Recently a reader tried (and loved) the 100% rye recipe on the website and sent me a few questions. They are great questions, so I thought I would answer them here.
Should I buy a 1lb tin, or just double up the quantities next time to adapt to my 2lb tin?
You can just double up the quantities! In fact, why not get a bunch of tins and bake a bunch of loaves at one time. They freeze beautifully and that way you can do lots of loaves for one turn of oven! Checkerboard rye. Why not bake multiple loaves – you can decorate them individually!!
I used only the 3g yeast you say in the ingredients list. Should I put more next time, to help it rise better? Or (because it’s dark rye) should I sift it to get a “lighter” flour and that would do the trick?
Yes…but….You don’t want more yeast than you need. yeast is simply something we only need a small amount of. Like salt (and lots of other things) we just need what we need. Further, you want the bread to take a long time to proof. That way the flour is well broken down and easier to digest (the main feature of sourdough bread is the digestibility). I don’t find a huge difference between dark and light rye – they can both rise into surprisingly light loaves. If in doubt, add a bit more water so your dough is really REALLY soft and wet. When you pick it up and move it from one hand to another, the dough should be so oft and wet that you leave a hand print in it from just holding the shaped dough.
In theory the more the better (until it has over proofed and collapsed). If it’s cool it will take 5 hours. In the fridge it will take about 8 hours. On a hot day it could take as little as 2 hours. Rye does not do too well with hot days, though. Anything over about 28 degrees and it begins to underperform (rise quickly and collapse in the oven).
Because the bread sounded hollow when tapped, I think I baked it for the right amount of time. Would you recommend that I simply leave it wrapped in a towel for 2 days before cutting it the next time – or should I bake it for 10 extra minutes as well?
It’s hard to tell with rye sometimes. The very best thing to do is get a probe thermometer. Bread is around 98 degrees C on the inside when it is done. Rye bread is sticky by nature. It is a little less sticky when it is made with a sourdough starter, rather than wheat. Try to leave it for at least 24 hours if you can! I think it’s at its best 2 days after baking it. Hot out of the oven and VERY sticky if you don’t let it cool and set a bit.
My hubby loved the crust, and said overall it was okay; but he was a bit disenchanted with the flavour. White rolls are his definite fav, so I think he disliked the earthier and denser tones of the rye (not enough sweetness and fluffiness, I think). Is there anything I could add to this recipe – that doesn’t involve sugars, though – that would make it more palatable or interesting to people used to white bread?
That’s a tough one and I would say keep starving him of the white and giving him the rye. I love 100% rye – it’s my favourite bread and I find white bread dull. So, horses for courses. You can add spices (a pinch of cinnamon or ginger powder or cardamom or cumin or coriander – just a half a teaspoon at first to see how you like it) you can add raisins (fennel seed with raisins is good) you can add treacle or honey. Rye does take flavours well because it has a strong flavour of its own.
Rye bread made with 100% rye flour will be dense and heavy; think some of those all-rye breads you find at artisan bakeries, the ones sliced off an enormous loaf and sold by the pound. If you’re looking for a lighter, softer sandwich bread, bread or AP flours are your best friend.
And with that, I was alone again in my kitchen. I added 100g of plain yogurt to my dough along with the yeast and salt, and prepared it for the first rise.
There is very little we can do as home bakers to limit the pentosans’ water absorption. The presence of pentosan carbohydrates is just a necessary fact of rye. Instead, in order to create a successful loaf of bread, we have to get the amylase enzyme to slow down its conversion of starches to sugars.
Does anyone else see a problem here? If the pentosans aren’t given enough water to absorb, they won’t leave enough water for the starches to gelatinize, and meanwhile amylase is breaking the remaining starches down for sugar, that will have a negative effect on the final loaf. Not only will it be unable to brown properly, but it also won’t have enough structure if it’s relying only on the pentosans.
By adding some yogurt to the dough, I made it slightly acidic, which slowed down the enzymatic activity of the amylase.
However, we don’t want the dough to be too acidic. After all, if we shut down production of amylase completely, then there would be no available sugars for the yeast to consume, meaning the dough would not rise at all. So we just want to add some yogurt, not substitute all the water with it. In my recipe, the yogurt only makes up 12% of the overall total weight of the dough.
In theory the more the better (until it has over proofed and collapsed). If it’s cool it will take 5 hours. In the fridge it will take about 8 hours. On a hot day it could take as little as 2 hours. Rye does not do too well with hot days, though. Anything over about 28 degrees and it begins to underperform (rise quickly and collapse in the oven).
Yes…but….You don’t want more yeast than you need. yeast is simply something we only need a small amount of. Like salt (and lots of other things) we just need what we need. Further, you want the bread to take a long time to proof. That way the flour is well broken down and easier to digest (the main feature of sourdough bread is the digestibility). I don’t find a huge difference between dark and light rye – they can both rise into surprisingly light loaves. If in doubt, add a bit more water so your dough is really REALLY soft and wet. When you pick it up and move it from one hand to another, the dough should be so oft and wet that you leave a hand print in it from just holding the shaped dough.
It’s hard to tell with rye sometimes. The very best thing to do is get a probe thermometer. Bread is around 98 degrees C on the inside when it is done. Rye bread is sticky by nature. It is a little less sticky when it is made with a sourdough starter, rather than wheat. Try to leave it for at least 24 hours if you can! I think it’s at its best 2 days after baking it. Hot out of the oven and VERY sticky if you don’t let it cool and set a bit.
Recently a reader tried (and loved) the 100% rye recipe on the website and sent me a few questions. They are great questions, so I thought I would answer them here.
That’s a tough one and I would say keep starving him of the white and giving him the rye. I love 100% rye – it’s my favourite bread and I find white bread dull. So, horses for courses. You can add spices (a pinch of cinnamon or ginger powder or cardamom or cumin or coriander – just a half a teaspoon at first to see how you like it) you can add raisins (fennel seed with raisins is good) you can add treacle or honey. Rye does take flavours well because it has a strong flavour of its own.
Don’t make this ONE STUPID MISTAKE when Baking Bread
FAQ
How do you make rye bread less dense?
Is rye bread supposed to be dense?
How do I stop my bread from being dense?
How can I make my bread fluffier instead of dense?
Why is rye bread so dense?
1. The dough becomes denser, as the proportion of rye flour increases. Rye bread is so dense because rye contains very high levels of pentosans which prevents gluten to be formed in the dough. Since gluten cannot be formed in rye flour, the dough is unable to trap the gasses from fermentation, resulting in a dense dough and baked loaf.
What are the health benefits of rye bread?
They are several benefits of rye bread they are rich in minerals and vitamins. The rye flour contain 30%more iron, twice the potassium and three times more sodium than regular bread. It naturally high in fiber. It is good source of b vitamins and helps in weight loss, better blood sugar control and improved heart health and digestive health.
How do you make rye bread more dense?
If you would like your rye bread to rise better and be less dense when baked, use a higher percentage of wheat flour. The gluten in wheat flour is able to trap fermentation gasses, causing a significant improvement in rise and reduction in density over a rye flour dominant bread. 3.
Why is my bread so dense?
With so many potential pitfalls, it is super important to make sure you are careful with your bread every step of the way. The most common reason your bread is so dense is that you have either under-kneaded or over-kneaded your loaf. Kneading is undeniably one of the biggest factors of bread quality, so getting it just right is key.