One plus One Equals Nine

I’m working – again – on creating a consistently fantastic rye bread. Don’t get me wrong, I can make rye bread. I make a marbled rye that is yummy (consistently so), and a light rye that is quite nice and a pumpernickel that is very…pumpernickel-y. There is a sour rye that I make that is quite good, but occasionally it turns out not quite as I want it to be. Very frustrating as consistency is necessary when you’re selling bread.

So, after a break of many moons I am starting again. I’m going to make a New York deli rye and a 100% sour dough rye. I decided - after I’d gone to bed last night – to start on the deli rye right away. I knew it would have a starter, so I got out of bed to get that going in the hopes of having bread by Thursday. It seemed like a reasonable hope, as the “time needed” note in the recipe said two days; starter day one, bread day two. However…

The ingredient list for the starter included a cup and a half of a different type of starter, with instructions on making it on a previous page in the book. So I went to that recipe. Turns out that starter takes three days to make. You’d think that this would mean bread in five days, yes? 2+3=5. However…

That starter had a seed culture. This, yes, is like a starter as well. If you want the actual terms the starter for the bread needs a cup and a half of Barm. To make the Barm you need a cup of seed culture. There, all clear? Trust me; it’s easier just to think of all of them as a type of starter. The recipe for the seed culture was also included in the book. (Well duh – what a terrible book it would be if it didn’t). It takes four days to make the seed culture.

So, Tuesday to Friday I add things to the seed culture. On Saturday it is ready for use. This means I can start on the three day Barm. Day one Saturday, day two Sunday, final bit ‘o magic on Monday. At that point I’ll be well into next week, but by Tuesday I’ll be making the starter for the bread, which ripens for 24 hours. What this means is that a week from today, the process that got started last night will be done. And if I’ve done well (I’ll be making a change or two of my own), I’ll have some tasty New York deli rye. In Saskatchewan! I do have some expert N.Y.D.R. guinea pigs available (hello Judy!) for feedback. I’ll get back to you in a week to let you know how it went. Unless, I suppose, in a fit of pique I give up on the whole thing. The things I do for love of bread!