Auvergne Rye Spreading - The Rye Baker
Can somebody explain to me how to bake The Rye Baker's Auvergne Rye not in a loaf pan?
It's 100% dark/whole rye at 90% hydration. Even after bulk fermentation and proofing it's more like a thick slowly oozing batter than bread dough.
https://theryebaker.com/?s=auvergne
At 100% rye you don't have to worry about mixing/kneading enough to build gluten - rye doesn't form gluten as wheat flours do.
I followed the formula today, divided the dough into two boules, shaped (semi-poured) into the bannetons dusted with lots of rice flour, and they spread so much one flowed over the edge of the baking stone. I ended up with two thick frisbees. After 2 days rest, I'll find out what they taste like, and if the 90% hydration created a (relatively) open crumb.
If the taste is worth it, I would try it again, one big loaf baked in a dutch oven or in two loaf pans (my dutch oven is just the right size to act like a loaf pan for a double-size boule).
BTW, this is virtually the only formula I have seen for an artisan bread that says No Steam.
I baked this 2 1/2 years ago (the final comment in the thread is from me). I don't recall having had your problem -- but I was a neophyte & this was, I think, the first 100% rye I tried, so I was simply excited to pull a bread that looked like a bread from my oven. Perhaps my rye flour was thirstier than yours. Also, I baked this before I got a scale, so I was converting weight to volume measures was likely coming up somewhat short on the water.
Maybe I'll try Auvergne Rye again -- and if I do, I'll be sure to post here.
Rob
If it tastes good, I'll try it again
At 91% hydration it's going to spread no matter what.
It's not like it's particularly tall in the original video either:
Just reduce the hydration. The second blog entry shows a loaf with 80% hydration. It's much taller, but you get large ugly cracks and you need baker's yeast to make it rise in any reasonable amount of time. I suggest reducing the hydration to 85%.
I found the video at https://youtu.be/XiaSmVZxkYs and used the YouTube automated translation for subtitles. The French pate (dough) comes out as "paw" in the automated translation, but's that's OK.
The procedure, temp, and timing in the video is very different from that at The Rye Baker website. One really good tip in the video is that he makes no attempt to shape the loaves after bulk fermentation. He just scoops the fermented dough out of the bucket into well-floured bannetons and lets them proof for something like 10-15 minutes before baking. This is a great idea; if there's no gluten to form, why make a mess on the table trying to shape the loaves. The less handling, the more gas from the fermentation remains in the dough, opening up the crumb more. And, with just the short proof in the basket, the loaves come out of the bannetons with a nice shape.
The baker in the video also steams the oven before and after loading; The Rye Baker says no steam.