How can I improve making sour rye bread

Up on the right do a search for Greenstein and you'll see some posts by dmsnyder who stands by this bread and has made more than a few times.  He or his posts on the subject may be able to assist.

Josh

I have adapted George Greenstein's recipe to my own taste. I like a more assertive rye flavor, so I use medium rye or even whole rye (BRM Dark Rye or a Stoneground whole rye flour). You can use white rye, of course, if you prefer the milder flavor. More recently, I have been baking my sour rye loaves differently - At 460 for 15 minutes then 440 dF for another 20 minutes. I prefer the crust I get that way.

Here's a link to my version: Jewish Sour Rye but note the change in baking temperature.

And here are photos of my most recent bake of this bread  (3/7/2014):

Feel free to ask any questions after reading the linked blog entry.

Happy baking!

David

 P.S. You may find this useful also: Care and feeding of a rye sour

P.P.S. Your rye bread doesn't look bad at all. You may just need to proof it with some lateral support so it rises up instead of spreading out. I get the best results with a pretty full proof of this bread. I don't expect as much oven spring, but end up with a lighter, less dense crumb anyway. How much is "pretty full" will come with experience.

Esp like the crust & scoring!   :)