# A Lighter Rye Bread



## oldcoot (Oct 7, 2003)

BW likes rye bread.  I like the flavor, but have never been pleased with the traditional rather dry, heavy texture (although it's great for a "Ham & Swiss). 

When trying to make a lighter white bread loaf, Fleischmann's advised me to try adding baking powder.  I'd not tried it, but decieded to follow their advice in a Rye attempt.

The result I found quite pleasant - a light, very flavorful loaf.  So I thought perhpas some of you might like to try it.  Here it is:







*INGREDIENTS;* (Makes 1 loaf) 

1    cup           All purpose or Bread Flour 
1   cup           Whole Wheat Flour 
1  cup            Rye Flour 
1/4  cup           Caraway Seed (whole )
 1  level tsp    salt 
1  round tsp     Baking powder 
1  pkg             Yeast (Rapid Rise)
 3  tbsp             honey 
3  tbsp              olive oil 
1  cup              Half & half Milk (warm to about 100 to  115° F) 

*DIRECTIONS::* 

Reserve 1/2 cup AP Flour, place all other ingredients into mixing bowl and mix at low speed for ten minutes. Add reserved flour sparingly to obtain a soft, slightly sticky dough. 

Turn out onto lightly floured surface and form into a roll the length of a loaf pan. Place in an oiled-&-floured loaf pan, cover with cloth and place in a warm location to rise for about 1 hour or until just above the edge of the pan. 

Place in the center of a cold oven, set the temperature for 350° F, and bake for 50 minutes. 

Tip out on wire rack to cool.


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## kitchenelf (Oct 7, 2003)

yum old coot - it smells wonderful!!!


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## oldcoot (Oct 7, 2003)

Thanks - but I tried it for a Ham 'n' swiss on rye for lunch - not as good for that as the traditional rye.  Pretty darned good otherwise, 'tho.

I'm still waiting to hear (read) of your luck baking bread, -- get with it, 'Elf!

Carnivore, how is your bread baking cvoming along?  Kinda fun,isn't it?


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## kitchenelf (Oct 7, 2003)

LOL - soon.......soon......


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## carnivore (Oct 7, 2003)

hi oldcoot,
i've been enjoying your bread pictures--i think mouthwatering is a good adjective...
i'm definitely going to try your 'quick and easy' bread method, plus i want to try the rye-bread too.  They both look great.
I've been trying my hand at sourdough lately, with no success.  I make the starter and follow all the instructions, and they say to wait 5-10 days until the starter has a "fermented smell".  Problem is that my first batch sat for 2 weeks with no smell, and i went ahead and made the bread out of it anyway and it tasted like plain white bread.  my 2nd batch of starter is doing the same thing.  so i don't know what to do.
But i'm still really enjoying bread making--i always find new challenges exciting...plus the kneading stage (i do it by hand) REALLY relieves a lot of work-related-stress for me.  I'll let you know how your recipes turn out for me, and in the meantime if you have any 'sourdough advice' for me i'd appreciate it!


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## oldcoot (Oct 8, 2003)

Interesting, Carnivore.  The last few days I've been thinking about making some sourdough again.    I've had fairly good luck with it in the past.

Three or four days is adequate for the fermentation.  The way I've done it is pretty straight forward:  Roughly equall amounts of flour and water ( acup of each?) , a teaspoonful of sugar, and a package of yeast.  I put it in a quart mason jar, lay a paper napkin over the top and lightly scew on a ring cap.  Each day I add about a heaping tablespoonful of flour, stir, and recover.  By the third or fourth day in a room temperature location it develops a nice sour aroma.  (The trick is to keep that yeast alive, which means feeding it daily, as it uses up all the food pretty fast.  Its the acids and alcohol from the fermentation process that develops the sour smell - if the yeast dies, no smell).

Dump it in a mixing bowl, add a couple of cups of flour, a teaspoonful of salt, mix and knead:  Voila!  French sourdough!  

For a really thick crunchy crust, spray it with water, pop it into a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes.

Should work.

Oh, yeah - folks who make sourdough regularly make enough starter that they need use only half of it at a time, keeping the remaining starter going,  and increasing it,  or refrigerating it for less frequent use.)


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## carnivore (Oct 8, 2003)

hi oldcoot,
maybe it would be more appropriate for me to start another thread on this topic, but maybe you could help me figure out what i'm doing wrong real quick.
i use the same ingredients as you, but i make sure the water is warm.  i dissolve the yeast in the water then combine everything in a bowl.  i cover the bowl with a towel and stir it a couple of times a day.
i'm thinking that one of 3 things might be the problem:  either i should not be covering with a towel (the recipe said use cheesecloth), i'm keeping the starter in too cold a place (it's about 72 in every room in my house), or i need to be adding more flour daily as you suggested.  i'm just using the recipe in my better homes & gardens cookbook and it doesn't say anything about adding more flour, but i might try that next round.
any other ideas?


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## kitchenelf (Oct 8, 2003)

Hi carnivore - take a look around here and check out the starter recipe AND the feeder recipe - I have made this bread before and it is really, really good - 

http://www.multimedia.medders.com/sdbread/recipe.htm


Here is another starter that sounds like what you have been using - 

Sourdough Starter - Recipe More Healthy Food Solutions  
Excerpted from 500 Treasured Country Recipes, by Martha Storey 
Sourdough starters are available in some health food and specialty stores, but it's easy to make your own. 



 Simple Solution: 
There are several ways. Dissolve 1 tablespoon dry yeast and 2 tablespoons honey in 2 cups warm water in a glass, plastic, or crockery bowl. Stir in 2 cups unbleached white flour; cover with a towel and let sit in a warm place for several days, or until foamy and soured. Store in a covered jar in the refrigerator. 

Warning: Use a bowl big enough to contain what may be a startling degree of expansion.

If you don't use your starter for a week, you'll need to feed it. First, remove 1/2 to 1 cup of the original stater. Throw it away, give it away, or use it. Stir in a mixture of 1 cup flour, 1 cup warm liquid (milk or water), and a little sugar (optional). Let sit at room temperature for a few hours; stir and refrigerate.

Then use this recipe - 

Sourdough French Bread
Yields 4 small loaves or 14 rolls

6 cups unbleached organic whole grain white flour, divided
1/2 to 1 cup coarse whole-wheat flour
3 teaspoons salt, divided
2 3/4 cups warm water, divided (at about 100 degrees F)
1 cup Sourdough Starter (see below)
1 teaspoon baker's yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup cornmeal

Mix a sponge the night before you plant to bake, by combining 3 cups white flour and the whole-wheat flour with 2 teaspoons salt, 2 cups water, and the sourdough starter. Mix. Cover with a towel and let sit for 10 to 18 hours.

The next morning, prepare the final dough by adding another 3 cups of white flour, 3/4 cup warm water, 1 teaspoon salt, and the yeast.

Using a mixer with a dough hook or food processor with a metal blade, mix at low speed for 2 minutes and then at medium speed for 6 minutes. Turn out onto a floured board and knead by hand until the desired consistency is obtained. Add flour as necessary during the mixing. Place the dough into a large bowl that has been coated with olive oil, making sure that the top of the dough is also coated so that it does not become dry. Cover the bowl with a towel, and allow to rise to two or three times the original volume. The speed of the rise can be altered or halted by changing the ambient temperature; the cooler the temperature in the rising area, the slower the rise. The dough can also be placed in the refrigerator to finish rising at a later date.

Punch the dough down briefly. Dump it again onto a floured board. Cut into loaf-sized pieces. You'll learn to form the loaves or rolls that suit you best. I usually bake two small round loaves and about eight rolls. I place the loaves on an oven sheet sprinkled with cornmeal, cover with a towel, and allow to rise a second time, at least 1 hour.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Slash the top of the loaves with a razor or scalpel blade. Place into the preheated oven. Spray every 2 minutes with water until the bread has baked for 10 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 350 degrees F and bake another 15 minutes. Remove the bread from the sheet, and allow to cool on a rack.


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## oldcoot (Oct 8, 2003)

Last night, about 8, I dumped some flour in this jar, plus a package of Fleischmann's Rapid Rise Yeast, and poured in a cup and a half or tepid water.  Stirred, put a single layer of paper napkin on top, and barely starteed the ring.   The purpose of covering the starer is to keep foreign matter - flies, etc., out, and to reduce the rate of evaporation, while still allowing the jar to "breathe".






Now it is 5 o'clock - a mere 21 hours later, and I just checked it.  Already has that great, sort of sour yeasty smell.  Nice and foamy, too.  That yeast is munching away happly - and dividing intom more yeast cells.  By the third or fourth day, it should be loaded with yeast cvells (The real purpose of sourdough) and should smell great.  Kitchen temp varies from about 60 at nite to 75  during the day.


Stay tuned


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## oldcoot (Oct 9, 2003)

*SOURDOUGH STARTER*

Day two:  The aroma is stronger and more "sour".  I  think the starter will be rady by tomorow - certainly by Saturday.

Swirled the  jar in lieu of stirring.  Looks good!


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## carnivore (Oct 10, 2003)

kitchenelf and oldcoot--
thanks for the help, i'll let you know how it turns out


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## oldcoot (Oct 11, 2003)

Nine  O'clock Saturday morning.    Poured the sourdough starter (Nice sour-yeast aroma)  into a mixing bowl, added 2 cups flour, tsp salt, mixed and kneaded with the Kitchenaid Mixer for ten minutes.  Nice soft, slightly sticky dough.

Formed it into a long roll about an 1 1/2" in diameter, covered and let rise 'til doubled.  Slashed top three places.

Baked at 375 for 45 minutes, cooled on wire rack. 






Beautiful day, so lunch in the garden again: pot-au-feu, sourdough french bread, chocolate mousse, and cabernet sauvignon.  Roses blooming, birds singing,and fliting around,  dog at my feet , and BW across the table.  Hard to beat!



A pretty good, RUSTIC sourdough loaf - Just flour, yeast, salt, and water.

Not a strong a sourrdough flavor as i prefer.  Next time I'll use two cups of flour in the starter instead of the one.

Really quick and easy.  Only a very few minutes actively  working, the rest was waiting time.


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