Rye, a Grain With Ancient Roots, Is Rising Again.

[elleng]

'Any adventurous eater who has wandered into the woods of modern Nordic cuisine has probably tripped over a loaf of rye bread. There is wonderfully chewy rugbrod at Great Northern Food Hall in Grand Central Terminal, spice-scented Swedish limpa at Plaj in San Francisco, and darkly rugged toast at Bachelor Farmer in Minneapolis.

But none of it is the rye bread that most Americans know. Unlike a smooth, ivory-crumbed, faintly tangy loaf — the bread that clasps the ideal pastrami sandwich together — rye breads from Scandinavia and other parts of Northern Europe are bumpy, nutty and fragrant. They can be as dark as chocolate cake and as spicy as gingerbread. They are often powerfully sour and even more powerfully delicious.

Riding a wave of interest in ancient grains, rye is sprouting in many influential kitchens — in pasta, porridge, brownies and, most gratifyingly, in bread.'

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/10/dining/rye-grain-bread.html?

[Warpy]

1. Baldwin Hill sourdough rye bread without caraway was nothing short of ambrosial

but, alas, only available in New England as leaving it outside the freezer would ensure it would grow fungus within about 16 hours. Shipping was a real problem, as was storage in the stores.

I used to buy it frozen, thaw it in the fridge, slice it, and refreeze it. Sounds like a lot of bother but it was fabulous stuff and a bread I never managed to duplicate in my own kitchen, especially with sourdough.

[elleng]

2. Sounds great!

[Major Nikon]

3. There's something about rye which works great with natural yeast starter

It works better both when using it to feed the culture and in the bread itself compared to white flour or even other whole grains.

[Auggie]

5. That explains why I see rye listed as an option in a lot of levain recipes

Additionally, I like to add 6 to 10% dark rye flour in many of the Forkish recipes just for the added flavor

[Vinca]

4. I started using rye flour to make pie dough a few years back.

My husband is a diabetic and the rye flour doesn't affect his blood sugar the way wheat flour does. Anyhow, it takes some getting used to because the texture is different rolling it out, but the end result is a very nice nutty flavor. I now prefer it for apple and blueberry pies.