Mellow Bakers 70% Rye with a Rye Soaker and Whole Wheat Flour

cucumber open sandwich on thin slices of rye bread

This bread from Jeffrey Hamelman'sBREAD is one of three (or four) for this month's MellowBakers. The other two are Bialys and French Bread.

I was not too keen on sourdough rye maybe because I have never eaten an authentic rye bread. Most of the rye loaves I've had before were made with light rye flour and flavored with molasses and caraway seeds. I was also disappointed with The Bread Baker's Apprentice's sourdough rye bread which I considered one of the worst my least favorites.

I was surprised how flavorful Mr. Hamelman's rye bread is. It is tangy, moist, dense, chewy, nutty, smells reeeaaally good, and perfect for my favorite cucumber open sandwiches. I can now honestly say I know what rye bread tastes like and that I love it.

The sourdough bread recipe has medium rye flour, soaked rye chops, and a little whole wheat flour. I have some rye berries which I purchased when I was reading Daniel Leader's LOCAL BREADs but I never had a chance to use them. I "chopped" them using my burr coffee grinder which did an excellent job. I also soaked some in water and ended up chopping them by hand because they just swirled around in the food processor without getting chopped.

chopped in a burr coffee grinder, soaked and hand chopped

The dough was very sticky and I don't know if it can be formed into a log as written. I just dumped the dough into the Pullman loaf pan sprinkled with rye flour. The aroma of the bread while baking made me want to slice it right away but the procedure says to wrap the loaf in baker's linen and leave for 24 hours.

Buttermilk Cheese

I purchased a quart of heavy cream and didn't notice the expiration date was the same day I got it. I used some of the cream for up to a few days after the expiry and the rest I made into butter. I added less than a quarter teaspoon of culture to the cream [the cream can also be churned into butter without] and beat it with a spiral beater on medium speed until the butter and buttermilk separate.

The thing I love about this process is I get to use not just the butter but also the buttermilk. The buttermilk is delicious either to drink, yes it's a bit tangy but it's yummy, or to add to biscuits and pancakes. It can also be made into delicious fresh white cheese by mixing with whole milk and boiling until curds form. The curds are spooned onto a sieve lined with round white coffee filter then weighted down. I keep the whey in the refrigerator and I use it for making bread or add it in certain dishes in place of regular tap water. See, no waste at all. I made three different goodies from a quart of heavy cream: butter, buttermilk, and cheese.

Buttermilk Cheese
1 quart whole milk
1½ cups low-fat cultured buttermilk
2 teaspoons kosher salt

• Line a strainer with three layers of 12-inch cheesecloth squares and set over a deep bowl (if using the whey) or sink.
• Combine ingredients in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and cook until mixture reaches 180°F and separates into white curds and translucent whey, about 8 minutes. Ladle contents into prepared strainer and drain completely.
• Gather corners of cheesecloth together and gently twist to press out excess whey. Serve immediately, or cool to room temperature before serving, about 10 minutes.
• For firmer consistency, transfer cheese on a small flat-bottomed plate lined with round white coffee filter. Shape into a rectangle or round, wrap the cheese with the coffee filter, weight down, let stand in refrigerator until cool, about 10 minutes. Unwrap and gently invert onto plate, discard paper, wrap in plastic film, and refrigerate for another 10 minutes before slicing.

buttermilk cheese is non-melting and is delicious grilled or pan-fried