As someone who was motivated to make the sourdough journey because I wanted to bake ryes, I've wondered about this for a while: in my experience, lots of artisan bakeries make excellent wheat breads, but few make good ryes.
Do you think this is true? If so, why? And which bakeries would you urge me to go to to get good ryes?
Thanks!
Rob
This is going to very dependent on the country, isn't it? I would expect to find many more good ryes in Germany than the US, for example, and the ideas of what a rye bread should be will vary too.
TomP
for sure, Tom, I've had great ryes in Switzerland and would expect them to be great in Germany and in the Baltics and Russia and Scandinavia. But I'm based in NYC and was really referring to the 'rye bread situation' in the U.S. -- which I believe could be classified as a national disaster🤣
There are two small bakeries near me that sometimes make rye breads. I'm sure they are nothing like hardcore European ryes, nor like Jewish deli style either, but I like both of them. They look dark, are dense but not too dense, have a relatively soft crumb, and taste rich and a little sweet. They make for good toast.
By contrast, the only "real" pumpernickel I've had has been the kind imported from Germany in little packages. I haven't like them much at all. But then I haven't put smoked fish or similar on them, so maybe it's not a fair assessment.
It doesn't pay for most folks. Enjoy!