Whole Rye and Wheat Sourdough

Do you have any recipes that use dark rye flour? A 25-pound bag from Bob’s Red Mill is taking up valuable freezer space for manly essentials such as White Castles and Eggo, so any suggestions would be well appreciated.

Buying a sack of dark rye seemed like a good idea considering that shipping costs were split with an Austrian co-worker. I hear they’re huge on rye — he’s probably on his second or third bag by now. He doesn’t seem like the type who keeps spreadsheets of bread formulas, though.

I haven’t seen many recipes that specifically call for dark rye flour so I mainly use it as a replacement for medium or whole rye. Dark rye is milled from the outermost layers of the grain, making it rich in bran and fiber. It also gives breads a stronger spicy rye aroma, a deeper shade of reddish-brown in the crust, and a darker and tighter crumb.

This whole rye and and wheat sourdough recipe originally calls for medium rye flour so it’s a bit more dense than it should be. The acidity from the whole rye starter gives it a good shelf life and subtle sourness. Since rye flour also retains moisture well, the crumb stays moist even without additional fats or sugar.

The dough consists of 50% white wheat flour, 25% whole wheat flour, but only 25% whole rye flour. I guess I could consider it a good start in freeing up some freezer space.

recipe adapted from Jeffrey Hamelman’s Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes
Yeastspotting at Wild Yeast Blog

Whole Rye and Wheat Sourdough

makes 2 large loaves

For the Sourdough / Rye Starter:

Ingredients                  Volume          Ounces          Grams
mature sourdough culture          4 tsp            .4           11
water, at room temperature      7/8 cup           6.6          187
medium or dark rye flour      1 3/4 cups          8            227

Sourdough / Rye Starter Instructions:

Dissolve the sourdough culture in the water. Add the rye flour and mix until evenly hydrated. Cover and leave at room temperature for 14 to 16 hours.

Final Dough Formula:

Ingredients                  Volume          Ounces          Grams
bread or high-gluten flour    3 1/2 cups         16            454
whole wheat flour             1 3/4 cups          8            227
water, at room temperature    1 7/8 cups         15.2          431
kosher salt                       1 tbsp + 2 tsp   .6           17
instant yeast                     1 tsp
sourdough / rye starter, cut into pieces         14.6          414

Final Dough Instructions:

Mix             Mix the final dough ingredients until a shaggy ball
                is formed.

Knead           10 to 12 minutes

Rest            5 minutes

Knead           1 minute to further strengthen the gluten.

Bulk Ferment    1 hour

Divide          2 pieces

Preshape        loose rounds

Rest            15 to 20 minutes

Shape           shape into a tight oval or boule

Preheat Oven    460ºF/240ºC

Final Proof     1 to 1 1/4 hours at room temperature

Proofed whole rye and wheat sourdough.

Score

Slashed whole rye and wheat sourdough.

Steam           1 cup of boiling water poured into a heavy steam pan,
                preferably cast iron

Bake            Bake at 460ºF/240ºC for 20 minutes. Rotate the loaves
                and lower the heat to 440ºF/225ºC. Bake for another
                20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is a deep shade of
                reddish brown.

Cool            At least 4 hours

Whole rye and wheat sourdough crust and crumb.

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