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A True Sour(dough) Rye from Scratch

Werner Gansz <wwgansz@madriver.com>
Sun, 06 Mar 2005 15:01:23 -0500
v105.n012.1
This recipe is adapted from several sources; Rose Berenbaum's Levy's Jewish 
Rye recipe posted here several time over the past few years, also, a sour 
rye made with a yeasted starter posted here about a year ago by an author 
whose name unfortunately I failed to note, and Peter Reinhart's sourdough 
seed culture procedure from BBA.  The bread uses a rye sourdough starter 
that makes up 1/3 of the flour content.  The result is a dark, chewy crust 
with a light sour tang, most noticeable when eaten dry but more in the 
background when eaten with strong foods like pastrami or other cured 
meats.  It makes the best Rubens ever.  Rye is one of the best flours for 
starting sourdoughs presumably because the natural yeast content is very 
high right from the start.  I used stone ground rye flour (Hodgson's here 
in the Northeast) because stone grinding keeps the flour cooler and is less 
likely to burn or cook the natural yeast during processing.  Once started, 
any good quality rye flour can be used to maintain the starter.

Starter
Natural yeast is more sensitive to temperature than commercial yeast.  The 
key to building up a starter from scratch is to not let it get cold.  In 
cold climates it is useful to find or create a space that can be maintained 
at 78 to 82 F for several days.

Day 1
1 cup stone ground rye flour
3/4 cup water, 80 F
Mix into a sponge, place into a container that will allow for a doubling in 
volume.  It won't double but it will rise.  Cover and keep at 78 to 82 
F.  After 24 hours the sponge should have risen noticeably and have an 
"airy" texture.  I have started sourdoughs with whole wheat and white flour 
but I have never had a new sponge rise in one day until I used rye flour.

Day 2
1 cup stone ground rye flour
1/2 cup water, 80 F
Add the water to the sponge and mix to dissolve the sponge, add the 
flour.  The sponge will be slightly thicker than Day 1.  Put in a container 
that will allow for doubling.  Cover and let rise 24 hours at 80 F.  The 
sponge should be stronger and rise higher than day 1, maybe even double.

Day 3 and Day 4
each day -
1 cup stone ground rye flour
1/2 cup water, 80 F
Throw away 1/2 the sponge.  Add the water to the remaining sponge and mix 
to dissolve the sponge, add the flour.  The sponge will continue to 
thicken.  Cover and let rise 24 hours.  The sponge should be getting 
stronger each day.  The thick sponge may even triple and fall if tapped.

The recipe calls for 2 cups of stirred down sponge.  If you plan on 
maintaining the starter for future breads, add 2 cups of rye flour and 1 
1/4 cups of water to double the volume of sponge and let rise at 80 F.  It 
should take anywhere from 8 to 12 hours to double in size.  Divide the 
sponge in half and store one half in the fridge or the freezer, leaving 2 
cups of stirred-down sponge for the bread.

The Dough
2 cups active, thick, rye sourdough sponge, stirred down
3/4 cup 80 F water
1 Tb barley malt syrup, available from any natural food store
1 Tb vegetable oil
4 cups bread flour
1 Tb sea salt
1 tsp Deli Rye Flavor, available from King Arthur Flour
3 Tb caraway seeds
1/4 tsp Vitamin C powder, available from any natural food store, or KA Flour

The caraway seeds, deli rye flavor, and vitamin C powder are all 
optional.  For me caraway seeds are a necessary ingredient for any rye 
bread.  The deli rye flavor is mostly finely ground rye flour to 
concentrate the rye taste.  The dough is fairly soft and without the 
vitamin C the shaped loaf may end up rather flat, but still delicious. 
Alternatively you could use less water and create a stiffer dough.  I like 
the crumb and chewy crust the come with softer doughs.

Dissolve the rye sponge in the water and mix with the mixer's flat 
beater.  Add the barley malt and vegetable oil   Mix all dry ingredients 
together in a separate bowl.  Add dry ingredients to the wet, mix with flat 
beater until all of the bread flour is wet.  Let hydrate for 20 minutes, 
knead with the dough hook for 5 minutes, no more, on KA speed 2, while 
adjusting with water or bread flour to create a soft dough (cleans side of 
bowl, but tail is attached to bottom of bowl).  Let rise at 80 F until 
doubled, 6 to 8 hours or more.

Shape into a boule or batard and let rise at 80 deg, until almost doubled. 
(4 to 6 hours or more)  Preheat baking stone and oven to 475 F.  Slash 
loaves and load onto stone, mist or add steam, and let oven temp drop to 
425 F.  Bake at 425  F until internal temp is 195 to 205 F.

The timeline for newly started sourdoughs is not well defined.  If you 
should need a bit of  sleep sometime during the bread making process you 
can put the dough in the fridge and continue the next day.  However, 
sourdough yeasts can take a long time to "wake up" after a cold night in 
the fridge.  If you maintain the starter and use it frequently it will 
develop a more predictable rhythm over time (basically it will teach you 
its schedule)..

Werner