Swedish Limpa

By norsegal8

Limpa is a Swedish rye bread, but not at all like the Eastern European ryes with which you may be familiar. It is an extremely dark loaf, somewhat sweet because of the molasses and brown sugar, and somewhat spicy thanks to the typically Scandinavian addition of caraway, fennel and anise seeds. Traditionally, this bread, baked in a round cake pan, is seved at Christmas as part of a buffet of cold meats and cheeses. Once you taste the bread, you'll see how the licoricelike anise and fennel and the slight sweetness of the molasses lend themselves to cured meats and savory holiday foods.

Ingredients

• 2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon anise seeds
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup warm water (about 110°F)
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• Grated zest of 1 orange
• 1 1/2 cups light or medium rye flour
• 5 to 6 cups bread flour
• Light or dark molasses, for glaze

Details

Servings 2

Preparation

Step 1

MIXING THE DOUGH Pour the milk into a small saucepan and heat until scalded; that is, until a ring of small bubbles is visible at the edge of the pan. Remove from the heat and let the milk cool.
Using a mortar and pestle, a spice grinder or a coffee mill, coarsely ground the caraway, fennel and anise seeds. Don’t grind them to a powder – you’re aiming to crush them just enough to release their flavor. Keep close at hand.
Working in a large bowl, whisk the yeast and sugar into the water, stirring until the yeast is dissolved. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes, or until it turns creamy, then stir in the cooled milk, molasses, brown sugar, salt, crushed seeds and grated orange zest. Whisk in the rye flour and stir until very smooth. Add 1 cup of the bread flour and whisk until the mixture is very smooth. Switch to a wooden spoon and mix in as much additional bread flour, 1 cup at a time, as it takes to make a stiff dough. (You can also make this dough in a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Follow the procedure for hand mixing, adding the ingredients in the same order.)

REST Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.

KNEADING THE DOUGH Dust a work surface with bread flour and turn the dough out onto the flour. Knead the dough for 5 to 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic and there are small blisters visible on the surface of the dough. (If you are working in a mixer, knead the dough on medium speed, adding additional flour as needed. To get a feel for the dough, remove it from the mixer before it is completely kneaded and, working on a lightly floured surface, knead it until smooth by hand.)

FIRST RISE Rinse out the bowl, rub it with a little oil and place the dough in it. Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature until it doubles in bulk, about 1 hour.

SHAPING THE DOUGH Grease two 8- or 9-inch cake pans. Deflate the dough by folding it over on itself a few times and turn it out onto a work surface. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a round loaf that will fit into the prepared cake pans. This is most easily done by working each half of dough into a tight ball between your cupped hands. Keep turning the ball and then, when it is tight, place it in one of the pans, smooth side up, flattening the dough as necessary to fit the pan.

SECOND RISE Cover the dough with oiled plastic wrap and allow it to rise at room temperature until the loaves almost double in volume, about 1 hour.

BAKING THE BREAD Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the loaves for about 35 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the top of the loaves comes out clean. As soon as you remove the loaves from the oven, turn the loaves out of their pans and brush their tops with molasses. Cool the loaves on a wire rack.

STORING The breads will keep at room temperature, wrapped in plastic, for 2 days. For longer storage, wrap airtight and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw, still wrapped at room temperature.