One thing I really miss from my home country is the bread. There's such a sense of home in the taste and smell of bread. It's nearly impossible to find good rye bread here in New Zealand, so the best remedy for this of course, is to make my own.
I have always thought that making a root for sourdough is something really difficult, and that has kept me from trying it out. I found out, however, that it was actually rather easy. Perhaps this is a cheaters way, but it worked and the result was tasty.
Rye Sourdough
2 1/2 slices of rye bread
1/2 l of water
1/2 l of rye flour
Cut the crust from the bread slices and crumble into a dish. Add the luke warm water and mix. Add the rye flour and mix well. Cover the dish with cling wrap and leave in room temperature for at least 24h until there's bubbles forming and the root smells sour.
12 g of fresh yeast
50 ml water
1 tbsp salt
750 ml rye flour
Soak the yeast in luke warm water and add to the root. Add salt and flour. Knead the dough well and leave to rise under a tea towel until doubled in size. Tip the dough onto a surface covered with four and roll into two loaves. Sprinkle with flour and tap with a fork to make nice patterns.
Bake at 200°C approximately 1 hour. The breads are ready when they sound hollow as you knock on the bottom.
Separate a piece of the dough and freeze it in a freezer bag, this can be used as the root next time.
This recipe is adapted from the book Mummola by Finnish chef Hans Välimäki.
