Old-country Sourdough Rye Bread

Sprinkle yeast over 1/3 cup lukewarm water. Add 1 tsp. honey. Let dissolve
for five minutes. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup lukewarm water,
molasses, oil, mashed potatoes and mix until smooth. Add yeast mixture,
onion starter, caraway seeds and salt. Mix until well-blended. Add
whole-wheat flour, (reserving 1/2 cup for kneading), and wheat germ, mix
well for about 5 minutes. Let dough rest for 10 minutes. Add rye flour.
Knead on a board for about 10 minutes, using 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour,
until dough is elastic, and “springy.” Place dough in an oiled bowl,
turning it over to coat surface with oil. Cover, set bowl in hot water and
leave to rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours until doubled in bulk. Stir
down dough and divide into two loaves. These can be shaped in rounds and
placed on an oiled cookie sheet which has been sprinkled with corn meal, or
they can be placed in oiled loaf pans. Glaze tops with beaten egg and
sprinkle with caraway seeds. Set to rise in an unheated oven for
approximately one hour. Turn oven to 400 for 20 minutes, then turn it down
to 375 and bake for 30 minutes longer or until bread tests done. (For a
crustier load, put a pan of hot water on oven floor during the first 20
minutes when oven is at 400.) Cool on rack before serving.

*To make onion starter, add 1 small, peeled onion–loosely wrapped in
cheesecloth, to fresh batch of basic sourdough starter mixture and leave to
sour at room temperature for at least three days. Before making old country
rye bread, add a second cup of water and a second cup of flour to the onion
starter, leaving it at room temperature overnight. 2 loaves.