One Hundred Percent Rye Bread Food

100% RYE BREAD

Steps:

• 1) Activate the yeast In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the warm water and yeast. Allow the mixture to sit for about 10 minutes so the yeast activates. 2) Whisk together the dry ingredients In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the dark rye flour, salt and cream of tartar until well incorporated. 3) Whisk together the flavor building ingredients In another medium mixing bowl, whisk together the molasses, sugar, caraway seeds, espresso powder and stir until just combined. Whisk in the warm water and yeast mixture from Step 1. 4) Mix the dough Add the dry ingredients to the bowl containing the wet ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon in one circular direction for 1 minute. Now stir in the opposite direction for 1 minute. 5) Coat the rye dough with oil Add about 1 tbsp olive oil to another medium mixing bowl and spread it around the inside with your fingers. Use a spatula to scrape the dough into the oily bowl. With dampened fingers, form the dough into a ball and rotate it around in the inside of the bowl so it's coated in oil. 6) Let the dough rise Cover the bowl with a plastic bag and let it rise in a warm place until it's doubled in size, about 1 ½ hours. Alternatively, place in the refrigerator for about 12 to 24 hours. Remember that we want our dough to double in size regardless of whether it spends a full 24 hours in the refrigerator or rises at room temperature. Feel free to let it rise in the refrigerator for some of the time and outside of the refrigerator the rest of the time. 7) Let the dough rise once more De-gass the dough by pressing on it with dampened hands several times until no more gas comes out of the dough. Form the dough into a ball again and let it rise until it's doubled in size, about 1 ½ hours. If you did your last rise in the refrigerator, do this rise at room temperature and allow 4 hours of rise time. 8) Proof the dough The dough can now be proofed by gently forming it into a lightly oiled loaf pan and allowed to sit covered with a plastic bag until it reaches about 80% to 90% of it's intended size, which should be about 40 minutes. The proofing stage is where the dough takes most of it's shape. It's important to leave room under the plastic bag so the dough can rise sufficiently. 9) Bake the rye bread to perfection Preheat your oven to 375°F (191°C). Remove the plastic bag so the dough can rest for about 10 minutes while your oven is preheating. During the baking process, the dough will rise another 10% to 20% of it's intended size in the process known as 'oven spring'. Bake until the internal temperature of the bread measured with an instant-read thermometer registers 200-210°F (93-99°C). Rotate the loaf 180° in the oven halfway through the baking duration for even baking. If you don't have a thermometer, this is about 40 to 45 minutes or until the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when the loaf pan is tapped with a blunt object like a rolling pin. 10) Let the bread cool completely Since this rye bread isn't bound together with gluten we need to wait until it cools completely before removing it from the loaf pan so the vegetable gums can solidify. For best results when slicing this bread, use a designated serrated bread knife and clean the gummy dough off the blade after every three slices. This bread is best stored covered in a cool dark place or pre-sliced and stored in a plastic freezer bag in the freezer.

100% RYE BREAD

Steps:

• Refresh a portion of your sourdough starter using equal parts rye flour and water. This will give you a rye starter that you can maintain like your other starter if you wish.
• This dough is very sticky and cement-like. I find that frequently dipping spoons, scrapers and your fingers into water helps reduce the mess that this dough loves to make.
• Make the sponge using a cup of the refreshed starter, the 3 cups of water, and the 4 cups of flour. Let this ferment, covered in a 70F to 80F area for 4 hours or until it doubles in volume. I use a clear, straight sided container to know when the fermentation is complete.
• After fermentation, place the sponge into a large bowl and add the sugar, salt, molasses and caraway. Add the rye flour a portion at a time until all is well mixed. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.
• Scrape the dough onto a wetted counter. Traditional kneading is not possible. Using a wetted bench scraper and wet hands, just fold and mix as well as you can for a few minutes.
• Divide the dough in half and form two balls of dough.
• Spray two 8" x 4" bread pans (standard loaf pans) with oil and line with parchment paper. I spray the parchment paper as well.
• Preheat your oven to 375°F.
• Press the dough into the pans, smoothing with wet hands. Seeds or white flour can be added to the surface if desired. Cover with oiled plastic wrap. and let rise in a 70F to 80F area until the loaves rise about 30% (about 2- 3 hours).
• Bake for 45 minutes or longer until the internal temperature is 200°F I rotate the loaves in the oven after 20 minutes of baking.
• Remove the loaves from the pans and cool on a rack thoroughly before slicing. The taste improves with time and the bread will last for several days or more at room temperature.
• Slice thinly - enjoy.

ONE HUNDRED PERCENT RYE BREAD

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix together the molasses and warm water; stir in the yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes, or until foamy. In a large bowl, stir together the rye flour, gluten, potato flakes, and salt. Add the yeast mixture and shortening to the dry ingredients, and stir until stirring is too difficult.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for 8 to 10 minutes. It's okay to take a few breaks. Place bowl upside down over the dough, and let dough rise until double in size, about 45 minutes.
• When the dough has risen, flatten out to remove air bubbles, and roll up into a nice tight loaf. Grease a baking sheet, and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place the loaf on the sheet, and let rise in a warm place until double, about 45 minutes
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake the loaf for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

ONE HUNDRED PERCENT RYE BREAD

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix together the molasses and warm water; stir in the yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes, or until foamy. In a large bowl, stir together the rye flour, gluten, potato flakes, and salt. Add the yeast mixture and shortening to the dry ingredients, and stir until stirring is too difficult.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for 8 to 10 minutes. It's okay to take a few breaks. Place bowl upside down over the dough, and let dough rise until double in size, about 45 minutes.
• When the dough has risen, flatten out to remove air bubbles, and roll up into a nice tight loaf. Grease a baking sheet, and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place the loaf on the sheet, and let rise in a warm place until double, about 45 minutes
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake the loaf for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

SOURDOUGH BREAD: 100% SOURDOUGH RYE BREAD

Steps:

• The day before making the dough, make the rye starter. Mix together the barm and rye flour in a bowl, adding only enough water to form a ball. It should be firm and a little tacky but not sticky or spongelike. Work quickly. It is not necessary to develop the gluten, only to hydrate all the flour and form a shaggy but firm dough. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the starter to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it lightly with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
• Ferment at room temperature for 4 hours or longer, or until the dough doubles in size (it will become softer and stickier as it rises). Refrigerate overnight.
• Also on the day before making the final dough, make the soaker. Combine the coarse rye flour and water in a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature overnight.
• The following day, remove the rye starter from the refrigerator 1 hour before making the dough. Cut the starter into about 10 small pieces with a pastry scraper or serrated knife. Mist with spray oil, cover the pieces with a towel or plastic wrap, and let sit for 1 hour to take off the chill.
• To make the final dough, stir together the rye flour, salt, and seeds in a 4-quart mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). Add the soaker and the starter pieces. With a large metal spoon, stir in enough lukewarm water to bring everything together to form a ball (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment).
• Sprinkle rye flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Sprinkle the dough with more rye flour and gently knead the dough until all the pieces of starter are assimilated into the dough and the dough forms a very tacky ball (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook). This will take 5 to 6 minutes by hand (4 minutes by machine). Add flour as needed (or small amounts of water if the dough is tight). Let the dough rest on the counter for 5 minutes, and then give it a few more turns to complete the kneading. It should register 77° to 81°F. (This dough will not make a good windowpane when stretched because of the low gluten content.) Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
• Ferment for approximately 4 hours, or until the dough nearly doubles in size.
• Sprinkle rye flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter, being careful to degas it as little as possible. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces, sprinkle them with rye flour, and gently shape them into bâtards. Line a sheet pan with baking parchment and sprinkle the parchment with coarse rye flour, semolina flour, or cornmeal. Place the loaves on the pan at least 4 inches apart. Mist the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap.
• Either proof the dough for 2 hours at room temperature or slip the entire pan into a food-grade plastic bag and immediately refrigerate overnight. If you are holding the dough overnight, remove the pan from the refrigerator 4 hours before baking and proof the dough at room temperature, or until about 1 1/2 times its original size. It will have spread sideways as well as upward.
• Prepare the oven for hearth baking as described on pages 91-94, making sure to have a steam pan in place. Preheat the oven to 500°F. Remove the pan from the bag or lift off the plastic, and let the dough sit exposed for 5 minutes, then score it.
• If you are baking on a stone, slide the parchment and dough onto the back of a sheet pan or onto a peel and then transfer it to the stone (or bake the bread directly in the sheet pan on which it was rising). Pour 1 cup hot water into the steam pan and close the door. After 30 seconds, mist the oven walls with water and close the door. Repeat twice more at 30-second intervals. After the final spray, lower the oven setting to 425°F and bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the loaves 180 degrees, if necessary, for even baking and continue baking for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until done. The internal temperature should register approximately 200°F and the crust should be hard and somewhat coarse (it will soften as the bread cools).
• Transfer the breads to a rack and let them cool for at least 1 hour before slicing or serving.
• Lean, standard dough; indirect method; wild yeast
• Day 1: 4 to 5 hours firm rye starter and soaker
• Day 2: 1 hour to de-chill starter; 6 minutes mixing; 6 hours fermentation, shaping, and proofing; 25 to 30 minutes baking
• The bread is best when made with a variety of grinds, from fine white rye to coarse pumpernickel or even rye chops (cracked rye kernels). This version uses a blend and also utilizes the soaker method to condition the grain and develop enzyme activity.
• If you make rye bread regularly, you can keep a rye barm on hand in addition to your regular barm. Otherwise, you can use your regular barm starter and turn it into a rye starter, but it will contain a proportion of wheat. To make a pure rye-only starter, consult the Commentary on page 229.
• Allow 3 days to make this bread (or start early on the second day to bake it around dinnertime). Because it is low in gluten, the bread will have a fairly tight crumb, not large and irregular as with standard hearth breads. The dough is slightly softer than French bread, but not as wet as ciabatta and other rustic doughs. This added hydration provides some physical leavening (steam) in support of the biological (wild-yeast) leavening provided by the starter. The result is a relatively dense loaf with a long shelf life.
• This same formula also can be used for making spelt bread, another wheat relative that is lower in gluten (mainly it is lower in gliaden, which is the offensive half of gluten to those with sensitivities). Just substitute spelt for rye and follow the same directions.
• As always with rye breads, the use of caraway, anise, or other seeds is optional. This bread is delicious with or without them.
• 100% Sourdough Rye Bread %
• (FIRM RYE STARTER)
• Barm: 77.8%
• White rye flour: 100%
• Water (approx.): 44.4%
• Total: 222.2%
• (SOAKER)
• Coarse rye flour: 100%
• Water: 200%
• Total: 300%
• (FINAL DOUGH)
• White rye flour: 100%
• Firm rye starter: 74.1%
• Soaker: 44.4%
• Salt: 2.8%
• Caraway seeds: 3.7%
• Water (approx.): 51.9%
• Total 276.9