Rye Bread not Rising

lyndunc, Jun 9, 12:07am
Mr L is trying to make rye bread for me (I can't have wheat), but he is having trouble with it rising. He has tried kneading by hand and kneading with the mixer. He puts it in the hot cupboard overnight, but it doesn't rise very much. He is using Paul Hollywood's rye bread recipe. We are going to look at the video again of how he does it, but does anyone have any tips? Mr L wondered about putting baking soda in it.
Thank you.

lythande1, Jun 9, 12:16am
Rye bread made with 100% rye flour will be dense and heavy
Rye dough isn’t as supple as wheat dough.
The more rye in your dough, the more slowly it will rise.

Hollywood and Johansen advocate leaving the dough overnight, while Hahnemann and Leiths both recommend the use of a starter, made with buttermilk and yoghurt respectively, which Hahnemann leaves to sit for three days before adding to the remaining ingredients for yet another overnight rise.

lyndunc, Jun 9, 12:23am
Thanks lythande1, had actually read that little bit on the net. Do you think it would rise more if left for longer without using a starter?

korbo, Jun 9, 1:53am
lyndunc. not sure if I am allowed to put this on here.
there is a bread place online, that delivers the most scrumptious bread, and they make all kinds.They may have Rye bread.
Google. PUREBREAD.CO.NZ.
i have tried a few of them when they have samplings at the various shows that go around the country. good luck

lyndunc, Jun 9, 2:02am
Thank you korbo, that's lovely.
I have been buying gluten free bread up until now, but Mr L is wanting to make it as a "hobby". I can actually have gluten, it is wheat that is the problem, and a lot of recipes say to add white flour. I did wonder about adding white gluten free flour. Maybe it wouldn't be so heavy and would rise more.

lythande1, Jun 9, 4:05am
Yes. Try leaving it overnight, like they say.

lyndunc, Jun 9, 4:32am
Yep, he does leave it overnight, maybe it needs longer than that.

uli, Jun 9, 6:26am
Plain rye bread needs a sourdough starter.
Here is one option (of thousands on the net):
http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/blueroom/sour.htm

the new sourdough will not be strong enough to raise the bread for at least 2 or 3 months, so in the beginning you will still have to add some yeast to get the bread to rise.

However it will never be the NZ "fluffy" stuff you buy in a supermarket :)

lyndunc, Jun 9, 6:56am
Thank you uli. We have rewatched Paul Hollywood making his rye bread and now have a couple of things to try. The "proving" basket may not have been any good, and Mr L may not have been putting enough water in as it seemed to make the dough too soggy. Will see what happens!

uli, Jun 10, 5:10am
Not quite sure what a "proving basket" may be, but I can write some of my own thoughts if you tell me what your real problem is.

Personally I use the old 3 step German way of feeding the sourdough and it takes about 2 days until you bake the bread.

Which is most likely very different from Americans trying to adapt it to their wheat sourdough.

I wrote it all up years ago - but as with all the "real recipes" that need time and effort it fell off the cliff and is no longer available here on TM. Only "quick and simple" recipes get bumped nowadays :)

And more and more good cooks do not take the time now to search for their recipes and type them in here, because all we now need apparently is a Maggi sachet and some pre cut cooled or frozen veges and maybe some chicken breast (chopped if possible) and we are good to go for a "meal".

lyndunc, Sep 3, 1:10am
Hi again. A proving basket is an open weave basket and you put a tea towel in the bottom and then the loaf on top of that. We think we may have found the problem though. The "proving" areas we have tried have not been warm enough - recommended around 36 degrees. So Mr L came up with the rather clever idea of using the barbeque with the top mostly down and the dough nearly doubled in size! I am about to cut into it to see what the inside is like now that it has been cooked. Will let you know.