January 13, 2015 - 10:45am
rye sourdough starter
What kind of rye flour (sifted rye flour or whole meal rye four) did yo use to your rye sourdough starter and why?
Give whole meal rye four more taste? Did any sort of rye flour in the sourdough rise the dough better?
Sifted rye flour: rye flour without shell and germ
Whole meal rye flor: include the whole core (shell and germ)
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I think part of the Question got erased... Are you asking what kind of rye flour did I use to start my rye sourdough starter?
or What kind of rye flour I use to maintain the starter? and why...
I use what ever I can get my hands on to start it, the coarser the flour the better. I want the outside yeasts that grow on the grain.
If I can't get coarse or whole meal rye, I settle for finer flour. If I sift the flour, I use the bran to start and maintain the starter but my stable rye starter is not picky and eats just about everything I give it that's rye even already baked rye bread. I would not use baked rye bread to start a starter, too sterile. A little added wheat or oat flour can also be mixed with the rye flour feeding.
Did any sort of rye flour in the sourdough raise the dough better? (Which sourdough to what dough?)
Better? ("Better" is relative.) No, for 100% rye. But different sorts of rye flour will rise differently. The more whole meal rye flour in the dough, the faster the fermenting rates. If I equate long slow fermentation with flavour, I have to make adjustments for the flour type used to get the flavours I desire. (shorten or lengthen rise times, add builds, change water temps, when to add salt, reduce or raise starter inoculations, etc.)
Little rough particles from coarse flour seem to help block gasses from escaping too quickly in the dough. A dough only made of coarse bran flour does need some fine particles if it is to trap gas at the right time. A rye starter fed with rough particles combined with a fine rye flour in a dough (dough of 100% rye) should give nice flavour and good gas trapping abilities. At least it does when I do it.
Does any rye stimulate fermentation in other grain doughs? Yes, in my humble experience; yes, either in the sourdough culture or when rye flour or baked rye bread crumbs are mixed into the dough. So watch the rising dough if rye in any form other than distilled, is substituted or added into a wheat recipe, rises will be shorter. The more added the more pronounced the stimulation.
Mini
I keep both light rye and dark rye on hand. When it comes time to refresh my starter, I use either one. Obviously the dark rye creates a mildly thicker starter, but I've never noticed a difference when it came time to baking a loaf. I use them interchangeably.