NY style Jewish Rye

Last night I stayed up late and made Jewish Rye bread for a party we are attending. Actually the previous evening I had made the corned beef so all that remains is the Swiss cheese and a little mustard. Here is an image of my efforts. I've made this mix many times and everyone loves the flavor. I finally figured out that I needed to soak all the rye (2 Cups) in the 100g of starter for about 4 hours and use first clear flour in the dough. What a differance the clear makes.

Last night I gave up the parchment paper and made a small wood peel from a piece of 1/4 inch plywood. After sanding the edges to a taper it worked super and I was able to load my stone easily without the limitations of the smaller parchment size. I've known for a while that the parchment was a compromise that home bakers use so they didn't have to deal with the issue of moist dough sticking. I'm glad I'm over that now.

Eric