Rustic Rye Sourdough Bread Recipe • Heartbeet Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to good sourdough bread? ›

Whole wheat's counterpart: Pumpernickel flour

This is also the kind of rye flour you'll usually find in sourdough recipes, as it's best for fermentation. Because the whole kernel is present in this whole grain rye, pumpernickel flour is coarser than white or medium rye and makes heavier baked goods.

Wheat sourdough possesses creamy coconut notes from lactones, while rye is less creamy and more tropical banana and pineapple-like with an additional citrusy / orange aftertaste. Rye sourdough produces an extra buttery taste and roasted malty popcorn flavor, though t is poorer in spiciness notes in comparison to wheat.

The most common issue is not kneading enough between rises. The yeast cannot float through the dough, so it has to just eat the flour near it. If it exhausts that supply, it's stuck. Kneading the dough a bit - and it doesn't take much - puts the yeast and bacteria back in touch with fresh food.

Longer fermentation

As your dough proofs, the good bacteria eats up sugars and starches in the flour. This decreases the sweet undertone and creates a more sour undertone. The longer you ferment, the more starches and sugars the bacteria eats, and the more sour your bread will be.

The signature sourdough flavor comes from a combination of lactic and acetic acids, created as the dough rises and ferments. Refrigerating the dough encourages the production of more acetic acid, which is the tangier of the two.

As long as they're made with whole grains and have limited or no added sugar, both rye bread and sourdough bread are healthy bread options. Sourdough bread may be even healthier than regular bread because the fermentation makes certain vitamins and minerals easier for our bodies to absorb.

Rye Flour: Rye flour is another popular option for sourdough starters. Naturally rich in amylases, nutrients, and microbes, this cereal flour enables a starter to quickly convert sugars for faster, more efficient fermentation.

In fact, rye flour starters perform notoriously well. Rye flour will help to make your starter more sour. To boost your sourdough starter with rye flour, substitute half your normal flour with rye flour at each feeding for a few days and you should see a noticeable difference in your starter's activity level.

Refined grains, such as the grains found in white bread and white pasta, are known to increase inflammation across the whole body. Sourdough bread and rye bread are both good options for an anti-inflammatory diet. The best sourdough and rye bread varieties to reduce gut inflammation are those made from whole grains.

What is the healthiest sourdough bread? ›

“The whole-grain sourdoughs have more fiber, protein and micronutrients, making them more filling and healthier for you overall,” says Natalie Rizzo, registered dietitian and nutrition editor at TODAY.com. When choosing a sourdough loaf, look for ones that have whole wheat, spelt or rye, Rizzo adds.

Sourdough bread is made through a slow fermentation process, which may cause this type of bread to raise blood sugar more slowly than other breads. As a result, sourdough bread could be a great choice for those with diabetes. Whole grain sourdough bread is the best sourdough bread for diabetics.

For high-rising rye breads, use "white flour" – unbleached all-purpose or unbleached bread flour – in combination with rye.

Rye flour absorbs more water than bread flour or all purpose flour, so you need to add more water to make the flour workable. If you feel the dough is too stiff after autolysing this dough, wetting your hands can be a good idea to gradually work extra water into the dough.

If you don't want to put the dough in the fridge for a cold ferment, you can leave it to proof on the counter for a little while. You do need to be careful not to let it over ferment. Ideally, you want the temperature to be on the cooler side (no more than 21C / 69.8F). Let the dough relax into the banneton.

There are two main acids produced in a sourdough culture: lactic acid and acetic acid. Acetic acid, or vinegar, is the acid that gives sourdough much of its tang. Giving acetic acid-producing organisms optimal conditions to thrive and multiply will produce a more tangy finished product.

You can get the sourdough starter to rise more by putting it next to the stove while you're cooking. The warmth from the stove can help to activate the yeast in the starter and make it rise more. For dough you should cover it with a damp cloth or plastic wrap so that it doesn't dry out.

You'll find I use honey in many of my recipes. I love to use it in my no-knead 100% whole wheat sourdough bread because it makes it much softer and less dense than it would be without it. Subbing it in recipes that call for sugar is not usually as simple as a one-to-one sub, though.