With loads of ground and whole caraway seeds.

Caraway is a somewhat misunderstood ingredient. A lot of people think that caraway is synonymous with rye, but they’re not the same; rye is a grain, caraway is a spice. What we call caraway “seed” is actually the fruit of the caraway plant which is in the same family as anise, dill, cumin, and fennel. It’s extensively used in northern Europe and Russia, hence its prominence in the Jewish cooking and baking of that area.

We’ve put plenty of whole caraway seeds into and on top of this loaf of rye bread. This is rye like my grandparents ate in Eastern Europe, made with plenty of freshly milled rye flour (believe it or not, most “rye bread” sold in America contains very little rye flour), a natural sour rye starter (not the usual canned shortcuts), organic wheat flour, and lots of time to let the dough develop.