Seedless Sourdough Rye

I used my firm starter for this, rather than the usual 3 day potato water one. I skipped the seeds and shiny cornstarch crust for this one lightly dusted with flour. The result is a crisper crust, rather than chewy.

You Will Need:

1 1/2 cups fed, firm starter
2 cups water
1 tablespoon sugar
3 teaspoons salt
2 cups light rye flour
(about) 1 cup strong bread flour

In a large bowl, break up starter in 2 cups of room temperature water. Cover, let sit 12 hours.

Stir in sugar and salt, then mix in the rye, a cup at a time. Knead in remaining bread flour by hand. The dough will be very sticky. When dough has been well kneaded (it won't windowpane, so don't even worry about it) place it in a well-oiled bowl and let rise another 8-12 hours overnight. In the AM, flip the bowl over onto a work surface and let it fall out of the bowl. It will deflate some, but you don't want to knead or punch it down. Let it rest a few minutes, then lightly shape it and set it on a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. This will need steam for the first 15 minutes of baking, so if you use a pan for that, set it in the oven as it preheats.

After shaping, dust the bread with flour and lightly cover it with a towel. Set it atop the oven as it heats and let rise 1 hour or until almost doubled. Slash, set in an oven with steam, and bake 15 minutes. Remove pan with water from oven, rotate sheet and bake another 15-30 minutes (it will depend on your oven, the bread, etc.) or until it is well browned, hollow sounding, or if using an instant read thermometer has reached 205 degrees F.

Cool on rack.