German Rye Sourdough (Saurteig)
ALLOW 1 DAY TO ACTIVATE THE CULTURE; 2 TO 10 DAYS TO FEED THE CULTURE;
12 TO 24 HOURS TO REFRESH THE CULTURE
German rye sourdough is a thick, porridgelike mixture of spring water and
stone ground rye flour that quickly becomes a hospitable environment for
natural yeast. Of all the sourdoughs in this book, rye is the fastest to
ferment and the sourest. German and Austrian bakers don't just use it for its
sour flavor, however. Rye flour contains abundant amylases, enzymes that break
down starches in the dough, which can result in bread with a dense, sticky
crumb. The abundant acids in rye sourdough slow the breakdown of starches.
Bread baked with rye sourdough is more elastic, rises higher, and has a more
open, stable crumb. In short, if you use rye sourdough, you won't wind up with
a rye bread doorstop.
This recipe walks you through the process of creating a rye sourdough from
scratch. It takes between 4 and 10 days to activate the culture but requires
just a few minutes of your time each day. It's impossible to say exactly how
long the recipe will take, because the speed of fermentation depends on a host
of vari ables, including the composition of your flour and the climate in your
kitchen. The most important thing you can do is pay attention to your
culture-and be patient. Stir it, smell it, taste it. This is what bakers do
every day, and it is the only sure way to determine the ripeness of your
culture. When you first mix the water and rye flour together, the culture will
be very thick and sludgy. Over the next few days, as you mix in more water and
flour-and oxygen-it will become spongy and airy, thinner and easy to stir.
You'll see it come alive, growing bubbly and developing a pungent, tangy smell.
As with other sourdoughs, I recommend using spring water and organic stone
ground flour to create the best environ ment for developing a culture. Tap
water and highly processed flours may contain yeast- and bacteria-killing
contaminants. Once you've established the rye sour- dough, you can store it in
the refrigerator and keep it indefinitely by feeding it once a week with fresh
water and flour.
Equipment CLEAN, CLEAR 2-QUART CONTAINER
Day 1 Spring water, tepid (70 to 78 degrees) 1/4 cup Organic, stone-ground rye
flour, preferably finely ground 1/2 cup
Day 2 Spring water, tepid (70 to 78 degrees) 1/4 cup Organic, stone-ground rye
flour, preferably finely ground 1/2 cup
ACTIVATE THE CULTURE. Pour the water into the container and stir in the rye
flour until it is fairly smooth. It will be quite thick. Scrape down the sides
cover the container with plastic wrap. Let it stand at room temperature (70 to
75 degrees) for 24 hours.
OBSERVE AND FEED THE CUL TURE. Uncover the culture and observe any changes.
It's still early, but the culture may have risen slightly. It will have a sweet
and musty smell and taste mildly tangy.
Pour the water into the container and stir with a rubber spatula to loosen it
slightly. Add the rye flour and and stir vigorously to oxygenate the culture
and blend until it is smooth. It will be somewhat looser than on the previous
day but still quite stiff, like oat meal. Scrape down the sides and cover the
container with plastic wrap. Let the culture stand at room tem perature (70 to
75 degrees) for 24 hours.
Day 3 Spring water, tepid (70 to 78 degrees) 1/4 cup Organic, stone-ground rye
flour, preferably finely ground 1/2 cup
OBSERVE AND FEED THE CULTURE. Today your culture will have risen up the sides
of the container and may have already fallen. The surface will be bub bly, and
if you hold up the container, you'll see bub bles on the sides and bottom.
Smell its earthy, acidic aroma and taste the sour flavor. Pour the water into
the container and stir to loosen the sourdough. You'll notice short strands of
gluten floating through the water. Add the rye flour and stir vigorously to
oxygenate the culture and blend the fresh flour into the sourdough. Scrape down
the sides and cover the container with plastic wrap. Let it stand at room
temperature (70 to 75 degrees) for 24 hours.
TEST THE CULTURE. Uncover the container and examine the culture to determine
whether it is ripe enough to become a rye sourdough. By now it will have become
a darker gray-brown and expanded dra matically, maybe doubling. It will be
spongy-looking and filled with small bubbles all the way through. It will smell
pungently sour and acidic, like a combina tion of overripe apples and moist
fall leaves. When you taste it, the acid will sparkle on your tongue. If your
culture doesn't show this much activity, don't worry. Repeat the steps for day
3 every 24 hours for up to 6 more days. Use warm (85 to 95 degrees) water in
place of tepid water, and be sure to keep the container in a warm (75 to 80
degrees), draft-free place. You may need to transfer it to a larger container.
After these additional feedings, if your culture does not look active, the
flour may have been old, the water may have been too chlorinated, or the
container may not have been spotlessly clean. If your culture does look ready,
repeat the recipe from day 3, but check the culture after only 12 hours. Scrape
down the sides and cover the container with plastic wrap. With masking tape,
mark the spot on the container that the sourdough will reach when it has
doubled in volume. Let it stand at room temperature (70 to 75 degrees) for 12
hours. You'll know you have a strong, healthy sourdough when it almost doubles
and is spongy and filled with large and small bubbles after 12 hours. It will
smell pungent and taste tangy. Refresh the sourdough (see below) before
proceeding with the rye bread recipe of your choice. When you have successfully
cultivated a rye sour dough, you must add water and rye flour to it on a
regular basis to keep it in shape for bread baking. The yeast and bacteria that
provide leavening power and great flavor need periodic nourishment. I recom
mend that you refresh your rye sourdough at least once a week and store it in
the refrigerator when you're not baking. In the cold, it will slowly ferment.
The 12- to 24-hour time range gives you flexibility to bake either in the
morning or in the evening. Just be aware that the longer the sourdough ferments
after refreshment, the more sour it and the bread you bake with it will be.
Day 4 Spring water, tepid (70 to 78 degrees) 1/4 cup Organic, stone-ground rye
flour, preferably finely ground 1/2 cup
REFRESH THE SOURDOUGH. Measure 1/4 cup (1.8 ounces/so grams) of your culture
into a clean i-quart container and discard the rest. (After you've been baking
with your sourdough consistently, the exact amount is not critical; just make
sure there is room in the container for the sourdough to expand.) Stir in the
water and rye flour vigorously with a rubber spatula until the culture is
fairly but not perfectly smooth. Scrape down the sides and cover the con
tainer with plastic wrap.
If you plan to bake, mark the container with mask ing tape to indicate the
level the sourdough will reach when it doubles in volume. Let it stand at room
temperature (70 to 75 degrees) for 12 to 24 hours. It is ready when it has
expanded to twice its original size and tastes very tangy. It may already have
deflated. If you do not plan to bake within
24 hours, leave the sourdough at room temperature for 1 hour and then
refrigerate it.
MAINTAIN THE SOURDOUGH. If your sourdough has been in the refrigerator for a
week, it is time to refresh it again, whether or not you plan on baking. Weeldy
refreshment will keep it alive and healthy, so that when you do bake, it will
be capable of raising your dough. Just repeat the steps for refreshment and
refrigerate it again for up to 1 week.
PREPARE THE SOURDOUGH FOR BAKING. Whether or not you have refreshed your
sourdough recently, you must refresh it 12 to 24 hours before you want to bake
to ensure that it is in optimum shape for raising and flavoring bread. Follow
the refreshment steps described above. After the sour dough has fermented at
room temperature (70 to 75 degrees) for 12 to 24 hours, measure out what you
will need for your recipe. Then place 1/4 cup (1.8 ounces/so grams) of what is
left over in a clean con tainer, refresh this portion, and refrigerate for up
to 1 week for use in the future.
Variation: Spelt Sourdough Spelt bread, made with an ancient variety of wheat,
can be found in bakeries throughout Ger many. Some German bakers simply use
rye sourdough as the foundation for their spelt breads, but some, who want to
produce 100 percent spelt loaves, use a similar starter made with spelt. To
make a spelt sourdough, simply substitute whole spelt flour wherever rye flour
is called for in the above recipe. The color will be different, more brownish
than gray. It will rise more than a rye sour because spelt contains gluten to
create pockets for trapping gases. But otherwise, spelt sour dough will work
in exactly the same way as a rye starter to raise your bread.
Local Breads by Daniel Leader
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