80 percent Sourdough Rye with a Rye-Flour Soaker
80 percent Sourdough Rye with a Rye-Flour Soaker
Baked 22nd August 2024.
This is first time baking this recipe. I do not usually bake rye breads, so I did as much reading on what to expect and handle the rye as possible leading up to this attempt. I stone-milled the rye berries the day before so they would be as fresh as possible and have an abundance of microbes. My firm whole-rye culture as fully active when preparing the sourdough stage overnight for 14 hours. The hot rye-flour soaker was prepared at the same time.
I found that the whole-rye was very thirsty and needed the hydration to be adjusted until a moderately loose texture was evident. The mixing, bulk fermentation and final proof went quickly, much faster than wheat. Careful attention to the dough temperature gave me some prediction of time for each stage. The boule was proofed in the banneton with the seam down, so that the seams would be on top for the bake. This allows the cracks to open. Baked free form on stone with steam.
The picture was taken when I removed the loaf from the oven. I need to let it cool and sit for 24 hours before I cut it. I will upload a crumb picture then.
EDIT: Tasting notes and crumb picture.
Being a 80% whole-rye I expected the loaf to be dense, but to my surprise the weight against volume was better than expected.
The crumb has an even texture and is moist without any sign of gumminess, visually appealing. The hot rye-flour soaker gave the bread a smooth mouthfeel and a subtle sweet note. The crust was chewy but thin. The pleasant taste lingered.
I thinly sliced the loaf to about 8mm slices for open sandwiches. A great affinity for cheeses, cured fish and meat, or butter and jam.
I would definitely bake this again.
Comments
looks beautiful! Congrats!
Rob
Thanks Rob. I noticed that you like your rye breads.
Cheers, Gavin
the crumb looks great, Gavin, and the taste sounds mighty fine, too. What spawned the idea to try a rye? And what was your thought regarding a hot bath for some of the flour?
Rob
Over the past few months, I’ve been investigating ways of reducing my blood glucose spikes as I now have type 2 diabetes. This has led me down the path of learning a lot about how we turn starch and sugars into glucose. Amylase and other microbes have an important impact, so I have discovered ways of minimising their impact. I came to realise that the best bread option was rye.
I’ve baked a few rye loaves of bread in the past, but only by following a recipe; no real knowledge of what was going on “under the hood” and was therefore unequipped to deal with failures. I knew that there were significant differences between whole-wheat and whole-rye due to my attempts in 2020.
40 Percent Caraway Rye Sourdough – Dec 2020, Three Stage 70 Percent Sourdough Rye – Nov 2020, Deli Rye Bread with caraway seeds – Sept 2020. My family were not very enthusiastic about these breads, so they were not included in my regular rotation. I now have a vested interest in baking a rye bread that my wife and I would like and enjoy.
Jeffrey Hamelman – Bread 3rd Ed. Has a lot of information about rye and its requirements. I learned what was going on “under the hood” and was alert to what to be aware of. At the start of the rye sourdough section, there is detailed information on each stage of production.
The hot bath for some of the rye flour is at the lead-in to this formula. “Particularly notable in this bread is the hot rye flour soaker. This initial heating gelatinizes the rye starch and gives the bread an unusually smooth eating quality, the soaker also brings a subtle sweet note to the bread due to the activation of amalyze enzymes in the hot soaker, finally, the soaker contributes to the bread’s excellent keeping quality.”
This bread is beautifully tasty, and I will be baking this regularly. I have include the formula for your interest. I created the spreadsheet so I could re-size the dough amount to suit. Gavin.
rye formula.jpg
Thanks for the formula, Gavin, and congrats on finding a bread that fits your health and your family's tastes.
It's true that I like my ryes. I grew up eating rye bread in NYC and I think I tend to bake them because of the retro appeal. Unfortunately, NYC seems to have lost its rye tradition. There are some super bakeries here that feature fine baguettes & whole wheats -- but I haven't found any that offer even minimally satisfying ryes.
My go-to rye these days is a modification of Ilya's wonderful deli rye recipe (https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/71592/easy-sourdough-deli-rye). I pushed it to be 45% whole rye / 55% bread flour so I get serious rye flavor/texture with bread flour oven spring. It's hearty without being heavy. Caraway seeds are traditional in this one -- but it's great without caraway. I also dial down the salt to 1%. I love how the crust bursts and caramelizes without scoring
You're a way more skilled baker than I am and I'm sure you will find other satisfying formulas on on this this site and on The Rye Baker and elsewhere.
Enjoy the rye journey!
I'll try your outline of Hamelman's recipe when the weather cools a bit.
Rob
That looks tasty!!
Stanley Ginsberg's book "The Rye Baker" is a great resource. He goes deep into the proverbial weeds, and explains the differences between baking with rye vs wheat. If you have the Kindle app, you can get a good feel for what's in the book by downloading the free sample.
Of possible interest, many of his recipes are a mix of wheat and rye, and either IDY, SD, or a mix. The only thing I didn't like was not being able to see a table of which recipes were all SD, all yeast, mixed flours vs 100% rye.... so I made my own. 😄
Mary
Thanks Mary. I'll look into it. I have a kindle. Cheers.
Gavin
Beautiful bake Gavin, I love the organic cracks in the crust as the ovenspring developed in the oven. The crumb looks perfect for a rye bread.
Benny
Thanks Benny. I am very happy with it. Lunch yesterday was a slice of rye toasted with a drizzle of olive oil, handful of green leaves, burrata, sun-dried tomatoes and some good pesto. Very nice.
Cheers, Gavin
Lovely bread Gavin, love the natural cracks and hopefully the rye flavour was good without being overpowering.
It also reminds me of Hans Joakim's 70% rye which has a similar recipe without the soaker and with some sifted rye in it. Would recommend trying that one too even though it is very similar - I made a loaf of it for a 5 day hike I did recently and loved the feeling of satiety the sandwiches gave during the hike, even 5 days after baking.
Thanks JonJ. I'm very happy with this rye. Everything about it is an improvement on my previous attempts into the rye domain. I made it again this week and left it on the bench for 3 days before slicing; it improved in flavour and crumb. I feel quite sated after one thin slice as an open sandwich.
Thanks for the link to your Hans Joakim's 70% rye. It looks very good. I shall explore the various links you've provided.
Cheers,
Gavin
Hello! I am a new subscriber to The Fresh Loaf and this is my first post/comment.
Another great resource for recipes is Stanley Ginsberg’s blog available at theryebaker.com
I love rustic rye breads and there are many recipes to choose from there.
Dawn
Thank you Dawn. I'll have a look.
Cheers