Rye Flavor Help
I am trying to develop a mostly rye recipe to go with the limburger cheese I always purchase for the holidays. This is 370g Bob's Red Mill Dark Rye flour, 125g Trailblazer Bread flour, 340g water, 10g salt, and 400g preferment. After mixing I bulk fermented about 40 minutes until it had increased in volume about 30%. I then formed it and placed it in a banneton for about 1 hour before baking. Both processes were at 74ºF. It is heavy and dense which I kind of expected but it has very little flavor. I began to wonder if I forgot to add the salt so I sprinkled a little on a slice and it is much better. I will probably try again and make sure I add the salt but I was also considering whether I should increase the amount of salt a little. Would leaving out the salt cause the bread to lack flavor?
Increase the rise - longer than yours by a time or 2 depending on the starter. Salt increases the perceived flavors so should be added - how much is up to the user. And I forgot - reduce water. Enjoy!
I usually only let my dough rise about 40%. This dough rises quickly because of the large amount of preferment. I may let it go a bit longer next time but the final proof in the banneton was as expected. I will actually probably add a little more water also. The Trailblazer flour is high protein and the manufacturer suggests increasing the hydration by 5% from what you usually use. This was much drier than the sourdough I usually make. I'm pretty sure I probably forgot to add the salt.
I don't think most people would describe the flavor of bread as salty, but bread without salt has an entirely different flavor. One of my grandmothers avoids salt at all costs and would make white bread in a bread machine but leave out the salt, and it didn't click with me for many years that the reason it tasted like that was because it didn't have salt. If your preferment is 100% hydration and doesn't have any salt of its own, your total salt is only 1.4% (in baker's %). If you bake again making sure that you add the 10g salt and still find that it lacks flavor, I would go up to 14g for the standard 2% salt.
I have very little experience with rye, so feel free to disregard this advice if it doesn't meet your goals, but I would be looking at lengthening the fermentation time, either by reducing the amount of preferment or retarding the proof.
I am pretty sure I forgot to add the salt which I will remember to do next time. Increasing the amount to 14g sounds like a good idea, I will do that also. I was trying to develop a recipe that I could complete in a few hours instead of doing an overnight cold proof which I usually do on my non-rye breads. I normally use a small amount of rye in all my recipes but only about 10% of the total flour.
how long was your preferment, and at what ratio of starter, flour & water.
Rob
Preferment was about 12 hours. 1:5:5
sounds ok. I'm assuming the preferment is all-rye. If so, for 12 hours, I might opt for 1:10:10. (following the counter-intuitive less starter=more sour principle)
I also think you likely didn't ferment the full loaf long enough. At the proportions you've sketched out (400g preferment plus 370 g rye & 125g wheat) I'd think you might try somewhere around 2 hours bulk and an hour proofing.
As for salt, it's really personal preference. I cut the salt in most breads to between 1% & 1.4%. Others use the standard 2%. I've seen a few recipes that push beyond that.
Salt does control yeast growth, so breads with less salt tend to ferment a bit quicker.
Also, contra Fred, I doubt the wisdom of cold proofing high-ryes -- and it can do bad things to the starch structure (see: https://theryebaker.com/on-retarding-rye-doughs/).
Rob
I will increase the bulk ferment next time. The proof in the banneton was what I usually strive for but increasing the bulk fermentation may help too. It is an all rye preferment so the 1:10:10 may be a good idea. I'm pretty sure I forgot the salt so I will make sure to add it next time.
Change 1 thing at a time. It's the only way to tell if it makes a difference. Go from there. Enjoy!