Rye sourdough

[Becky]

I've never made sourdough before but I've been wanting to give it a try for a while. I decided to make a sourdough starter with rye flour, using this recipe:

https://www.ilovecooking.ie/recipe/sourdough-bread/

... with a view to making this 100% rye bread:

https://www.ilovecooking.ie/recipe/100-rye-sourdough/

Today is day 4, and this is how it was looking before I fed it:

Can't wait to see how it goes! Watch this space...

 

[Albie_baking]

Cool maybe this will encourage me to try! Can't wait to see and hear about the results.

 

[Becky]

Cool maybe this will encourage me to try! Can't wait to see and hear about the results.

Thanks @Albie_baking! I baked it yesterday, and we had some this morning. Here are some photos:

I decided to make a wheat/rye loaf given that it was my first attempt at sourdough - I was worried that pure rye would be a little too ambitious! It ended up being about 60% strong wheat flour and 40% rye flour. I baked it in a pyrex dish with a lid as suggested by the recipe as I don't have a proving basket. It's really tasty! It's a little dense, but overall I'm really pleased with how it turned out

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Thanks @Albie_baking! I baked it yesterday, and we had some this morning. Here are some photos:

View attachment 1951

View attachment 1952

View attachment 1953

I decided to make a wheat/rye loaf given that it was my first attempt at sourdough - I was worried that pure rye would be a little too ambitious! It ended up being about 60% strong wheat flour and 40% rye flour. I baked it in a pyrex dish with a lid as suggested by the recipe as I don't have a proving basket. It's really tasty! It's a little dense, but overall I'm really pleased with how it turned out

Wow nice loaves @Becky. I need to get a sourdough starter going again.

 

[Becky]

I can see this becoming an addictive hobby! I'll be baking another loaf tomorrow...

 

[Albie_baking]

Nice loaf! You can bake in Pyrex? Can you post a Pic of the container?

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I can see this becoming an addictive hobby! I'll be baking another loaf tomorrow...

@Becky, I’m just like you. I’ll bake something and think, good but I could do better. Then I get obsessed and I’ll bake the same thing 3 - 4 times in a row

 

[Becky]

Nice loaf! You can bake in Pyrex? Can you post a Pic of the container?

Thanks! It's like this one: https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/pyrex-classic-casserole-dish-16l/p/0950540

The second prove is done in the bigger half (tea towel lining it, lid on top), and it is baked the other way up - ie the dough sits in the lid, and the bigger half acts as a lid to let it steam for half of the baking time. It seems to work well but I'd like to give it a try with a proving basket and baking stone. I made another one on Saturday:

This one has a higher amount of rye flour - it's about half - and the rest is strong white flour. I also baked it at a slightly lower temperature and kept the lid on for 20 minutes rather than 25 to get a thinner crust.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Thanks! It's like this one: https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/pyrex-classic-casserole-dish-16l/p/0950540

The second prove is done in the bigger half (tea towel lining it, lid on top), and it is baked the other way up - ie the dough sits in the lid, and the bigger half acts as a lid to let it steam for half of the baking time. It seems to work well but I'd like to give it a try with a proving basket and baking stone. I made another one on Saturday:

View attachment 1974

View attachment 1975

This one has a higher amount of rye flour - it's about half - and the rest is strong white flour. I also baked it at a slightly lower temperature and kept the lid on for 20 minutes rather than 25 to get a thinner crust.

That is a very nice looking loaf @Becky. Those slices of bread are just begging for some pastrami and good mustard

 

[Becky]

That is a very nice looking loaf @Becky. Those slices of bread are just begging for some pastrami and good mustard

Now that is a great idea!

 

[Becky]

I've started using only wholemeal rye flour with my sourdough starter and I really like how it's working out. I think it adds to the depth of flavour. In terms of the loaf, I'm using 400g strong white flour and 100g white rye flour, 150g starter, 5g salt, and around 300ml water. I bought a couple of proving baskets recently so I've started using that instead of the pyrex dish. I bake it on a hot baking stone for around 45-50 mins.

Here are some recent photos:

I was getting a problem where the loaf splits at the bottom...

Still looks good inside though:

I started cutting the top differently and I think this has helped with the bottom-splitting issue:

The quality of the bread has definitely improved now that the starter is a little more mature. The flavour is gorgeous, which is a problem because I can't stop eating it!!