How do I bake with whole rye flour in sourdough bread?
Rye is a different animal from wheat: it barely builds a gluten network because of sugars called pentosans, so it stays denser and bakes best in a loaf pan rather than freestanding. The upside is it is much simpler, you just mix the ingredients, no kneading, and let it ferment until it has grown by about half. Try around 80% water for a loaf pan, or nearer 60% if you want to shape it.
Answered by Hendrik, The Bread Code
From the book
The whole process (see Flowchart 8.1 ) is a lot easier: you mix the ingredients and wait for a certain period until the dough has reached the level of acidity that you like. Afterward, you shape the dough or pour it into a loaf pan. After a short proofing period, the bread can be baked. Due to the lack of gluten development, the final bread will feature a denser crumb compared to wheat, as you can see in Picture 8.4 .
Where this was asked
Stiff Starter Revolution: Transform Your Sourdough Game!Related questions
Not quite your question? Ask Loafy