Ruisreikäleipä (Finnish Rye Bread Rings)

Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients

Bread Dough:

1 ¼ cups (175g) steel cut oats
2 ½ cups (568g) boiling water
2 ½ cups (265g) Maine Grains Organic Rye Flour
3 cups (360g) bread flour
2 ½ tsp instant yeast
¼ cup (84g) honey
4 Tbsp (57g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 Tbsp salt

Finishing Touch:

1 Tbsp (14g) unsalted butter, melted

Directions

Place steel cut oats in the bowl of a stand mixer. Pour boiling water over the oats. Cover with a dish towel and allow to soak for roughly an hour or until mixture has cooled down to 100–110°F.
In a large bowl, whisk together rye flour, bread flour, and yeast. Set aside.
Once the oat mixture is lukewarm, attach dough hook to mixer. Add honey, melted butter, and salt, mixing just until combined.
With mixer on low, slowly add dry ingredients. Mix just until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Increase mixer speed to medium and knead dough for 5–10 minutes. (The dough will be a little sticky, but it should still for the most part clear the sides of the bowl.)
Turn dough out onto floured work surface, then shape dough into a ball. Place dough into a large bowl and cover bowl tightly with cling film. Place bowl in a warm, dry spot and leave undisturbed until dough doubles in size, roughly 1 hour.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
After dough has doubled in size, punch it down to release excess gas build-up. Turn out onto a well-floured surface and dust dough with flour.
Divide dough into two even portions and shape each into a ball.
NOTE: Each ball will weigh about 750g.
Flatten each dough ball into a disk that’s roughly 8" in diameter and 1" tall.
With a 2-inch biscuit cutter, cut a hole out of the centre of each loaf. Gently stretch and enlarge the hole with your fingers.
Transfer loaves to prepared baking sheets. Cover lightly with cling film and allow to rest for about 45 minutes.
Set one oven rack in upper third and another in the lower third of the oven. Heat oven to 375°F.
Once your loaves have bulked up, prick ‘em all over with a fork. Bake for 30–35 minutes or until golden brown.
NOTE: Don’t forget to swap the baking sheets halfway through the bake time.
As soon as you remove the loaves from the oven, brush ‘em with melted butter.
Transfer to wire racks and allow to cool completely.