Although rye flour includes gluten (something a true celiac is well aware of), it differs from wheat and its relatives. Every time you combine rye flour with wheat flour, you can anticipate the dough to be more delicate because rye gluten does not grow into a firm, flexible dough like wheat gluten. Additionally, it is more absorbent and sticky, and the modifications become more noticeable with more rye flour.
When appropriately prepared, rye bread is slightly denser and heavier than others, but it is not a horrible brick-like thing. It can be delicate and light but never flimsy and airy. And regardless of how it turns out on your first try, it is always tasty when toasted. Here are some tips for baking with rye flour.
Use high-quality rye flour.
The rye flour is one of the main ingredients here, so it had to be high quality. It is advisable to check if your city or area has a flour mill for a better quality product with more intriguing taste notes. This is true if you want whole-berry rye flour, including the hull.
Do not consider rye flour an alternative to AP flour
In their bread and baked goods recipes, novice bakers might be tempted to completely replace AP flour with rye flour. However, this is incorrect, though. Experienced bakers say that If you have your bread recipe and put in 100% of any flour, you will end up with a brick. This next suggestion is where that fits in.
Experiment with percentages
Skilled bakers will tell you for free that experimenting with percentages pays off since you will know what works and what doesn’t. Suppose you are preparing your preferred chocolate chip cookie recipe. Begin with 10%. Then try replacing 10% of your AP flour with rye and see if you can taste a difference. Next time, you’ll increase it to 30%. Over time, explore the various flavor and texture differences when moving up and down the percentage chain.
Play with complementary flavors.
Do not hesitate to try out different flavors that complement each other—for instance, rye, chocolate, and fruit work surprisingly well in sweet baking. Rye and cheese go well together because of the grain’s inherent lactic flavor in the savory realm. You will like a delicious rye-based chocolate chip cookie or chocolate pie, or you can bake rye shortbread spread with strawberry jam.
Take your time
It is advisable to cut back on overall flour usage rather than increasing the amount of water used while baking with various types of flour. Adding more flour than hydration is simpler if the dough is overly moist. Ensure you give the dough some time to rest as well. Accordingly, waiting 20 minutes to several hours before using it for baking or rolling out cookies can provide the ingredients time to hydrate. All brands do not immediately absorb the moisture, and a little time is all that you need occasionally.
