Caraway Rye

Ingredients

• 1 cup whey, or water
• 1 cup stone-ground rye flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons caraway seeds

Directions

1. On the night before baking, stir together the rye flour and whey in the bowl for your stand mixer. Cover the top with plastic wrap and leave the mixture to rest overnight.
2. The next day, add the yeast, sugar, and 1 cup of the bread flour. Fit the mixer with the dough hook and knead until everything is well combined. Add the salt and the remaining bread flour, then keep kneading until the dough starts to feel elastic. The rye makes this slower than an all-white dough, so be patient with it.
3. Add the olive oil and caraway seeds, and knead again until the dough is stretchy and no longer sticky. It will not behave exactly like a white loaf, but it should have enough structure to stand up instead of slumping outward.
4. Shape the dough into a ball, return it to the bowl, and drizzle it with olive oil so the surface is coated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
5. Scatter cornmeal across the bottom of a cast iron Dutch oven, or a similar pot. Remove the dough from the bowl, knead it briefly, and shape it into a tight, smooth ball. Set the dough in the Dutch oven, cover it, and let it rest for 45 minutes. It should be nearly doubled.
6. Place the covered Dutch oven in a cold oven, set the oven to 400 degrees, and set the timer for 1 hour. Bake it with the lid on. After 1 hour, remove the pot from the oven and take off the cover. The loaf should be browned and baked through. If you want more color, return it to the oven, uncovered, for another 5 minutes.
7. Transfer the bread to a rack and let it cool completely before slicing.