I must have been confusing this bread recipe with another, for which
I had only "production level" measurements. This recipe will make 2
approximately 1-kg loaves. Here's the 3-day German 90% Rye Bread
recipe I told you about in last week's list (the 3 days start AFTER
you have a working rye starter):
SOURDOUGH RYE CULTURE
DAY ONE:
Organic rye flour - 454 gm
Water - 454 gm
Mix well, cover and allow to ferment in a warm area (80 to 90 degrees
F) for 24 hours
DAY TWO:
Initial mix - 150 gm
Organic rye flour - 150 gm
Water - 150 gm
Mix well, cover, and leave to ferment in a warm area (about 75-85
degrees F) for 24 hours
DAYS THREE, FOUR AND FIVE (or more):
"Chef"(mixture from day before) - 150 gm
Organic rye flour - 150 gm
Water - 150 gm
Mix well, cover and leave to ferment in a warm area (75-85 degrees F)
for 24 hours.
On Day Six the culture may be used for bread. However, it wil have
more vigor and flavor in the feeding schedule is followed for two or
three days more.
*90% SOURDOUGH RYE*
DAY ONE (Freshening):
Whole rye flour - 9 gm
Water - 13 gm
Culture - 4 g
Mix together, cover and leave to ferment for 5 to 6 hours at 77-79 Degrees F.
DAY TWO (or later that same day - First Sour):
Whole rye flour - 110 gm
Water (warm) - 66 gm
Freshening - 22 gm
Mix together, cover and leave to ferment for 15 to 24 hours at 73-80 degrees F.
DAY THREE (Full Sour):
Whole rye flour - 296 gm
Water ( very warm) - 296 gm
First Sour - 197 gm
Mix together, cover and leave to ferment for approximately 3 hours at
86 degrees F.
Final Dough:
Medium rye flour - 573 gm
High-gluten bread flour - 110 gm
Water - 437 gm
Salt - 20 gm
Full Sour - 789 gm (whole thing)
Mix all together for 10 minutes on slow speed. Your desired dough
temperature at this time is 82 to 84 degrees F. Bulk ferment for 10
to 20 minutes. Divide dough in half. Shape each half of dough into a
round boule, an oval, or use a well-floured Brotform or other
proofing basket. Let proof for 50 to 60 minutes at 86 to 90 degrees
F. Preheat oven to 480 to 490 degrees F with a baking stone and steam
pan. When the loaves have proofed, place them in the oven on the
stone (or on a large baking sheet if you don't have a stone), put one
cup of hot water in the steam pan and close oven door quickly. Turn
down oven temperature to 410 degrees F and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.
Remove the loaves from the oven and let cool completely on a wire
rack. Store the loaves for at least 24 hours before slicing them in
order to stabilize the crumb.
I have not, as yet, had the patience to craft this bread since my
class at King Arthur, but it was a wonderfully tasty rye bread, and
absolutely authentic (I know, because my parents are German and I've
had this bread in Germany many times). You will notice that there is
NO commercial yeast in this bread. After having attempted to make a
German-style rye bread even with yeast many times, and not coming
close to the rise and taste of this bread, I was bound and determined
to understand how it was possible to create this kind of rise and
taste with no commercial yeast. Although I remember asking Jeffrey
Hamelman why a sourdough culture made with commercial yeast wouldn't
work in such a bread, I must not have understood his answer, or he
side-stepped the question (I don't remember which). Since then I have
read in Peter Reinhart's "Artisan Breads Every Day" that commercial
yeast does not survive the acids that are produced by the bacteria in
a sourdough starter, but wild yeasts do. And since rye flour really
benefits from the acids present in a sourdough starter (you might say
they are essential to both taste and rise), you are basically
shooting yourself in the proverbial foot by using a starter made with
commercial yeast, because you'll be killing off your yeast!
If you're having difficulty making a working sourdough culture, start
with rye flour. Rye flour tends to have more wild yeasts on it (less
processing?), and it usually produces a good seed starter. You can
feed the starter, once it gets going, with wheat flour, and it will
turn into a wheat flour sourdough eventually. However, a little rye
flour starter never hurt a loaf of bread!
Corina