Rye bread patties

Well, I'm officially done with all the studying and now just have to wait for my results and graduation. I always find the first few days of holiday quite difficult to cope with - after being so busy during the exams and deadlines and then suddenly I find myself in a situation where I don't know what to do with my time. So yesterday after I came come I decided to do something that I've always wanted to try but have never gotten around to doing - try to make rye bread patties, just like the ones I always bring with me from Estonia.

Both my fiancé and I are huge fans of this healthy food and the thing is that I haven't been able to find it here in Singapore. There is Fazer Rustika, which is quite close in taste but its pretty pricey (I get 1,5 packs of that for the money I spent on the ingredients to make the batch at home) and it really adds up, as we eat a lot of it. So that gave me another (and a very good reason) to give it a go.

After some googling I finally found a recipe that I was willing to give a shot. I needed something that was relatively quick to make (this one took around 2 hours, including the baking time) and that is fast for bread making as most recipes require you to make the started days beforehand. I have to admit that I didn't know what to expect and when I finally tried it I was blown away - I never want to go back to the store bought stuff! Warm, soft on the inside, nice crust on the outside and divine smell (the whole flat smelled of home-cooked bread) - what is there not to love! I love it because it is so easy to make, doesn't require a breadmaker or kneading (you can use a spoon) and just takes 15 minutes to cook. Trust me, once you try you'll understand what I'm talking about.

This bread is perfect for breakfast sandwiches,  to accompany soups and stews and something nice to just toast and eat with butter when feeling peckish.

Ingredients

(Makes 12 breads)
- 10g instant yeast (or 30g fresh yeast)
- 500ml warm water
- 700ml rye bread
- 200ml white flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 1.5 tbsp honey
- Extra rye bread for making the shapes

Directions
Firstly mix the yeast with 1 tablespoon warm water to make smooth paste and add the rest of the water and 400ml of rye flour. Mix until nicely combined, cover with cling film and set aside to a warm place let the dough raise for 1,5 hours.

After 1,5h add the rest of rye flour, white flour, salt and honey and mix well. You can use a spoon to mix it as the dough is quite liquid. Line two baking trays with baking paper and take a big spoon of dough, mix it into a ball and press flat (make sure you're hands are dusted with rye flour as otherwise the dough will stick) and place on the baking tray. Cover both trays with a hand towel and let the bread rise until the oven heats up to 225C. Bake both batches for 12-15 minutes until the breads are nice and light brown on top.

After taking them out and before cutting them half let them cool down under towel again (they're easier to halve this way).

Recipe from toidutare.ee