Rye Cranberry Soft European Bread
I used to think making European bread was difficult and the texture was hard. But the first time I made European bread, it made me fall in love with it. Fragrant, soft, very soft, and it's not as sweet as cake, so you don't have to worry about it being too sweet. Scoring the bread—each scored loaf is unique and one of a kind. Score it however you want, as long as you're willing to give it a try 😂.
Ingredients
Steps
Prepare all the ingredients.
Except yeast, butter, and cranberries, combine all other ingredients into a dough and let it rest for thirty minutes (reserve 10 g of water for dissolving yeast).
Soak the cranberries in cold water, then drain and set aside. Dissolve the yeast, and melt the butter for later use.
Mix in the yeast with a kneading machine for 15 minutes. Add the butter and knead for another 15 minutes. Finally, add the cranberries and knead for 5 minutes. (In summer, I let it naturally ferment for about 1.5 hours.)
Dip your hand in flour and poke a hole in the dough. If it doesn’t spring back, the fermentation is done.
Take it out and gently press to release air. Divide into two portions (photo shows one portion). Fold inward from all four sides multiple times to shape it as desired.
Let it proof again until it's twice its original size. Once proofed, spray some water on the surface or skip this step. Sift flour on top.
Score it however you like 😂. Designs made using leaf patterns also look beautiful.
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Bake with top and bottom heat for 20 minutes. (Each oven varies, so adjust the temperature according to your oven. Monitor while baking. If it browns too early, cover with foil to prevent over-browning.)
Take it out of the oven, let it cool, and slice. It’s super soft 😍.