Rye bread & sandwich thins

[JoeV]

It was a rainy Sunday here in NE Ohio, so I made a loaf of Party Rye and a dozen sandwich thins from the same batch of dough. Notice how nicely the slices lay over. The finished loaf is soft inside and chewy outside.

[wv hillbilly]

how do you get you bread dough to raise that high?
i have tried several times and i cant get my loaf to get much more than 3" when it comes from the oven

[garydude]

That looks amazing Joe.

Nicely done.

[flboots]

That looks good Joe. What no cornbeef to go with that rye. Shame, shame. LOL, I just made myself hungry for a cornbeef on rye. Thanks Joe.

[JoeV]

Originally Posted by wv hillbilly

how do you get you bread dough to raise that high?
i have tried several times and i cant get my loaf to get much more than 3" when it comes from the oven

The key to a nice rise is Instant yeast and room temperature ingredients. Follow the recipe on my website and you should get a good rise with your dough.

http://flyfishohio.us/Party%20Rye%20Bread.htm

Also, keep your dough covered with plastic wrap or a tea towel. Draft is the enemy of bread dough. I also stopped using tap water, because the water company puts lots of chlorine in our water, and chlorine kills yeast. I use water from our Brita filter.

[25yretcoastie]

Thanks Joe, I will try that soon. What temp do u want the room to be for the rise time?

[wv hillbilly]

thanks for the info. although i am not sure about the french fold and pinching

[JoeV]

Originally Posted by 25yretcoastie

Thanks Joe, I will try that soon. What temp do u want the room to be for the rise time?

That is an excellent question because folks keep their homes at different temps for different reasons. Bread likes about 75-80F to rise in 45-60 minutes. If it's cooler, it will take the dough longer to rise to where it doubles in size. Here's something new bread bakers need to know; the longer the dough takes to rise, the deeper the flavor of the bread becomes. Why? Because the longer rise time allows the release of the sugars in the wheat, which feeds the yeast and increases the flavor. I make some breads that I mix in the evening and put in the fridge overnight to be finished the next day, or even two days later.

If your kitchen is on the cool side you can use this little trick. Take a mug of water and boil it in the microwave oven. When it's done, put the mug in the corner of the microwave and put the bowl of dough in with it. Don't open the door for 45-60 minutes. This creates the ideal "proof box" which is warm and moist. Your dough will rise in 45-60 minutes so you're ready to shape it. Once you shape and pan your loaves, do the same thing all over with the microwave while your oven is pre-heating. Be sure to cover the dough and loaves with plastic wrap or a tea towel so the tops don't dry out.

I hope this helps. Good luck and post a picture when you bake next.

[JoeV]

Originally Posted by wv hillbilly

thanks for the info. although i am not sure about the french fold and pinching

Here is a video from Peter Reinhart showing the French fold technique. It's real simple. Ignore the wetness of the dough he is using, and just watch how he does the fold. It's simple and maintains a lot of air in the dough so it rises well and provides nice air holes in the finished bread. Pinching the dough is just that. Pinch the dough together on the seam so it does not separate, and always put the seam side down in the pan so your bread has a smooth top.

I have Reinhart's book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice, that is still my go-to reference after five years of doing this. I just Googled it and found it at Wal-Mart for $19.97. That's a steal, as I paid $32 for mine when I bought it. If you really want to learn about bread, this is the book you need to own.

[ozo]

Originally Posted by JoeV

The key to a nice rise is Instant yeast and room temperature ingredients. Follow the recipe on my website and you should get a good rise with your dough.

http://flyfishohio.us/Party%20Rye%20Bread.htm

Also, keep your dough covered with plastic wrap or a tea towel. Draft is the enemy of bread dough. I also stopped using tap water, because the water company puts lots of chlorine in our water, and chlorine kills yeast. I use water from our Brita filter.

Yes !
Filtered water!
Who woulda ever thunk it ?
Sometimes we overlook the obvious....
right at the tip of our nose.

[btown]

Very impressive. I bake bread and rolls but nothing like that.

[JoeV]

I guess I should look at my old posts once in awhile. Seems the link to Reinhart's French fold technique was either removed or I forgot to post it. I'll try again and find out if I'm in trouble or not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1timJlCT3PM

[ozo]

Do you always bake your 'thins' on paper?

[JoeV]

Originally Posted by ozo

Do you always bake your 'thins' on paper?

Yes I do. My sheet pans are not non-stick, so the paper allows for me to dust the parchment paper with cornmeal and have virtually no cleanup. My pans would look very old if I had to use cooking spray to keep the dough from sticking to the pans. I get 3-4 batches of thins and or bread from a sheet of parchment paper before tossing it, so it's quite cost effective. Same as they do in many small bakeries.