August 31, 2008 - 6:50pm
Hi from Melbourne
Hi!
First time baker from a pretty chilly house in suburban Melbourne (Australia). I'm intending to bake 100% rye for my partner and I (can't have much wheat in the diet, if any).
Like any good obsessed new baker, I've rushed out and bought lots of books, flour, a water filter, etc etc. I've made myself a starter thats coming along nicely.
The key receipe looks like it's going to be the 100% sourdough rye bread from Mr. Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice book. No problems getting 100% rye flour around here - fortunately! - but it's going to be tricky sourcing coarse rye flour and rye meal as the recipe suggests (plus I want to try pumpernickel!). Challenges!
Enjoy!
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Hi and welcome! If you can get your hands on some rye berries aka whole kernels, you can get any degree of coarseness you like by using a blender or better still, a few pulses of a coffee bean grinder. This technique works well for small amounts.
I make a two-loaf formula that needs 3/4 cup of coarse rye meal. I end up with some powder like flour, some medium-sized grit and lots of good-sized cracked chunks. Perfect!
Pretty hard to produce enough flour to make bread this way! Maybe you'll join those who use a home mill to produce their own flour? Meanwhile check online for suppliers or chat with someone at a local artisan bakery for advice on where to source what you need. They are sometimes very supportive of passionate home bakers.
Thanks for the info about the rye berries. I'm having real problems tracking down the coarse rye flour, but the quest goes on!
I don't think I'm quite up to grinding my own flour (I haven't even successfully made a loaf yet!), but if I can get that part nailed, I'll certainly be looking at flour mills.
Thanks again!