Syrup Bread

The household economy in my home is getting a bit strained since I recently lost my beloved job (as a result of an unexpected reorganization in the company) and now it is the time to think smart and economic and make priorities.

I have realized that buying bread in the store is actually very expensive if you compare the price to how much it costs to bake the bread at home. Two loaves of bread with basically same ingredients as the bread I will show you today would probably cost about 50 Swedish crowns here in Sweden (= 6,46 USD or 4 British Pounds). However, when I bake two loaves I only pay about 12 Swedish crowns (= 1,29 USD or 0,8 British Pounds). It may sound like I am poking in pennies here but when you buy eight loaves each month it is a big difference between 480 Swedish crowns (51,7 USD or 32 British Pounds) for buying bread and 96 Swedish crowns (10,3 USD or 6,4 British Pounds) for baking your own.

I am sure you are thinking "Sure, I could bake if I wanted to but it is often so time consuming...!" Yes, you are right in some way beacuse many types of bread can take a long time to make, but this recipe I will show you today is not one of those long term baking experiences you fear, this is a little joy :)

This recipe comes from the book "Bröd: från bagels till tunnbröd" by Göran Söderin och George Strachal. Here you can find the book on the Swedish online book store Adlibris.

Syrup Bread

25 grams of fresh yeast

3 deciliter room temperatured water

10 grams room temperatured butter

1 deciliter dark syrup

5 grams salt

450 grams sifted rye flour with wheat

150 grams wheat flour

Put your oven to 200 Celsius.

Dissolve the yeast in the water.

Add the butter and stirr it into the yeast mixture together with the syrup.

Mix the two types of flour and the salt in a seperate bowl and then add it little by little while you work it into the yeast/water mixture. 

Work the dough with your hands until it feels smooth. 

Let the dough rest for 30 minutes. (excellent time to walk the dog or check your Instagram/Facebook ;) )

Divide the dough in two  and put them into two bread baking pans (1,5 L or 2 L) and let them rise under a towel until they double in size (approximately 1 hour)

Bake for 20 minutes or until the inner temperature (use a digital termometer) is 98 Celcius.