This is my current favourite recipe for making a slightly sour dough style rye bread. It’s an extremely dense loaf (getting pretty close to pumpernickel some might argue).

I need to start with a disclaimer though! I found this recipe online at The Daring Gourmet but that website is just too much for my tablet that I use for recipes in the kitchen. This blog post is really just a convenience - presenting the core recipe without too much fluff around it.

Ingredients

Yeast Mix

• 500ml warm water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons yeast (1 Sachet fast acting bread yeast)

Dry Mix

• 230g dark rye flour
• 80 plain white flour
• 260g cracked rye berris (I use rye flakes - can’t find cracked rye anywhere!)
• 120g rye berries (whole rye grains)
• 210g flax seeds (brown linseed)
• 90g sunflower seeds
• 90g pumpkin seeds
• 3 teaspoons salt

Liquids

• 240ml kefir
• 235ml dark beer (or just more kefir - note that kefir is not quite as wet so add a bit more)

Method

Prep (30 minutes)

1. Mix the yeast mixture (ensure the water is not too hot or it will kill the yeast). Leave for ten minutes until it’s frothy.

2. Mix the dry mixture in your mixer bowl.

3. Once the yeast is ready, put all wet ingredients (including yeast mix) into dry mixture. Mix together gently with a spoon then fire up the electric mixer on speed 2 for 10 minutes. Use a dough hook if you can (other attachments will induce too much resistance and burn out the motor!). The mixture is a little wet, sticky and unmanageable at this point.

4. Put the mixture in a plastic bowl (the mixture attacks metal). It now needs to prove (actually, it needs to ferment) for 24-48 hours. I cover it in a plastic bag and put it in a warmed environment at around 18C. The mixture does not rise very much so don’t worry if the bowl is quite full.

2 days later

I use two loaf tins (resulting in two loaves with a cross section about 10cm wide by 5cm high). If you’re using metal loaf tins, line them with greaseproof paper (I forgot once and ended up throwing out both tins. By the time the loaves came out the teflon came off with them!). I now use silicon loaf tins for a vastly better experience. No lining required and the loaves come out very easily if I grease with a little butter before cooking.

Put the mixture in your loaf tin (or tins) and put them in a pre-heated oven at 170C [Side Note: I’ve tried cooking at 160C for longer and like the result better]. Cooking time is 100-120 minutes depending on quite how wet the initial mixture is. The original recipe suggests a target core temperature of 96C but I’ve had difficulty achieving that (and even when I do, it doesn’t seem to mean the bread is cooked). Instead I go with the old school method - stick in a metal probe and if it comes out clean you’re good.

Usual rules apply. Allow it to cool for 10-15 minutes then remove from the tins. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

Eat

Enjoy with cheddar and plopping rhubarb chutney.