Jewish Rye

Ingredients

Starter

• 3/4 cup (4 ounces) bread flour
• 3/4 cup (3.3 ounces) rye flour
• 1/2 teaspoon (0.06 ounce) instant yeast
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons (0.6 ounce) sugar
• 1/2 Tablespoon barley malt syrup (or malt powder or honey or sugar)
• 1 1/2 cups water, at room temperature

Dough

• 2 1/4 cups (12.4 ounces) bread flour
• 1/2 teaspoon plus ⅛ teaspoon instant yeast
• 2 Tablespoons (0.5 ounce) caraway seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (0.3 ounce) salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (0.25 ounce) vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup ice cubes
• About 2 teaspoons (0.5 ounce) cornmeal for sprinkling

Directions

To make the starter, combine the bread flour, rye flour, yeast, sugar, malt syrup, and water in a large bowl. Whisk until very smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl. The starter will have the consistency of thick batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set the starter aside while you combine the flour mixture.

To make the dough, whisk together the bread flour, the yeast, caraway seeds, and salt in a bowl. Remove the plastic wrap from the starter, and gently scoop the flour mixture over the starter to cover it completely. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and set it aside at room temperature to ferment until the starter bubbles through the flour mixture in places, 1 to 4 hours.

Place the fermented starter/flour mixture, along with the oil, in the mixer bowl and mix with a dough hook over low speed until the flour is moistened enough to form a rough dough, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and continue to mix until the dough is very smooth and elastic, and springs back when pressed with a fingertip, about 10 minutes. If the dough is at all sticky, turn it out onto a counter and knead in a little extra bread flour.

Place the dough in a large, oiled bowl, flip the dough, and cover with plastic wrap. Set the dough aside to rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a slightly floured counter and press it down to flatten it slightly. Form the dough into a ball and set it on a cornmeal-sprinkled baking sheet. Cover it with a large container or oiled plastic wrap. Set the dough aside to rise until almost doubled, 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Have an oven shelf at the lowest level and place a baking stone or baking sheet on it before heating the oven. Place a cast-iron skillet or sheet pan on the floor of the oven to preheat. Heat the oven to 450° F.

With a sharp knife make 4 slashes one-fourth- to one-half-inch deep in the top of the dough. Mist the dough with water and quickly but gently set the baking sheet on the hot stone or hot baking sheet. Toss the ice cubes into the pan beneath and immediately shut the door. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 400° F and continue to bake until the bread is golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean or the loaf reads 190° F on an instant-read thermometer, 30 to 40 minutes.

Remove the bread from the oven, and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.