Make It A Double

   For this weekend's flavor, I decided on rye. My parents have been really supportive in my bread baking efforts and if I ever get a business off the ground, I know they will be my biggest fans, second only to my husband, Ian. So, I figured they should be receiving the benefits of my learning process by getting their very own loaf once in a while. Because you can always double the recipe (as long as you have space for all that dough), I made enough for 2 loaves. Beginning Saturday morning with the starter or "sponge", I mixed the bread and rye flours, yeast, honey, sugar and water. You can let the sponge sit for just an hour or two, or ferment in the fridge for several hours for a more flavorful taste. Obviously I chose the more tasty option and let it sit in the fridge while I went to Crystal River with my parents to visit my husband at his boat show.
   My mom and I spent the afternoon nurturing my dad's new notion to buy a boat. Airboat, flatts boat, pontoon....oh the options. I think he's leaning toward a pontoon because you can do so much with them - fishing, water sports, cruising, etc. I'm all for it. And if he buys it from Ian, all the better :) We ate lunch at Cracker's on the river and then took a stroll down by the boat dock to hypotheticaly see where dad could tie up a boat, if he had a boat, hypothetically of course. The weather was beautiful - a perfect day to be out and about.
   Back at the house, my sponge had grown to fill the mixing bowl to the rim. I stirred it down and added the dry flour mixture. When you allow this to ferment, the sponge will bubble through the flour. After a few hours, I started mixing it all together using my Kitchen Aid mixer and bread hook. However, it was a double recipe and the dough just got so big I had to take it out of the bowl and knead it by hand, which was kind of fun! The recipe called for the final rise to only be an hour or two. But, I didn't want to bake it until Monday morning so it would be hot and fresh for my coworkers. I let it rise overnight and when I woke up at 5:30 a.m. to prepare it for the oven, it had tripled in size and spilled over the sides of the bowl. Woopsies! Kneading it for about 5 minutes reduced it in size just enough to form 2 loaves that fit on my baking stone. I sprinkled cornmeal on the stone and placed it in the very hot, 450 degree oven. Again for really firm crust, I used icecubes in a pan below the baking stone to get the steam effect.
   I jumped in the shower and started getting ready for work while my tiny masterpieces baked. At 6:50 a.m. they were golden with perfection. I slipped one loaf into a plastic bag for an early morning delivery to my parents. I placed the other loaf in my baked goods carrier with a half stick of butter to cart off to the office. Both my parents and the folks at work were big fans of this loaf. I got e-mail responses like "DELICIOUS!" and even requests for cheese bread and corn muffins. I guess we are on the right track if I'm getting orders in already!