Ruebens

I'm making Reuben sandwiches, tonight for T's Birthday.

Here's the bread recipe from KAF:

Ingredients

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• 1 1/2 packets "highly active" active dry yeast; or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast; or 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 2/3 cup to 7/8 cup lukewarm water*
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup dill pickle juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons caraway seeds
• 1 1/4 teaspoons dill seeds
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds OR 1 tablespoon prepared Dijon mustard
• 3/4 cup instant mashed potato flakes
• 2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
• 1 1/3 cups pumpernickel
• *Use the lesser amount in summer (or in a humid environment), the greater amount in winter (or in a dry climate), and somewhere in between the rest of the year, or if your house is climate controlled.

Directions

1) Dissolve the yeast in 2 tablespoons of the lukewarm water with a pinch of sugar. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes, till it becomes puffy. If you're using instant yeast, you can skip this step.

2) Combine the dissolved yeast (or instant yeast) with the remaining ingredients, and mix till clumps form; the dough may seem dry at this point. Let it rest for 20 minutes, for the flour to start to absorb the liquid.

3) Knead the dough—by mixer or bread machine set on the dough cycle—to make a stiff, but fairly smooth dough. It'll take about 7 minutes in a stand mixer at second speed, using the dough hook. The dough should clean the sides of the bowl; if it doesn't sprinkle in a bit more all-purpose flour. We don't recommend kneading this dough by hand, as it's hard to develop the gluten sufficiently. If you DO knead by hand, realize that the dough will take longer to rise, and won't rise as high.

4) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and let the dough rise till it's puffy, about 1 to 2 hours. It may or may not have doubled in bulk, but it definitely will have expanded.

5) Gently deflate the dough, and shape it into a log. Place the log in a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan (for a stiffer dough), or 9" x 5" loaf pan (for a slacker dough). Press it to the edges of the pan, and flatten the top.

6) Tent the pan with greased plastic wrap, and allow the loaf to rise till it's crowned about 1" to 1 1/2" over the edge of the pan, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

7) Bake the bread for 20 minutes. Tent it lightly with foil, and bake for an additional 20 minutes. When done the bread will be golden brown, and its internal temperature will register 190°F on an instant-read thermometer.

8) Remove the bread from the oven, wait 5 minutes, remove it from the pan, and allow it to cool completely on a rack before slicing. Store for up to a week at cool room temperature.

This easy-to-slice rye br

Reuben Sandwich Recipe

INGREDIENTS

Sandwich ingredients
2 Tbsp butter, softened
8 slices rye bread
8 slices Swiss cheese
3/4 lb corned beef brisket, thinly sliced
1/2 lb sauerkraut
1/4 cup Russian Dressing

Russian Dressing
Combine the following ingredients. Makes one-half cup
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 Tbsp ketchup
1 1/2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

METHOD

1 Butter one side of four slices of bread, and place the slices buttered-side down on a large piece of wax paper on a flat surface. Top each with a slice of Swiss cheese, and then divide half of the corned beef among them.

2 Using paper towels, squeeze out excess moisture from the sauerkraut. Divide the sauerkraut among the sandwiches, and top each with one tablespoon of Russian dressing. Add another layer of corned beef and a second slice of Swiss cheese to each sandwich. Top with the remaining bread slices; butter the side facing out.

3 Preheat a griddle or frying pan to medium heat. Cook the sandwiches on one side until the bread is golden brown. Use a spatula to carefully flip the sandwiches over and finish cooking on the second side. Cut the sandwiches in half before serving.

Make 4 sandwiches. Serve with a side of coleslaw.

German Potato Salad

• 9 potatoes, peeled
• 6 slices bacon
• 3/4 cup chopped onions
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup distilled white vinegar

• Directions
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 30 minutes. Drain, cool and slice thin.
• Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside, reserving drippings.
• Saute onions in bacon drippings until they are golden-brown.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, celery seed, and pepper. Add to the sauteed onions and cook and stir until bubbly, then remove from heat. Stir in water and vinegar, then return to the stove and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for one minute. Carefully stir bacon and sliced potatoes into the vinegar/water mixture, stirring gently until potatoes are heated through.