2023, Family, Food, Uncategorized

Neurotic Rye Bread

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Husband loves to bake bread, particularly sourdough, and he also makes his own starter. He has what I would consider conflicted ideas about sourdough starter, such as should yeast be added at all, and if so, is he violating the code of the sourdough makers, and can he truly call himself a baker if that happens? Should the ingredients be weighed or measured by volume? What about covering the starter or exposing it to the air for a while? How long? The doubts and worries go on for days. I find it really exasperating to watch.

A few weeks ago he decided to make two kinds of sourdough rye; one was a Faroe Island rye recipe from Magnus Nilsson’s Nordic Baking, and the other a New York Rye recipe from the New York Times. He has successfully made plenty of starters with white flour, but there seemed to be some issue with the rye starter recipes. He fussed and fussed and hauled up one baking book after another until the dining room table was covered with them, consulted the internet endlessly, decided on one rye sourdough starter recipe and then changed his mind and chose another until he finally decided on one that he ended up making alterations to. He made enough for both recipes but ended up changing the New York Rye bread recipe so that he needed to use the entire amount for that recipe. It turned out well. It had a pinch of yeast added to the starter and more yeast added to the bread. The sourdough starter police didn’t come knocking on the door, either.

He has yet to make the Faroe Island bread but is mulling when he could do it. He also is trying to decide between making Finnish or Swedish Limpa. There are subtle but important differences, he says. I don’t know if I can stand any more fussing, but I think he has finally settled on his sourdough method. At least the bread is really good! Of course, I never get particular about the foods I prepare!!

What cooking or other skill are you trying to perfect? What are foods you are good at making, and what are challenges?

40 thoughts on “Neurotic Rye Bread”

  2. Cooking skill trying to perfect: getting a good meal on the table in a timely manner.

    One thing I’m good at making is… wow, I’m drawing a blank! Will get back to you on that. I know there’s something.

    Challenges – breads are challenging – it may be my oven runs hot, and things are frequently overdone because I don’t adjust for that.

    The thing that I fuss over most is the wording in certain emails, esp. if there is some kind of “delicate” situation. I’ll work it and ponder for what seems like hours to get it just right.

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  3. Rise and Shine, Baboons,

    Soup. I make lots of soup and am a believer in the nourishing qualities of this dish. The challenge is getting the right thickness so it is neither runny nor gloppy. A lot of commercial soups are over-thickened and gloppy. Then over salted. Yuck. There is no cooking artistry in over salting anything.

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  4. Gave up trying to perfect cooking skllls a long time ago. I’m a competent cook, and am comfortable making up dishes on the fly, but I never got into the finer culinary skills like baking bread.

    I’ll continue to try to perfect my writing skills, of course. And, futile as it may seem, I will always try to improve my golf game, especially my putting.

    I make a killer spaghetti sauce. and have an innate ability to cook a steak to a perfect medium without using a timer or meat thermometer. Perhaps my best cooking skill is the ability to choose recipes that we both enjoy and aren’t super fussy or time consuming.

    I don’t make very good pie crust. Figured that out decades ago and leave it to my wife, who has “the knack.” She bakes about one pie per year for me since she doesn’t eat gluten and can’t enjoy a good pie crust.

    Chris in O-town

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  5. I’m trying to perfect my self-acceptance. I am so far from perfect that I know I will never get there in any endeavor, no matter how hard I try. I’m not striving for perfect mediocrity either, please don’t get me wrong. It’s just that I was raised to be rather hard on myself so I’m trying to accept that I will never be perfect and be okay with that.

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  6. I like eggy things, and this morning the 6-ingredient egg bake my sister taught me came out perfect. (Remembered to adjust temp for the oven…)

    I’ve also made some soups that were very good – favorites are a Thai Carrot Soup that uses coconut milk, and a Portuguese Seafood Stew that turns out well on a good day.

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    2. Read it and also watched the Netflix mini-series. Interesting but not life-changing for me. A bit on the self-indulgent side… JUST MY OPINION.

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  8. Once in my life, in 1980, I made rye bread. I used a recipe from Joy of Cooking, and I liked it, but the process was both too hard and too slow. I never tried it again.

    I made our bread the first year we were married, then we moved to Taiwan and I stopped. Eventually we got a bread maker, and now I wouldn’t have it any other way. Just dump the ingredients in and press the button. I’m good at that.

    I just want food on the table, so I don’t spend a lot of time or worry on getting it “exactly right”. I do prefer working from scratch, but can’t say why. Maybe it was all those decades in Taiwan where there were few “mixes” on the market.

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  9. I’ve been making ‘hot-dish’ lately, in various forms, because I enjoy having the leftovers. Last night was crock pot lasagna. But I always feel like it’s missing something and it just doesn’t have any flavor. I did a whole onion, and several cloves of garlic and I added Italian seasoning, oregano, rosemary, thyme… and it seemed like a lot to me. but maybe I need even more?

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      1. Recipes are like guidelines… a starting point. 🙂
        I had two lbs of hamburger, then 2 cans of Hunts tomato paste, and 2 cans of some other brand tomato sauce.

        I have to ask a rather beginner question on spices. The canned spices like rosemary or thyme, do they have to be cooked in? Can they be added on top? (Like chives, to add color). Should onions and garlic ALWAYS be sautéed before adding to a sauce? We have a mortar and pestle that we’ve never used, but it just looks really cool and I feel like I should be grinding up spices. For fun.

        I have so much to learn…so thanks for helping me out.

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        1. Yes, Ben, dried herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano, and others need to be cooked, but remember they pack a lot more flavor than their fresh counterparts. You can’t just sprinkle them on top of the finished meal as a garnish. Actually, you can, but it’s not a good idea if what you’re loking for is flavor.

          With regard to the onion and garlic, I know of no rule that demands they be sauteed first, they’ll cook perfectly fine in a crock pot, but keep in mind that sautéing them will give you another layer of flavor. Try it both ways and see if you can taste the difference.

          One question that you didn’t ask, but which I suspect contributed to your less than stellar review of how your lasagna turned out: Did you brown the meat, and drain it before putting it in the crock pot? I know that it seems like a lot of fuss to brown meat first, but to me, it makes the difference between a so-so meal, and one that’s is actually very tasty.

          With regard to your mortar and pestle, buy yourself a few whole spices such as peppercorns, coriander seeds, cinnamon, and use it. Freshly crushed or pulverized herbs and spices have so much more flavor than the ground one you buy in those little boxes.

          Hope that helps. I’ll confess, I’ve never made lasagna in a crock pot, and I haven’t looked for a recipe, so I’m having a hard time visualizing how you’d make that work. I might just have to look for some recipes. During the winter months the crock pot can be a handy tool.

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      2. Possible this will double up because … computers.

        Recipes are like guidelines… a starting point. 🙂
        I had two lbs of hamburger, then 2 cans of Hunts tomato paste, and 2 cans of some other brand tomato sauce.

        I have to ask a rather beginner question on spices. The canned spices like rosemary or thyme, do they have to be cooked in? Can they be added on top? (Like chives, to add color). Should onions and garlic ALWAYS be sautéed before adding to a sauce? We have a mortar and pestle that we’ve never used, but it just looks really cool and I feel like I should be grinding up spices. For fun.

        I have so much to learn…so thanks for helping me out.

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        2. I put it in a lot of sauces, as well as soups and stews, when I think of it. If only because it takes a really long time to use up a bottle of Worcestershire, and I feel like I should use it in somethiing.

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  10. I have never made any kind of rye bread. Narcotic or otherwise. Anonymous, please at least tell us who you are. This is uncalled for.

    Baboons, I think we have a troll.

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  13. If I were sharing a house/kitchen with someone with a passion/obsession like Chris and his rye breads, I would beOK as long as I didn’t get the step by step/blow by blow process. You’re a stronger woman than I am!

    I’m great a cookies, pies, cakes, cupcakes… all kinds of sweets. These are my wheel-house; I love to bake.

    I rarely make my own bread these days – even the bread machine stuff. There are so many places near me that make fabulous breads! Breadsmith, Sunstreet Breads, Butter, Great Harvest – all just a few minutes from my house.

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  14. I love to cook soups. Tonight’s dinner consists of a big bowl of steaming Caldo Gallego, a Spanish kale, potato, and bean soup with Spanish Chorizo. Served with a drizzle of EVOO or a dollop of sour cream, and accompanied by a chunk of Hans’ freshly baked, crusty bread and a glass of white wine, we’re good to go.

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  15. I make a pretty good rosemary focaccia, but French bread defeats me. Every time I’ve tried it, the texture is all wrong. It’s like sandwich bread in the shape of a French loaf.

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