Seeing that it’s now mid-February I’m assuming your no-carb diet aspirations of January have started to mellow. And why shouldn’t they? You’ve been strict for long enough and really, how bad is a piece or two of toast? Especially if it’s homemade!

Ahh, making bread is so therapeutic and the result is so so delicious. Being that tomorrow is Valentine’s Day why don’t you show your sweetheart just how much you care with a good ol’ loaf of rye.

Equpiment Needed: 8 ½ x 4 ½ loaf pan

Ingredients

2 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast
2 cups AP Flour
1 ¼ cup dark rye flour
¼ cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 ½teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
3 Tablespoons caraway seeds
1 ¼ cups warm water
4 Tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted

In the bowl of a standing mixer (or just in a large bowl if kneading by hand, go you!) whisk together the yeast, flours, milk powder, salt, sugar, and caraway seeds.

Add the warm water and melted butter. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, or until it’s completely smooth and supple.

If you’re kneading the dough by hand, do so on a lightly greased counter rather than a floured surface; when working on a floured surface, you run the risk of adding too much flour to the dough, which will result in a tough, dry loaf. Place the dough in a large, lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise till doubled in bulk, about 1½ to 2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled surface, and shape it into an oval. Place the dough in a lightly greased 8 ½ x 4 ½-inch loaf pan, tent it with lightly greased plastic wrap, and set it aside till doubled in bulk and risen 1 to 1 ½ inches over the lip of the pan. This should take about 1 to 1 ¼ hours.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (if your oven takes a long time to heat, you might want to preheat the oven during the last 15 minutes of the final rise). Bake the loaf for 35 minutes, or until it’s golden brown and the interior of the loaf reads 190°F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove the bread from the oven, remove it from the pan, and cool completely on a rack. This seeded beauty is surely a great way to say “I loaf you” this Valentine’s day…