100 % Rye Sourdough Bread with Whole Grains

February 19, 2010 in Allgemein

I love this bread. It is dense and chewy, mild and slightly sweet. Caraway and pumpkin seeds give a little extra favour. This bread is made with sourdough starter, because that’s the way a rye bread should be leavened.

Nutritious bread

I chose a relatively low amount of sourdough starter for a mild bread. I also added some sugar beet syrup for sweetness.

This bread takes some time to make, you have to prepare your starter and let it develop before you can start baking the bread. But believe my, the bread is worth the wait. Sourdough adds flavour and a bread leavened with sourdough keeps fresh longer than a yeast bread. Sourdough breads don’t get moldy as easily as yeast breads, too. And they are healthier (made with whole grains).

Rye is a wonderful grain, it has more minerals and fibre than wheat and a unique flavour. If you think that rye flour is a pain to work with because it sticks to your hands like crazy, here are two good tips: Use wet hands all the time and make the dough from partly flour and partly whole grains. The water will make kneading and forming easier, the grains change the structure of the dough and make it less sticky. I made a soaker from boiling water and rye chops. A soaker is always a great addition to a bread. Soaked grains and seeds trap additional moisture and keep the bread fresh.

100% Rye Sourdough Bread with Whole Grains (makes one loaf)

For the starter (approx 12-16 hours prior to baking):
40 g sourdough starter, preferably from rye
180 g rye flour*
200 g water
Mix together in a bowl, cover and let sit in a warm place. After 12-16 hours it should have risen and have a light, airy structure.
* I used German rye flour Type 1150. It resembles medium to dark rye flour. I suugest to use a mix of medium and dark rye, the darker the better.

For the soaker:
200 g rye chops (coarsly chopped rye grains, or cracked rye)
250 g boiling water
Combine rye and water and let sit for one hour. The water should be absorbed and the grains should be soft.

For the bread:
Active sourdough starter (see above)
soaker (see above)
200 g rye flour (see note above)
50 g pumpkin seeds
50 ml water
20 g sugar beet syrup or molasses
10 g salt
1/2 t caraway seeds

In a large bowl, combine starter, soaker, and remaining ingredients. Knead until everything is well combined. Rye flour is low in gluten so there is no need to knead for 10 minutes. 3-5 minutes are sufficient. Don’t forget to wet your hands all the time. It really makes a difference. Oh, and knead in your bowl. Don’t bother with a working surface.

Grease a loaf pan and dust with flour (or use parchment paper). Transfer the dough to the pan and level it. Let the dough rise for two hours in a warm place. A 100 % rye bread will never rise as much as a yeasted wheat bread and since sourdough is the only leavening here, it’ll take a bit longer. The dough won’t have doubled after two hours, but you should see a rise of about 2/3.

meanwhile, preheat the oven to 250°C [480°F]. bake the bread at this temperature for 10 minutes. Turn the heat down to 200°C [400°F] and bake for 35-40 more minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely.

Let the dough rest another day before slicing it.

This bread was submitted to YeastSpotting.

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