Hmm, my very old sourdough starter recipe uses yeast to kickstart it--it's from the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, circa 1965 or so. My mother's wedding gift from her mother. Grandma Mortimer relied on her old BH&G cookbook and PA Grange cookbook (or maybe it was the Methodist cookbook, impossible to tell now with the cover and a few pages missing from both the front & the back) for everything she wasn't taught by her mother. I also use a mixed flour of my own formulation for all kinds of bread, mainly because I like the taste. It's 2 cups bread flour, 2 cups all purpose flour, with one cup each of whole wheat flour, rye flour, rice flour, oat flour, and buckwheat flour. And you can make rice flour and oat flour in a food processor. For rice flour you want uncooked rice, either brown or white. Using the metal blade, pulse it in the food processor until powder, sifting as you go so you don't have large pieces of unpulverized rice. Oat flour comes from either unflavored quick cooking oats (in the canister not pouches) or steel cut oats. Again, just pulse it in the food processor, sifting it as you go until everything is pulverized. Stir all these flours together and sift three times. Store it in the freezer and treat it as bread flour and you'll do all right.
Thank you Hank for recommending the rye sources and the Rye Baker book. I took the book out of my local library and it’s so fantastic I’m purchasing a copy. Now I’m anxious to try your ciabatta recipe. Getting a healthy starter going has been a challenge, but your writings have been an enormous help and motivator. You always amaze me with all the areas you get into and master. Stay well!!………Jim
We've got a local baker in Saskatoon who sources local grain and runs his own stone mill -a wonderful baking fanatic that keeps my blood sugars higher than they really should be. He posted to his socials this morning that he's just milled some 'dark musketeer fall rye' from a local farm.
I just ordered light rye flour from Jamie's Mill and received The Rye Baker in the mail. When I look at the Sunrise Mills website they offer a "While Rye" flour, and I am confused about what that means. My previous trials making your Rye Sourdough recipe with Hayden Mills Whole Rye Flour were not entirely successful. That flour is also called Whole Rye, and I was suspecting that Whole Rye = Dark Rye (also due to the color). Any words of wisdom on the nomenclature?
The Sunrise ryes are coarse and fine. They are medium ryes in color. Coarse is finer than rye chops, and would be for a dense, loaf-pan loaf. I am working on one right now, as it happens. The fine is a fine medium -- like a rye All Purpose. That Janie's white (light) rye is amazing! I use it a lot.
I will have to get into Long Fermented Sourdough Rye bread as I’ve had success with LFSD Einkorn which, like Rye, is very wet/sticky/lacks rise. I obtain my grain from a small farm in Teton, Idaho called Ancient Grains. I appreciate their not using glyphosate!!
Baking requires such precision and I am not one that’s good at “following orders.” I also like to be efficient with my time as I’d rather be outside in nature than in the kitchen! So I skip the Banneton Basket. I just make my dough, let it ferment overnight, scrape and plop it into a parchment lined bowl, let rise again for 2 hours, warm the oven and Dutch oven pot, then remove parchment filled dough and place the entire thing into the hot pot to bake for 40 minutes. It comes out looking like your Rye loaf including the crumb inside. And same, you must let the LFSD Einkorn bread cool as its gummy and moist inside if cut too soon. The flavor of Einkorn is delicious!!🧈
Loved your article! I have used Abruzzi heirloom rye flour from Anson Mills which I mix into a pizza dough, and it just creates this additional layer of flavor which we love. Anson Mills also has a great write up about the rye they sell on their website. Happy baking!
Just a thank you for inspiring for to take my own rye adventure. I had bought a bag of rye flour this summer and my first attempt at a sourdough was okay. I thought, how am I ever going to finish this bag. Then, I tried your rye ciabatta and I began to appreciate the grain. So, I purchased the The Rye Baker and I was hooked. I had no idea of the variety of rye breads and am happy to have an endless list to try. So far, one of my favorite uses of rye (not in the book) has been for pie crusts. Since it is naturally sweet, one can significantly reduce the amount of sugar in the pie (einkorn is also good for this-- if your apples are sweet, no added sweetener necessary). A rye crust really shines for pies that are complemented by spice/ ginger (apple, pumpkin, etc.).
I've never attempted rye bread but your posts are starting to inspire me. My year has been filled with travel but I think I'll start ordering supplies online so that when I get home I'll be ready to give it a try.
A rye smile has spread across my lips like room temperature Kerrygold…thanks Hank! Too funny that you mentioned Letterkenny, which I just learned about yesterday during a trip to Calgary and thanks for the book idea- a great gift for a hunting buddy who just retired and is exploring rye’s. Always enjoy these when they arrive in the morning…
If someone shares their sauerkraut rye bread recipe to you do try :-) best dark rye bread I ever had ever was from a now defunct bakery in Golden Valley MN. The baker was from west Dakota and got their flour from MT. When I moved to Bismarck in 2004 the local groc had Someone who made sauerkraut rye and then they retired, taking recipe w them. Toasted w cream cheese and homemade tart apple butter or smoked salmon 🤤👍🏻
I love learning rye, too! One thing I add to lighter ryes is Polish dill pickle juice in place of half of the water. An excellent recipe I found for a darker rye is from Maurizio Leo. Happy Baking, Hank! 😊
Thank you for the book reference, Hank! I’m ordering it. I’ve dabbled with Rye without knowing what I was doing… came from a family of bread makers, but not rye….
Great newsletter! Whenever I'm baking sourdough bread and I see rye mentioned in the recipe, I flip over to find another recipe. I did accomplish a 25% rye not too long ago and it turned out brilliant. Anyway, thanks again.
Hmm, my very old sourdough starter recipe uses yeast to kickstart it--it's from the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, circa 1965 or so. My mother's wedding gift from her mother. Grandma Mortimer relied on her old BH&G cookbook and PA Grange cookbook (or maybe it was the Methodist cookbook, impossible to tell now with the cover and a few pages missing from both the front & the back) for everything she wasn't taught by her mother. I also use a mixed flour of my own formulation for all kinds of bread, mainly because I like the taste. It's 2 cups bread flour, 2 cups all purpose flour, with one cup each of whole wheat flour, rye flour, rice flour, oat flour, and buckwheat flour. And you can make rice flour and oat flour in a food processor. For rice flour you want uncooked rice, either brown or white. Using the metal blade, pulse it in the food processor until powder, sifting as you go so you don't have large pieces of unpulverized rice. Oat flour comes from either unflavored quick cooking oats (in the canister not pouches) or steel cut oats. Again, just pulse it in the food processor, sifting it as you go until everything is pulverized. Stir all these flours together and sift three times. Store it in the freezer and treat it as bread flour and you'll do all right.
Thank you Hank for recommending the rye sources and the Rye Baker book. I took the book out of my local library and it’s so fantastic I’m purchasing a copy. Now I’m anxious to try your ciabatta recipe. Getting a healthy starter going has been a challenge, but your writings have been an enormous help and motivator. You always amaze me with all the areas you get into and master. Stay well!!………Jim
Would recommend https://www.meadowlarkorganics.com/ as a more local source for flour.
Central Milling has lovely white rye flour that I’ve enjoyed.
We've got a local baker in Saskatoon who sources local grain and runs his own stone mill -a wonderful baking fanatic that keeps my blood sugars higher than they really should be. He posted to his socials this morning that he's just milled some 'dark musketeer fall rye' from a local farm.
I just ordered light rye flour from Jamie's Mill and received The Rye Baker in the mail. When I look at the Sunrise Mills website they offer a "While Rye" flour, and I am confused about what that means. My previous trials making your Rye Sourdough recipe with Hayden Mills Whole Rye Flour were not entirely successful. That flour is also called Whole Rye, and I was suspecting that Whole Rye = Dark Rye (also due to the color). Any words of wisdom on the nomenclature?
The Sunrise ryes are coarse and fine. They are medium ryes in color. Coarse is finer than rye chops, and would be for a dense, loaf-pan loaf. I am working on one right now, as it happens. The fine is a fine medium -- like a rye All Purpose. That Janie's white (light) rye is amazing! I use it a lot.
I will have to get into Long Fermented Sourdough Rye bread as I’ve had success with LFSD Einkorn which, like Rye, is very wet/sticky/lacks rise. I obtain my grain from a small farm in Teton, Idaho called Ancient Grains. I appreciate their not using glyphosate!!
Baking requires such precision and I am not one that’s good at “following orders.” I also like to be efficient with my time as I’d rather be outside in nature than in the kitchen! So I skip the Banneton Basket. I just make my dough, let it ferment overnight, scrape and plop it into a parchment lined bowl, let rise again for 2 hours, warm the oven and Dutch oven pot, then remove parchment filled dough and place the entire thing into the hot pot to bake for 40 minutes. It comes out looking like your Rye loaf including the crumb inside. And same, you must let the LFSD Einkorn bread cool as its gummy and moist inside if cut too soon. The flavor of Einkorn is delicious!!🧈
I briefly got into einkorn years ago, and I still love it. Maybe that's a winter 2024-25 project?
Yes! Try it again. I really like the Ancient Grains whole wheat einkorn. I’ve got some dehydrated mother I can send you to try.
Loved your article! I have used Abruzzi heirloom rye flour from Anson Mills which I mix into a pizza dough, and it just creates this additional layer of flavor which we love. Anson Mills also has a great write up about the rye they sell on their website. Happy baking!
I'll check it out!
Just a thank you for inspiring for to take my own rye adventure. I had bought a bag of rye flour this summer and my first attempt at a sourdough was okay. I thought, how am I ever going to finish this bag. Then, I tried your rye ciabatta and I began to appreciate the grain. So, I purchased the The Rye Baker and I was hooked. I had no idea of the variety of rye breads and am happy to have an endless list to try. So far, one of my favorite uses of rye (not in the book) has been for pie crusts. Since it is naturally sweet, one can significantly reduce the amount of sugar in the pie (einkorn is also good for this-- if your apples are sweet, no added sweetener necessary). A rye crust really shines for pies that are complemented by spice/ ginger (apple, pumpkin, etc.).
Oooh. Great tip, thanks!
I've never attempted rye bread but your posts are starting to inspire me. My year has been filled with travel but I think I'll start ordering supplies online so that when I get home I'll be ready to give it a try.
A rye smile has spread across my lips like room temperature Kerrygold…thanks Hank! Too funny that you mentioned Letterkenny, which I just learned about yesterday during a trip to Calgary and thanks for the book idea- a great gift for a hunting buddy who just retired and is exploring rye’s. Always enjoy these when they arrive in the morning…
If someone shares their sauerkraut rye bread recipe to you do try :-) best dark rye bread I ever had ever was from a now defunct bakery in Golden Valley MN. The baker was from west Dakota and got their flour from MT. When I moved to Bismarck in 2004 the local groc had Someone who made sauerkraut rye and then they retired, taking recipe w them. Toasted w cream cheese and homemade tart apple butter or smoked salmon 🤤👍🏻
I actually have a kraut rye recipe, but haven't made it yet. Now I will.
I love learning rye, too! One thing I add to lighter ryes is Polish dill pickle juice in place of half of the water. An excellent recipe I found for a darker rye is from Maurizio Leo. Happy Baking, Hank! 😊
Thank you for the book reference, Hank! I’m ordering it. I’ve dabbled with Rye without knowing what I was doing… came from a family of bread makers, but not rye….
Great newsletter! Whenever I'm baking sourdough bread and I see rye mentioned in the recipe, I flip over to find another recipe. I did accomplish a 25% rye not too long ago and it turned out brilliant. Anyway, thanks again.
Oh, the salmon I ordered is wonderful! Thank you.