"Nancy Young" > wrote in message
. ..
>
> "Janet B." > wrote
>
>> http://www.abrfaq.info/
>
> So, you're into baking bread. I was wondering, do you think
> that making rye bread is difficult? I'm going to be stopping by
> King Arthur Flour in a week or two and I was thinking of picking
> up supplies there.
>
> nancy
>
Nancy
It can be as difficult as you want to make it. There are plenty of rye
recipes that use enough white flour to overcome the stickiness of the rye --
they are easy to make. There are rye recipes that use yeast to make them
rise and they are easy. The purists insist on making a 'sour' first and
using that to rise the bread. That's a little more difficult, although it
depends upon the recipe. Then there are those that do the real pumpernickle
that cooks for a long, long time at a low temperature and that's a toughie.
There is everything in between. Rye flour doesn't behave the way that white
flour does. It's sticky, it isn't elastic and it doesn't rise as high. For
a first effort, try a recipe that has a lot of white flour in relationship
with rye flour. Try to avoid the recipes that have you use coffee,
chocolate, etc., they are there for color and are not needed for rye flavor.
Bread cookbooks are a good source of good recipes and information. Ask some
questions at alt.bread.recipes. Everyone there will be happy to help. KA
will be another good place to start. Ask them for some first steps help.
They can give you everything from rye bread in a bottle flavoring to all the
basic flour needed to do it from scratch. I believe their rye flour comes
with a recipe or maybe it is the first clear flour that comes with a rye
recipe. I envy you being able to go to the store and shop. Although, maybe
not, my purse couldn't stand the traffic. I haven't baked any bread since
early 2005 as I haven't been well. I'm planning on getting back into it in
a month or so and am currently stocking up on all the different flour and
making my list for KA. Have fun!!!
Janet