The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Where to find Rye Chops?

tubaguy63's picture
tubaguy63

Where to find Rye Chops?

Any ideas where I can purchase no more than a pound of rye chops?

 

Thank you!

demegrad's picture
demegrad

I've been wondering if rye chops are the same thing as flaked rye.  I can buy flaked rye at the home brew shop I go to and it's typically used for beer.  It looks just like old fashioned quaker oats but a little darker and smells of rye.  Do you think these two products are the same?  If so you can buy pounds and pounds of the stuff from midwestsupplies.com for 1 buck a pound. 

demegrad

http://www.demegrad.blogspot.com

flourgirl51's picture
flourgirl51

I now carry organic rye chops and yes you can buy as little as a pound if you want to try them. They are NOT the same as rolled or flaked grains. I will have them listed on my site later this week or the beginning of next week. You can message me for more info.

grepstar's picture
grepstar

I was over at this store about 2 years ago (I think they've moved since then) and I thought they had friendly and knowledgeable staff.  On a side note that is not bread-related, there is also another cool brewing supply shop in St. Paul: Northern Brewer (http://www.northernbrewer.com/).

 According to Hamelman's book, rye chops are just chopped rye berries which I understand to be different than rye flakes. I think that cracked rye and rye chops are synonymous and I know for sure that Bob's Red Mill sells cracked rye as well as whole rye berries and they sell those in 1lb increments.

TRK's picture
TRK

Hamelman differentiates between cracked rye and rye chops (and rye flakes are definitely different, as is rye malt).  He says that rye chops have been chopped (presumably with a blade or something sharp), whereas cracked rye has been cracked with a roller.  Rye chops can be used in a cold soaker, but if you sub cracked rye, it doesn't absorb water as well, so you have to use hot water for your soaker.  Rye flakes (or any flaked grain) have been steamed and then rolled, which gelatinizes the starch and is a very different creature.  Malted rye, as mentioned above, has been allowed to germinate, then dried (and sometimes toasted).  You can then crack it in the roller mill that most brew stores use.  I assume this will absorb water better than cracked rye, due to the enzymatic action of germination, but I am not sure how much better.  For brewing applications, the water is added hot (usually around 150F) and allowed to steep for about an hour to convert and remove all of the sugars in the malt.

 I am am pretty sure malted rye still has active enzymes, so that is something you might want to be careful about.  If you put it in an overnight soaker, you might find that the starch has all been converted to sugars.  You might want to heat it above 170 to deactivate the enzymes, or only allow it a short time in the soaker to avoid that.

 

Tim 

nicodvb's picture
nicodvb

To me it seems to be counterintuitive (and counter my experience) that chops (without flour) absorb water better than cracked berries (that contains a part of flour).
Are you sure that what you wrote is not the other way around?

Drifty Baker's picture
Drifty Baker

I was at Northern Brewer in St. Paul, MN this past Saturday and got a 1 pound bag of malted rye and crushed the grains in the grinder they provide.  Most of the grains they have are malted, grains that are germinated and then dried and it seems roasted.  They have various wheats, ryes, barleys, and oats.

Look in other brewing supply stores or try your local grain elevator.

Drifty Baker

sphealey's picture
sphealey

I would suggest trying one small bag each of Bob's Red Mill Pumpernickel and Cracked Rye. The BRM Cracked Rye sounds very similar to what you describe: whole rye berries whacked a few times with a stick.

 

In my area, even though our local grocery store carries a big display of BRM they do not have either of the coarse rye products, so I had to order them directly from BRM.

 

sPh

tubaguy63's picture
tubaguy63

Thank you for the replies!

jane's picture
jane

tubaguy63

 

I also trying to find rye chop for a long time.

I just order mine form here:

http://www.bulkfoods.com/

 

Jane

dulke's picture
dulke

If you are in the Chicago area, the Home Economist is a bulk food store in several suburban locations, and they carry rye flakes and chops, as well as a lot of other ingredients. I love being able to buy the various flours, spices, etc. in small quantities when I am just trying them out, or to avoid having stale stuff around. You may or may not have bulk food stores where you are - I am certainly glad to learn of the source jane listed, as mail order seems to be the solution to so many things.

flourgirl51's picture
flourgirl51

Sure, my website is   www.organicwheatproducts.com