Comments on: No Knead Rye Recipe

By: Richard

Richard — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 05:12:13 +0000

Opps… Sourdough Rye bread recipe.

By: Richard

Richard — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 04:48:06 +0000

I’m with Jitka, please add a Rye NK recipe! Thanks!

By: Jitka

Jitka — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 23:16:08 +0000

Hi Eric and Didier,
I would be very greatfull to get your recipe for the sourdough rye NK bread.
Thank you very much in advance.

By: didier tissot

didier tissot — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:40:33 +0000

I hope these comments will help with some of the problems raised in the earlier posts.

You cannot make rye bread without acidification of the dough. Rye flour does not contain gluten with the gas-retaining properties of wheat dough, so that the structure of rye bread relies mainly on gelatinized starch.

You must use a good rye sourdough starter to acidify the dough and stop or inhibit the activity of the amylase enzymes in the rye flour. Failure to do this results in sticky, inedible rye bread. Baking should be long, slow and from a cold start– otherwise you make bricks!

If you want good, real rye bread you need to take your time. A 3 stage process works best which includes a stage of making a zavarka, a sort of porridge of coarse rye and boiling water. Barley Malt is also highly recommended for good tasting rye bread, such as the famous Borodinsky Bread. Coriander and caraway seeds are another possibility.

Using 20% wheat bread flour, especially Spelt or Kamut is a very useful and acceptable way of stabilising the structure of a rye loaf and adding even further to the subtleties of its taste. Other variants include using a “chef” – a portion of your previous batch of dough and “altus” – slices of stale rye bread soaked in water, squeezed and mashed up into the final mixture. These are just part of the fun and fascination of making rye bread. The possibilities and variations are truly endless!

Any coventional type of kneading of the rye mixture is uneccesary and pointless and should in fact be impossible if you have the consistency of the mixture as it should be.

I don’t want to make this a really long post by adding a full recipe and method, but if anyone posts an interest I will gladly do so.

By: Wil Rice

Wil Rice — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:32:51 +0000

Sorry the pictures got sent twice, I really don’t know why. Oh yes, the bread is very much an excellent rye with a just right sourness.

Wil

By: Wil Rice

Wil Rice — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:27:44 +0000

Just got back to making bread after a couple years. I came across Eric’s site and his video snagged me in. I got my old dried starter out of the freezer, kept my fingers crossed and in about a week it was back strong. Had to work with it another week, in and out of the refrig’s, to get the sourness I like. Anyhow, I started right off with Joe’s recipe, following Eric’s video instructions. I did add 1.5 tsp of caraway, 1.5 tsp of fennel and 1 tsp of lemon juice. I put it in a small tupperware w/lid and put it in the refrig for almost 24 hours. It didn’t rise at all, maybe a smigit, but it smelled great when I took it out about 8 pm the night prior to baking. My starter, true to form to when I use to bake bread, doubled the dough just over night, about 12 hours. I was afraid to go the 18 hrs, so I went ahead, layed it out on the board, folded and put into a basket sprayed and lined with wheat bran. After an hour I heated up a 7 qt Le Creuset DO at 500 deg. At 1.5 hours the dough really had not risen all that much but I knew from using my starter, it’s character was/is to give a nice oven spring. I gently plopped the dough into the DO, a little off center, turned down the oven to 475 for 30 min. I took the cover off and turned the oven down to 450 but had to take the bread out after only about 7 min. I was amazed, at the loaf I got after only the first time. My wife said it was the best bread I ever made. I have already sent an order into Eric for some equipment. I don’t want to keep using the DO. It is too heavy to lug around and I don’t want to darken it. I am now looking at my Russian Black bread to see if I can convert it to the NK. Thanks to everybody for your postings and thanks to Eric for hooking me.

Wil

*Click to enlarge

By: Eric E

Eric E — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 03:00:08 +0000

I just tried to make NK rye, but using my well fed starter instead of dry yeast. I followed Joe’s recipe except substituted 1/3 cup starter for the yeast. Ended up with a waaay too sticky dough, and after fermenting for 18hours and proofing for 2, it just oozed into the La cloche. Nonetheless, even though it baked only 2 inches high, it has an incredible taste, and a pretty good uneven crumb. Any suggestions, or did I mis-measure something? If using AP flour, should I add Vital Wheat Gluten?

I’d love to nail this recipe, because, as I said, it was delicious!

By: tony

tony — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 02:55:02 +0000

eric,just made nkrye and added 1 tbl molasses and 1/2 tbl
of carob and it just came out great…baked it in the oval laclocle..
thanks

By: Bob Packer

Bob Packer — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:29:34 +0000

I bought malt syrup Friday at a beer brewing shop. About 3.00 USD for a half pound.
Bob

By: Janet Kelly

Janet Kelly — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 11:10:18 +0000

In my search for malt powder I have only been able to find it in commercial quantities. However, malt syrup can be found in health food stores here in Canada in a 10 oz jar. Malt syrup is used extensively by European bread makers. I saw it being used in a video on French bread baking. It looks just like molasses. The baker used about 1/8 teaspoon in a rather large batch of bread. The brand of malt syrup I have been able to find is HAPPY HOME and distributed by Grain Process Enterprises Ltd., Scarborough, Ontario, Canada,M1S 3M7. They may be able to advise you.