This post is sponsored by Doves Farm Organic Flour

I am so excited about this recipe; it combines some of my favourite things and is an incredibly easy recipe to make. Over the last couple of weeks I have loved showing you ways to use the brilliant range of ‘Ancient Grains’ that Doves Farm Organic Flour produce and today’s flour is one of my absolute all-time favourites - rye flour. The cake is a very spice forward gingerbread, perfect for the wet and windy weather we’ve been having the last couple weeks. The cake uses rye which pairs perfectly with both chocolate and ginger, it brings out deeper flavours from the chocolate and gives a boost to the ginger in the cake. The rye gives the gingerbread a slightly denser, more squidgy texture and when it comes to gingerbread I think that makes it sound even more inviting. The cake is made with a blend of rye flour, wheat flour and cocoa powder. Together the cake has a perfectly moist texture and of course a wonderfully rich flavour,. 

What Is Rye Flour

Rye is maybe one of the more recognisable ‘Ancient Grains’ even if you haven’t actually baked with it. At some point we’ve probably all had some form of rye bread, it’s popular across Eastern and Northern European bread baking, plus if you’ve ever eaten a Jewish deli sandwich there is a good chance it was served on rye bread. It has been a popular grain for a very long time. Whilst we often connect it with eastern European cultures, the grain actually originated in Turkey and its popularity in these regions can likely be traced to the fact it’s an incredibly hardy grain that can grow in tougher environments with poor soil quality and with wetter and cooler climates. Rye flour isn’t gluten free but it is comparably lower in gluten, so much so that I generally use it in a blend to get the best of both worlds. The flavour of rye is incredibly rich, a little malty, nutty and also surprisingly fruity. It has been a mainstay of many bakers for years but in the last few years it seems to be going through something of a revival. Personally I became enamoured with the grain maybe five years ago and it has earned a permanent place in my arsenal of favourite ingredients. You can see some more of my recipes using the grain here.

How To Bake With Rye Flour

Because rye breads are common it is easy to dismiss rye flour as just another bread flour, but really it’s an incredibly useful grain - adding amazing flavour to everything from cookies and cakes to pies and pastry. With breads it can be tricky if you’ve never used it before, especially when using rye in isolation. Breads made with 100% rye flour tend to be dense, closely textured and difficult to handle. The gluten present in the flour is not just minimal it’s also not very good at trapping air, which is why traditional rye breads, using mainly rye flour, tend to be dense and closely textured loaves. If you’re looking for that wonderful bakery style dense bread, rye is the obvious grain to use, but if you’re looking for lighter more open loaves but still want the wonderful flavour of rye you’ll want to try using a much smaller percentage.I find something around the low 20s works when combined with regular wheat flour. When baking with rye for the first time adding even just 5-10% will make a big difference to the flavour of your loaves without affecting the texture. With rye breads, especially those that use mainly rye, you’ll also find that when the loaves are baked they don’t have a huge amount of oven spring. The doughs also tend to be on the stickier side, generally needing less and more gentle mixing (this is true for yeasted doughs and for quick breads). When it comes to deciding what to bake the world really is your oyster, I add small percentages to everything from cookies to pie dough and it really packs a punch of flavour. It is worth noting that if you’re planning on making pastry with it I find it’s best making it fairly close to using. Rye ferments particularly quickly and if you leave the pastry in the fridge for more than a couple of days you may find it starts to develop a few unwanted flavours from its early stages of fermentation. This quick fermentation is also why a lot of people will often include a little of the flour in their sourdough starters, to give everything a bit of a boost. 

Doves Farm Organic Stoneground Wholemeal Rye Flour is available from Ocado, Sainsbury’s and Tesco as well as direct from Doves Farm themselves. Doves Farm also offer an Organic White Rye Flour.

Rye Chocolate Gingerbread
Serves 10

Gingerbread
165ml chocolate stout
165ml golden syrup
1 tbsp freshly grated root ginger
1/4 tsp baking soda
50g plain flour
80g Doves Farm Wholemeal Rye Flour
40g cocoa powder
1 tbsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom 
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
125g light brown sugar
130ml vegetable oil

Glaze 
100g milk chocolate, roughly chopped
50g candied ginger

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan). To make the cake lightly grease a 1ln loaf pan and line with a strip of parchment so that the excess overhangs the two long sides of the pan. Secure the parchment in place with two metal clips. 

Place the stout, syrup and ginger into a medium sized saucepan and place over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, add the baking soda and whisk to combine. Set aside to allow the bubbling to subside and the mixture to cool a little. 

Place the flours, cocoa, spices, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and whisk together to combine. In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs and sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has lightened a little. Pour in the oil and whisk until smooth and combined. Pour in the stout mixture and mix to combine. Make a well in the dry goods, pour in the egg mixture and mix together briefly just until smooth, be careful not to over mix this batter. 

Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 60 minutes or until the cake springs back to a light touch and is just coming away from the sides of the pan. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 15-20 minutes before using the parchment paper to carefully lift from the tin to a cooling rack to cool completely. As with most gingerbread recipes this cake benefits from a couple days rest which helps mature the flavours a little and make for a stickier cake. 

To decorate melt the milk chocolate and pour over the cooled cake, allowing the excess to drip down the sides of the cake. Sprinkle the cake with a little candied ginger. 

Kept in a sealed container the cake will keep for about 4-5 days.