A Sortof Poem and Sourdough Rye Bread

The poem is like the starter, but not like the starter. The poem has salt and heat. The poem is not the starter but the bread it will become. But the poem is not the bread.

The poem has salt and heat. The poem is not the starter but the bread it will become. But the poem is not the bread.

The poem is the smell of the bread baking in the oven, a scent captured. The poem is the memory of how the bread tastes before the bread has been formed into loaves. The poem is the forming into loaves. The poem is the dough rising. The poem is bread made from strawberries that tastes nothing like strawberries. The poem is a sun-warmed strawberry, the juice leaving a sticky glow on your fingertips. The poem is the strawberries rimed with ice in the freezer. The poem is not about bread and not about strawberries. But there can be other poems.

The Sourdough Rye Bread

This is our go to bread. For a printable recipe click here. I shape it into loaves for sandwiches and toast. The Mr. survived on it when I went to Maine for the summer. It takes two days, three if you don’t regularly refresh your starter. Sometimes the loaves are pretty, sometimes (when I let the starter go an extra day) the loaves look more like sad cakes, but they are always delicious.

Day One

Refresh Starter

Day Two

Combine 100g refreshed starter with 280g water and 280g dark rye flour. Cover and let rise overnight or until double in size.

Day Three

Add a couple of tablespoons of dried onion flakes to two cups warm water- allow onions to soften.In a large mixing bowl (I use the KitchenAid mixer) combine water/onion mixture, starter, and 20g caraway seeds. Break up starter into water.

Add 790g flour.

The ratio of whole wheat to all purpose or bread flour varies depending on my mood and what I have on hand but generally I use about 290g whole wheat and 500g all purpose.

Do a short mix to incorporate the flour.

Rest for 20 minutes

Add 22g salt

Mix again for about 3-10 minutes. Dough will begin to pull together and away from the sides of the bowl but remain somewhat sticky.

Scrape dough from sides of mixing bowl and allow to rest again, covered, for another 20 minutes.

Following the rest, once again scrape dough from sides of bowl and form into a ball. Let rise in covered bowl until double in size- about two hours.

Dump dough onto well-floured surface and divide in half. Form into rounds or loaves. The dough is somewhat wet and requires a bit of a gentle touch.

Preheat oven to 390 degrees

Allow to rise. Slash if rounds.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. I coat the tops of the loaves with butter about five minutes before the end of baking otherwise they don’t brown.

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