My sourdough rye bread recipe clearly demonstrates how varying flours in dough creates an entirely different loaf. I developed it from Sourdough Cabin Bread, with the same 1:2:3 ratio of sourdough starter, water and flour. By replacing some of the wheat flours with rye, it tastes far earthier with a denser crumb.
The lower-gluten rye flour also makes the dough less elastic, so it’s more effective to knead and rest instead of the stretch-and-fold technique I use for Sourdough Cabin Bread. This rye loaf bakes just as nicely in a pan as the freeform loaf photo I shared at the start of sourdough month.
Sourdough Rye Bread
Makes 1 loaf
140 grams (about 7 tablespoons) sourdough starter (100% hydration)
280 grams (about 1-1/4 cups) water
210 grams (about 1-3/4 cups) rye flour
150 grams (about 1-1/4 cups) all-purpose flour
60 grams (about 1/2 cup) whole-wheat flour
5 grams (about 1 teaspoon) sea salt
Olive oil
Set a large bowl on a kitchen scale. Measure in the starter, water and then flours, stirring after each to form a sticky dough. Cover with a damp tea towel; let rest for 10 minutes. Feed your starter.
Add the salt, turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for one to two minutes, until it forms a ball. Oil the bowl lightly, add the dough and cover with the damp tea towel; let rest for about one hour.
Set the dough on the floured surface, knead for another one to two minutes and return it to the bowl for another hour. Repeat the knead-and-rest cycle twice more.
After the final kneading, leave the dough on the floured surface for just 30 minutes. Do one last quick knead; the dough should spring back when pressed with a finger. Rest the dough for 10 to 15 minutes.
For a freeform loaf, shape the dough lightly into a boule and place it in the oiled bowl. For a sandwich loaf, shape the dough into a taut, smooth oval that nearly fills the bottom of a 1- to 1.25-pound open-topped loaf pan or 1.5-pound Pullman pan. Cover the dough with a damp towel, leave it at room temperature for about one hour and then refrigerate for one hour to overnight.
To bake, preheat the oven and a baking stone, if making a freeform loaf, to 450°F. When hot, remove the dough from the fridge; reshape the loaf if it was in a bowl. Score it twice with a sharp, floured knife, making quick slashes at an angle.
For a freeform loaf, carefully place the cold dough on the hot stone and immediately cover it with a large stainless steel bowl. For a sandwich loaf, slide on the Pullman lid or tent the open pan with foil before baking.
Bake for 35 minutes, remove the covering and then bake for another 10 to 15 minutes. Let the loaf cool completely on a wire rack before cutting; while warm, it’s still cooking inside.
Julie Laing is a Bigfork-based cookbook author and food blogger. Learn more about this month’s sourdough workshops at TwiceAsTasty.com.