Everyday rye sourdough

Forty percent rye gives the flavour without the brick. The dough is sticky — that is normal; wet hands and a scraper are easier than more flour.

Ingredients

• 200 g whole rye flour
• 300 g strong white bread flour
• 380 g water, lukewarm
• 100 g active sourdough starter (fed 6–8 hours earlier)
• 10 g salt
• 1 tsp caraway seeds, optional

Method

1. Mix the flours, water and starter until no dry flour is left. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
2. Add the salt (and caraway) with a splash of water and squeeze it through the dough.
3. Over the next two hours give the dough three sets of folds, 30–40 minutes apart.
4. Leave it to rise until about one and a half times its size — 3 to 5 hours depending on the room.
5. Shape into a loose ball, put it seam side up into a floured basket and refrigerate overnight.
6. Bake straight from the fridge in a preheated Dutch oven: 20 minutes at 250 °C with the lid on, then 25–30 minutes at 220 °C without it.
7. Cool completely before cutting, ideally until the next morning. Rye keeps setting as it cools.