Winnipeg Rye Bread

Growing up in Central Canada, we just called this Rye Bread. Turns out it is like no other rye bread in the world, and it is delicious. This is the third bread that is in my freezer right now along with the French Bread and the Oatmeal bread. The cracked rye is becoming harder to find, if you find a source, please let me know. I am seriously considering buying a hand grain mill and doing it myself because the bread is THAT good.

I cannot remember exactly where I got this recipe from, it has been reworked so much that it hardly resembles the original recipe, but is exactly what I grew up with.

Winnipeg Rye Bread

1 cup cracked rye (no substitutions possible)
1 cup water (hot if trying to rush)
1 1/2 cup milk (I often substitute powdered)
1 1/2 cup water
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
4 tbsp butter
8-9 cups flour (I think I add more than this, but add until you get a nice dough)
1 tbsp active dry yeast (steal a cup of the liquid and bloom the yeast if you don't have a Bosch).
2 tbsp milk (I usually skip this step).

Soak the cracked rye flour in 1 cup of water until most of the water has been absorbed.

Place ingredients into the Bosch, adding flour cup by cup, and yeast after 4 cups of flour. Add the soaked rye with the other flour. (If not using the Bosch, bloom yeast).

Kneed for about 7-10 minutes, let rise until double.

Divide the dough into halves or quarters, press out any air bubbles, and form into round or long loaves. (I like 4 long loaves running across a half sheet pan).

Place them onto a baking sheet, and allow the loaves to rise in a warm place until they have doubled in size, about 35 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Brush the tops of the loaves with remaining milk. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until the loaf makes a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom.