No knead yeasted rye bread

I used to be able to tolerate rye if it were soaked.  I haven't had it in awhile, but wanted to make some tonight.  We'll see how I feel in the morning.  So far, so good!

This bread does not require kneading.  It is dense, but has good crumb and tastes good.  Rye is low, but not no gluten, so people who are gluten intolerant should do well with it but people who have celiac disease may not.  The yogurt and raw honey are included in the sponge specifically to start the digestion process.

I whipped this up on a whim, writing down quantities as I went.  This is how I usually cook and most of the time, the results are excellent.  Gluten free breads have often required two or three trials before I am happy with them.  This one fell a little, but I suspect that is because the house started smelling good and I opened the oven to take a peak only 20 minutes into the baking.  Despite falling, the texture is very nice. 

Mix:  1 1/2 c. whole milk yogurt brought to room temperature
         1/4 c. warm water
         1/4 c. melted butter
         3 1/2 c. rye flour
         2 tbsp. raw honey
         1 package yeast
Cover bowl and let sit at least 3 hours. 
Mix in salt and various herbs or spices to taste.  You want to add the salt late in the process because it inhibits the action of the yeast, and low or no gluten breads need all the help they can get.  Be sure you mix it thoroughly, though.

Put in greased pans.  I used one oval casserole dish, but generally low/no gluten breads do better in smaller loaves.  Let rise 45 minutes or so and preheat oven to 375 degrees.  My one loaf took 40 minutes to bake.  You are looking for the bread to be golden, pulled away from the sides and to fall easily out of the dish rather than for it to sound hollow when tapped.

I use Azure Standard's organic unifine rye, which has an extra fine texture that helps lighten the bread.