Russian Sourdough Rye Bread

Sourdough rye bread is one of the most traditional Russian foods. There is a legend that during the Russian-Turkish War of 1736 Russian troops were almost defeated because of the interruption of their usual supply of sourdough rye bread, when they were forced to eat unleavened wheat bread.

Rye is very healthy

Rye contains a lot of phosphorus, magnesium, and vitamin B1. It’s also remarkable because of the ratio of magnesium to calcium, which is 4:1. Magnesium is important because it is essential for calcium absorption but most people don’t get nearly enough. Calcium, on the other hand, is consumed in excess but when it’s not able to be properly absorbed by our bodies – it gets deposited along the joints causing arthritis, within arteries leading to atherosclerosis, etc.

Rye is hardy = less genetic modification

Rye is extremely hardy, and can withstand harsh weather and pests without human intervention. That’s probably why it was so widely available in Russia and the Scandinavian countries for many centuries. That is also why it is a good reason to include it to your diet, if you are not avoiding grains, – it has not been subjected to genetic hybridization and treatment by glyphosate, like regular wheat. The use of glyphosate, the main ingredient in RoundUp, causes birth defects in animals at very low doses (source). In fact, doses a lot smaller than anything that gets used in wheat spraying. This chemical is also responsible for the skyrocketing rates of celiac disease and cancer (source). In case you are wondering (like I was) why RoundUp is used on wheat – this is a good explanation from WheatBelly Blog:

I have been a wheat farmer for 50 yrs and one wheat production practice that is very common is applying the herbicide Roundup (glyphosate) just prior to harvest. Roundup is licensed for pre-harvest weed control. Monsanto, the manufacturer of Roundup claims that application to plants at over 30% kernel moisture result in roundup uptake by the plant into the kernels. Farmers like this practice because Roundup kills the wheat plant allowing an earlier harvest. A wheat field often ripens unevenly, thus applying Roundup pre-harvest evens up the greener parts of the field with the more mature. The result is on the less mature areas Roundup is trans-located into the kernels and eventually harvested as such. This practice is not licensed. Farmers mistakenly call it “dessication.” Consumers eating products made from wheat flour are undoubtedly consuming minute amounts of Roundup. An interesting aside, malt barley which is made into beer is not acceptable in the marketplace if it has been sprayed with pre-harvest Roundup. Lentils and peas are not accepted in the market place if it was sprayed with pre-harvest roundup….. but wheat is ok.. This farming practice greatly concerns me.

Rye is easier to digest

Another reason to eat sourdough rye bread is because the amount of phytate (an acid in grains that binds to important minerals making them unavailable for human digestion) goes way down after even a short fermentation period and exponentially decreases with longer fermentation (source). Heat treatment, just basic oven baking, also reduces the phytic acid content in rye to 15% of the original amount (source), a much more dramatic reduction that in any other grains. Basically, if overconsumption of phytic acid is a concern to you – getting familiar with rye should definitely be on your list.

How I use rye

I get 25 pound bags of rye grain from Great River Organic Milling, they sell it through Amazon. I use it for making bread kvass, sourdough Borodinsky bread, basic rye sourdough, rye pancakes, rye cookies and rye sourdough cake, along with this bread. I mill the grains with this mill (the motor is sold separately). It’s slow and doesn’t heat up the grain.

UPDATE 2019: I upgraded my mill to this KoMo Mio Grain Mill, which has become my favorite kitchen tool. It is very fast, much quieter than the Victorio mill and looks great in the kitchen. The best part is it stays on my counter rather than me having to mount it when I need to use it.

RYE STARTER

Rye starter is a mixture of rye flour and water.

Flour has yeast and bacteria naturally present within it; and when mixed with water, an environment favorable for growth of microorganisms is created. Naturally occurring enzyme amylase starts converting starch into sugar.

Bacteria, lactobacilli mostly, ferment (metabolize, or simply eat) sugar, and the by-product of that fermentation is consumed by yeast. Again, the by-product of all that together is carbon dioxide, which is what leavens the dough. Much like commercial yeast, rye starter is added to dough where it works to give rise to breads.

Making a starter is not as complicated as some pros make it look. I don’t even use measuring cups any more to add flour and water. Here is my recipe for rye starter.

I prefer to make rye bread in a medium size Dutch oven. I like the shape and the thickness of the bread. I have made it on a flat pan as well, and it looks very pretty but tends to spread a little flat. I did egg yolk brushing on this loaf:

Russian Sourdough Rye Bread

Save