I love a good Jewish rye bread, one that is soft and delicious and rises nicely while having all the flavors and goodness of rye. Most folks don’t know that in the united states, the rye bread is mostly wheat, since an all rye bread will actually be dense and not at all what they expected. So let’s make the one we know and love – but better with freshly milled flour – and kick it up a notch with sourdough. Trust me, it’s worth it!
When I wake in the middle of the night hungry, and Ray makes me a slice, we ALWAYS want another slice. It’s that good! Our neighbors probably hear us oooh-ing and ahhh-ing over this one. They may have even gotten the wrong idea, if you know what I mean. Anyway, here we go!
The Base
My hope is that you will print the base recipe for your preferred baking size, and make notes on the changes to make it Rye. Why? Because this is a learning web site – not just a bunch of recipes for folks to follow to the tee and call it a day. Teach a man to fish beats out giving a man a fish – so does this.
Besides, you may end up changing things up after a while to create your OWN version – and I hope you do. That’s the point. Get creative.
The Changes
- Grains: 75% of the grains should be hard wheat, and 25% of the grains should be rye
- Spices: Mill 1 1/2 tsp of caraway seeds, being sure to mix them well into the grains, also add 1/2 – 1 tbsp of caraway seeds whole to the bread dough during the stretch and folds if you like seeds in your bread
- Hydration: Since rye has a much higher absorption rate than wheat, you may find this works well at 90 – 100% hydration (multiply your flour weight x .9 for 90% or use the same amount in grams as your total flour for 100% hydration)
- Sourdough: The recommended stiff starter amounts are listed in the base above. The first rise will take much longer with sourdough than as with a yeast bread.
That’s all there is to it! I find this gives a really nice balance of a bread that rises nicely while having the incredible flavor of rye amped up by sourdough.
I sure hope you love this bread as much as we do. I found that a late night snack of sourdough rye is mind-blowingly good. Just make 2 slices of toast right off the bat so you don’t have to get up twice. And don’t forget the water to wash it down.
Can I…?
Make this with yeast? Absolutely! If you want it to have a much longer rise for a flavor similar to the sourdough version, I’d recommend using 2 grams of yeast and putting it in the fridge for a day or two before taking it out to bake.
Otherwise, if you want a faster bake and don’t care so much about the added flavor of a slower fermentation – use 8 grams of yeast in place of the sourdough starter.
Then carry on with the same directions as in the Base Recipe.
Join our Community
Ready to ditch recipes and learn more about baking with fresh milled flour using methods and your imagination? Join my Fresh milled Flour Methods group. You can ask questions, share your wins, and more with an expectation of honesty and friendly interaction. I hear it’s the best place to be on Facebook.
