100% Rye Flour Bread

I have tried several times to make bread with rye flour, but the result was always terrible: sticky dough, heavy bread, raw inside. However, after several attempts, a few weeks ago an article on the Italian Baker (an excellent magazine specialising in baking) enlightened me, allowing me to finally achieve soft, light, and tasty bread.

The secret to achieving a suitable dough is to use a warm pre-dough in combination with sourdough, which partially deactivates the amylases (which are excessively active in rye: the reason why the dough is sticky) and to use very high fermentation temperatures. Another secret is to achieve a highly hydrated dough (which has more plasticity compared to a drier dough), to use oil on the surface which creates a small barrier to steam, and to use a loaf tin that isolates the dough on three sides (allowing it to rise in height).

Ingredients for warm pre-dough. 100g whole rye flour, 120g boiling water.

Ingredients for final dough. 430g whole rye flour, 200g sourdough, 360ml water at 45°C, 15g salt fine Himalayan, 5g fresh yeast or about 2g of dry yeast.

[caption id="attachment_3424" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Work the flour with boiling water (100°C) until a homogeneous dough is obtained. Cover with cling film for two hours at 20-22°C.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3425" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Then add the water, flour, sourdough, yeast, and once the dough comes together, add the salt and finish as soon as the dough is homogeneous.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3428" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Give the strengthening folds: fold the dough towards the centre.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3429" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Turn the dough and give folds from the opposite side (as for puff pastry).[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3430" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Once the folds are finished, turn the dough (with the opening underneath), oil the surface of the dough and the bowl of the mixer. Place the dough inside, cover, and leave at a temperature of 28-30°C for 4-5 hours.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3426" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Once risen, oil again, shape into a loaf and place in the loaf tin covered with cling film to rise for 1 hour at 28-30°C. Then bake for 5 minutes at 240-250°C (in the lowest part of the oven) and then at 180°C for about 45 minutes (of which 10 minutes outside the tin and with the oven door ajar to allow steam to escape from the oven.[/caption>

Some possible improvements

• Use less flour in the folds or use water or oil.
• Try using only liquid sourdough (hydrated like a batter) and in larger quantities (100g).