Sunday, November 4, 2007

The Ryes Have It

Working with rye breads is a little like a composer learning to write in the minor mode. It's the same only different, if you get my meaning.
I never bothered with a separate rye starter, I simply used "old" white starter that had become very sour. After reading the book "Bread Alone", I decided to give all rye a chance. The formula and directions for rye starter in "Breads from LaBrea Bakery" were a good starting point, but I changed a few things, most notably the addition of a little whole rye flour (pumpernickel) to each feeding.
The breads were a revelation. They tasted the way rye bread should taste, not like an imitation loaded up with caraway seed in an effort to give it some kind of flavor.
Caraway, as listed in "On Food and Cooking", is a member of the carrot family, as are parsley and anise. So that got me thinking, thinking about carrots, then root vegetables in general. Rye bread may pair well with roasted root vegetables. I'll have to try it and see.

1 comment:

M'liss said...

Hey, Kevroy,
I just reset my password which is akin to reducing the national deficit. Why oh why is it so hard to do that? Boot camp was easier than getting google to give up a damn word. For the love of Pete! It is softsoap75 in case I forget someone out there in cyberland can kindly remind me. I love your blog, but I do have a question or two. My rye dough balls do just fine with damp towels. What is this spray bottle you speak of? I apologize that your comparison of rye bread and composing is lost on me. I eat rye bread while listening to minor mode compositions. Dose that count?
Love ya, M'liss