ye olde bread blogge

60/40 rye with old-bread-sourdough starter

with 11 comments

I think I had the same idea about making a hearty rye bread at the same time as Jeremy from STIR THE POTS. I have yet to find a bread or baked good that he can not do and eventually it will happen, I am sure, but for now I tip my imaginary hat to his effort on Bauernbrot.

In my loaf, I think the separate yeast starter gave a crackling crust – something usually not associated with German rye breads, which tend to be rather soft. Hm, not quite where I want to be with my never-ending quest for “60/40″. A little bit of rye meal would not hurt to make the crumb a little more rustic. But excellent flavor.

60/40 rye with old-bread-sourdough starter aka “Crusty rye bread”

Old-bread-sourdough starter

• 1 slice of toasted and stale bread, preferably a dark type (~40g)
• 90g fine dark rye flour
• 150g warm water
• 1 tsp of mature rye sourdough, hydration: 100%

Let stand at room temperature for 16 hours.

Poolish

• 50g strong white flour
• 50g water
• 0.1g freh yeast

Let stand at room temperature for 16 hours.

Dough

• 180g fine dark rye flour
• 180g strong white flour or white spelt flour
• 175g warm water
• 5g fresh yeast
• 10g sea salt
• Old-bread-sourdough starter
• Poolish

Bulk fermentation: 1 hour.
Final fermentation: 45-60 minutes.
Bake at 240°C for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 210°C and bake for further 45 minutes.

11 Responses

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1. Uh oh, were thinking alike now! What are you making next???

   

   Jeremy

   15 December 2008 at 16:31

   Reply
2. Something with a white starter, pure sourdough, I think. Just refreshed it a couple of times. Yep.

   

   theinversecook

   15 December 2008 at 16:35

   Reply
3. Hi Nils, are you sure about the crust? Because every time I do my 70/30 rye bread it has a nice crunchy crust even without using Poolish (s. http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f261/kruemel_jr/brot1.jpg).
   I once heard it’s got to do with steaming (not sure though).

   

   Katrin

   15 December 2008 at 20:05

   Reply
4. Hi, Katrin, care to share the recipe to your loaf? It looks so good.

   You’re right, to make the crust go soft, it sometimes is put into bags, so it is a deliberate action to make it soft. I find too that the crust of this loaf has hardned a bit. I wasn’t very clear.

   

   theinversecook

   15 December 2008 at 20:34

   Reply
5. Thanks a lot, Nils.

   I don’t mind sharing the recipe. As soon as I’ve got the translation I’ll send it to you.

   

   Katrin

   15 December 2008 at 21:19

   Reply
6. Beautiful Loaf! Makes me want to get out my Rye flour! I just might have to give this one a go! Teresa

   

   northwestsourdough

   16 December 2008 at 05:02

   Reply
7. What a great loaf!

   I’m intrigued by the addition of soaked, stale bread that are in many of the hearty rye breads. That’s definitely something I’ll try to incorporate in my own baking as well! Thanks for the inspiring photos

   HJ

   

   Hans Joakim

   16 December 2008 at 11:10

   Reply
8. @Hans Joakim: It worked well, i.e. did not harm the flavor or sourdough fermenation. Can’t say that it made a huge difference, though. It’s a bit easier than having a separate old-bread soaker.

   @Teresa: The rest of the loaf has gone quite tough. Maybe it is a good idea to increase hydration to a really sloppy dough.

   

   theinversecook

   17 December 2008 at 14:31

   Reply
9. Mine still has a moist crumb though the outside is a bit stale, me thinks the yeast is the trouble????

   

   Jeremy

   18 December 2008 at 06:52

   Reply
10. @ Jeremy
    I think yeast is only used to speed up the fermentation so the bread doesn’t get too sour as the proportion of old-bread-sourdough starter and flour is quite high in this recipe.

    To get a better crust I would bake at higher temperatures in the beginning and go on with decreasing temperature for the rest of the bake.

    

    Katrin

    18 December 2008 at 16:42

    Reply