It makes two medium-sized loaves.
• 2 packages (2 Tbs.) dry yeast
• 1½ cups lukewarm water
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1⅓ cups raisins
• 1 cup milk
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• grated rind of 2 oranges
• ½ tsp. fennel seeds, crushed
• 4½ cups rye flour
• 3 Tbs. butter, melted
• 1 Tbs. salt
• 2½ cups white flour
• corn meal
1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in ½ cup of the lukewarm water and stir in 1 tsp. sugar. Leave the yeast to proof for about 10 minutes.
2. Pour boiling water over the raisins and let them plump up in it for 10 minutes, then drain.
3. Combine the cup of milk with the remaining cup of water and heat the liquid until it is lukewarm. In a large bowl, stir together the milk and water, the yeast mixture, brown sugar, raisins, orange rind, fennel seed, and 2 cups of rye flour. Beat this mixture with a wooden spoon until there are no lumps of flour left, then stir in the melted butter and salt.
4. Beat in the remaining 2½ cups of rye flour, ½ cup at a time, plus 1 cup of the white flour. The dough should now be getting a bit too stiff to be beaten with a spoon. If not, add a little more of the white flour until it is.
5. Sprinkle 1 cup of white flour over a large, flat wooden or marble surface and dump the dough out on top of it. Sprinkle the remaining white flour on top of the dough. Carefully start kneading, keeping the dough well coated with flour at first, as it will be sticky. Knead in as much flour as is necessary to make a smooth, elastic dough. The kneading should take about 15 to 20 minutes.
6. Form the dough into a ball and put it in a large, buttered bowl. Turn the dough over once or twice so that it is completely coated with butter. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave the dough to rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size.
7. Punch the dough down, knead it a few times, and cut it in half. Form each half into a smooth ball, pinching it together firmly at the seams.
8. Put the loaves, seam side down, on buttered baking sheets that have been sprinkled with corn meal. With a sharp, serrated knife, cut a large X in the top of each loaf. Cover the loaves with a tea towel and leave them to rise again for another hour, or until almost doubled in bulk.
9. Brush the loaves with water and bake them in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 1 hour, or a little longer, until they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
10. Cool the loaves on racks.
