Rainsin Rye Bread

My father bought his first boat when I was a young child and most of my summer memories involve sailing -- Lake Superior, fog, quiet anchorages, meeting other boaters, the sound of water tapping against the hull, the wind in the rigging... These memories have crept into my written work in many ways. They've also influenced my baking. 

While our sailboat(s) were better adapted to cruising, my father often participated in races, including an international race from Thunder Bay to Grand Marais, MN. While his crew was comprised of others more enthusiastic about trimming sails, navigating in the dark and pushing the boat to perform at her best, my mother elected to meet the sailors at the finish line. She packed my sisters and I into the car and drove across the Canada/US border to the beautiful little fishing town of Grand Marais where we would wait for the boats to arrive and spend the night at the East Bay Hotel.

It was a great adventure for my sisters and I. While the adults were off doing adult things, we wandered the town with the other kids, sitting on red vinyl stools and ordering milkshakes at Ling's Fountain and scheming to steal the regatta trophy (if Canada hadn't won that year) or searching for the stolen trophy (if Canada had). The trophy was in a constant state of dispossession. The East Bay Hotel is not longer there but I remember  running up and down the creaky stairs, in and out of everyone else's rooms (the hotelier was aiding and abetting trophy thievery - can you imagine?) and ordering whatever we wanted from the dining room menu. This recipe for raisin rye bread came from their kitchen and is sweet, delicious and light on raisins. I adapted it for a smaller batch (we aren't running a hotel!) and you can always delete (or increase) the raisin quota depending on taste.

Oh -- the best hiding place for a trophy is tucked up against a radiator, base side up. Everyone passed it at least a hundred times without seeing it.

East Bay Hotel Raisin Rye Bread

Ingredients
3 cups warm water
1 Tbsp. yeast (or one package)
1/3 cup molasses
3 Tbsp brown sugar
​3 Tbsp melter butter or oil
1 1/2 cups dark rye flour
6 cups unbleached flour (+/-)
1 Tbsp salt
1 cup raisins (I like Thompson's)

Method:

1. In a large bowl, mix together water, yeast and brown sugar and leave for 10 minutes to "proof".
2. Add molasses, butter or oil, rye flour and 1 cup of unbleached flour and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth and well combined. If using a stand mixer, mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes scraping down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add salt, raisins (if using) and 2 more cups flour and mix. Gradually add more flour until it is too stiff to use a spoon. If you're using the stand mixer, the dough will become too much for the size of the bowl and begin to climb the dough hook (unless you have a large capacity mixer, in which case, carry on.) Scrape from the bowl onto a lightly floured counter and knead in remaining flour (more or less depending) until dough is elastic and smooth, about 10-15 minutes. 
4. Cover and rise in a warm place until double (1/12 to 2 hours). You can do two bulk risings if you have time.
5. Punch down and split into three equal-sized loaves and place in greased 9 x 5 loaf pans or floured proofing baskets. Let rise until double (about an hour).
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. If using a baking stone (for a boule or batard), preheat the stone as well.
7. If using basket/stone, transfer loaf to hot stone, or place tins in the oven. Bake 20 minutes.
8. Reduce heat to 375 F and bake an additional 20 minutes. Check for doneness (hollow bottom or internal temp of 200F).  Remove from pans and cool on rack.