sound when tapped.

I like to rub quinoa with my hands in a large bowl of water, which I change a couple times before spraying with water in a fine-mesh strainer until the water runs clear. Another quinoa tip: After the cooking time, place a clean cloth over the pan and place the lid on top of that. Wait 5-minutes and remove the lid and cloth. NOW fluff the quinoa. The towel will absorb the moisture in the pan that would have normally accumulated on the lid and fallen back into the quinoa. This will help keep it from getting mushy. You can use this tip with any cooked grain. There are two types of quinoa available - imported and domestic. The imported variety is large, about the size of millet, and uniformly buff or cream color. It has been well-processed so that most of the bitter saponin coating is removed. Domestic quinoa is smaller, with a deeper flavor. The seeds vary in color from off-white to dark tan and even a few black seeds in the mix. This type of quinoa requires an extra washing and cooks up less dry and fluffy even though it requires less liquid (2 cups liquid to 1-1/3 c. domestic quinoa - as opposed to 2 cups liquid to 1 c. imported quinoa). -Grainlady