Sourdoughs and SCOBYs

Retarded Rye

Retarded Rye

One of my best breads in like forever.  I let his pair of light rustic ryes grow very slowly for 24 hours in the fridge before baking.  Retarding a dough in the fridge lets sourdough flavors (Meadville starter in this one, for those of you keeping score at home) develop without raising the loaf.  It was three days from start to finish, but talk about beautiful crumb and super chewy texture.  I didn’t realize you could persuade wheat and rye to become that supple and resilient.