Jewish Rye Bread

For a chewy, tangy, deli-style rye bread that won’t go soggy or limp when piled with a stack of pastrami, use bran-free rye flour and the overnight sponge method.

The challenge: It’s easy to find soft and fluffy rye breads, with only a hint of rye flavor, in the grocery store and sometimes even in a Jewish bakery. The genuine article, however, should be slightly moist and chewy but not too dense, and it should have a notably tangy rye flavor. Perhaps most important, it should be able to stand up to a pile of pastrami; it should certainly not become soggy or limp.

The solution: After deciding to eliminate the "fancy" additions (buttermilk, mashed potatoes, even sauerkraut), we found in some recipes, we narrowed down to three the variables that we expected to most affect the texture and flavor of the bread: the method of leavening, the type of rye flour, and the ratio of rye to white flour.
For method of leavening, the choices were a "sponge" starter, which depends on the fermentation of small amounts of water, flour, and yeast, and a more direct method in which flour and water are mixed together and yeast is then added to make the dough straight away. The sponge method proved superior on several counts: fermentation makes for more flavor and a somewhat more loose and less even texture (these being good things), and the bread made from the sponge also seemed to maintain more of its moistness during storage.
While it’s not easy to find more than one type of rye flour in the grocery store, after testing several, we found King Arthur light rye and Pillsbury medium rye to be best. (Pillsbury can often be found in the grocery store; King Arthur can be ordered from the company’s Web site at www.kingarthur.com.
As good as any rye flour may be, rye flour alone will not bake up ("up" being the operative word) because it doesn’t contain enough of the gluten-containing proteins needed to make bread rise. Protein-rich wheat flour is needed, and the best ratio proved to be 3 1/2 cups rye flour to 4 1/2 cups white flour.
The kneading time for rye bread is low compared with what wheat bread bakers are used to: only about five minutes. To get a shiny, brittle crust, the hallmark of traditional Jewish rye bread, we brushed the top and sides of each loaf with a glaze made from egg whites and milk.

A caveat: Rye dough is stickier than wheat dough, and the temptation is to add more flour, but we found that this made for a dry and coarse bread. Using wet hands makes the dough a little easier to work with.

DELI-STYLE RYE

Makes 1 large loaf or 2 smaller loaves

If you do not have a heavy-duty standing mixer with at least a 4-quart capacity, the recipe can be halved. The rye flakes add flavor to the bread, but if unavailable, they can be omitted from the recipe.

SPONGE
2/3 cup rye flakes (optional)
2 3/4 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast
2 tablespoons honey
3 cups unbleached all-purpose or bread flour

RYE BREAD
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose or bread flour
3 1/2 cups rye flour, such as Pillsbury medium rye or King Arthur light rye
2 tablespoons caraway seeds
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon salt
Cornmeal for sprinkling

GLAZE
1 egg white
1 tablespoon milk

1. For the sponge: Heat oven to 350 degrees; toast rye flakes on small baking sheet until fragrant and golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Mix water, yeast, honey, rye flakes, and flour in the large mixing bowl of a heavy-duty mixer to form a thick batter. Cover with plastic wrap, and let sit until bubbles form over entire surface, at least 2 1/2 hours. (Can stand at room temperature overnight.)

2. For the bread: Stir all-purpose flour, 3 1/4 cups rye flour, caraway seeds, oil, and salt into the sponge. With machine fitted with dough hook and set on speed 2, knead dough, adding the remaining 1/4 cup rye flour once the dough becomes cohesive; knead until smooth yet sticky, about 5 minutes. With moistened hands, transfer dough to a well-floured counter, knead it into a smooth ball, then place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at warm room temperature until doubled in size, 1 1/4 to 2 hours.

3. Generously sprinkle cornmeal on a large baking sheet.Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface and press dough into 12x9-inch rectangle. (For 2 smaller loaves, halve the dough, pressing each portion into a 9x6 1/2-inch rectangle.) With one of the long sides facing you, roll dough into a 12-inch (or 9-inch) log, seam side up. Pinch seam with fingertips to seal. Turn dough seam side down, and with fingertips, seal ends by tucking dough into the loaf. Carefully transfer shaped loaf (or loaves) to prepared baking sheet, cover loosely with greased plastic wrap, and let proof until dough looks bloated and dimply, and starts to spread out, 60 to 75 minutes. Adjust oven rack to lower center position and heat oven to 425 degrees.

4. For the glaze: Whisk egg white and milk together and brush over sides and top of loaf (loaves). Make 6 or 7 slashes 1/2-inch-deep, on dough top(s) with a serrated knife, single-edge razor blade, or lamé. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in center of the loaf registers 200 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes for small loaves and 25 to 30 for larger loaf. Transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Slice and serve.

January, 1998
Original article and recipes by Dawn Yanagihara and Eva Katz

SEE ALSO:

Bread Lame