Rye Bread

The saying goes that if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody gets to be happy.  Well, Mama ain't been happy for a while now.  She likes rye bread, and I have been concentrating on classic sourdough for a while.  Recently, I decided to branch out.  I made a loaf of ciabatta to prove I could.  It was tasty, and the big holes sucked up lots of olive oil, but alas, ciabatta did not satisfy Mama.  For those wishing to catch up on my bread baking exploits, see my previous posts here and here.

So, Monday I announced that it was time to wake up Fred (my starter) and make some sourdough rye bread.  Mrs. PolyKahr seemed pleased, which always pleases me.  I did some investigating of rye bread, and rye flour.  One of my sources is a book entitled The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Berenbaum. There are other books on the market which other bakers swear by, and you can read about them on the various bread forums. Indeed, the flame war between deciples of Peter Reinhart vs the acolytes of Rose Levy Berenbaum rival the 9mm vs. .45 Auto wars.  And yes, they have forums on the Internet for bread bakers, both home bakers and professional and artisanal types.

Rye, like other grains other than wheat, does not have gluten.  It is therefore impossible to make a leavened bread with 100% rye flour, since the grain does not form the long strands of protein necessary to trap CO2 bubbles and make the bread rise. Rye is also somewhat bitter in large amounts, so I had to determine what the correct ratio of rye flour to wheat flour should be. According to Mrs. Berenbaum, she uses around 20% rye to total wheat flour in her sourdough rye formula. In her Jewish rye formula, the ratio is 41%. I settled on 24% since sourdough starter is less active than standard yeast, and the rye flour is whole grain.  Here is the formula I am using:

Bread Flour 100%
Rye Flour 24%
Water 76%
Starter 38%
Sugar 2%
Salt 3%
Caraway Seeds 4 TBS for two loaves

Combine 8 oz starter with 10.65 oz Bread Flour, 5.10 oz Rye Flour, and 16 oz Water to make the sponge.  Let rise until doubled.  10.25 oz Bread Flour, 1 TBS sugar, 2 tsp Salt and 4 TBS caraway seeds.  Knead with Kitchenaid Mixer and dough hook on speed 2 for 8 minutes.  Let rise until doubled.  Shape into two boules and let rise until doubled or until when dimpled it just barely returns.  If it doesn't return, place in oven immediately.  Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes.

Now for some speculation.  Just how did ancient man decide to make bread out of other grains besides wheat, especially rye?  I think it may have been that rye was available, and used in small quantities, could help extend the wheat crop, and therefore feed more mouths.  But bread flavored with rye tends to go especially well with certain preserved meats such as pastrami.  Mrs. PolyKahr loves a good Reuben Sandwich, which traditionally contains corned beef. Both Corned Beef and Pastrami have a slightly sour flavor, which goes well with the flavor of rye bread.  Hopefully, Mrs. PolyKahr will have a hot pastrami sandwich tonight.