The rye starter seemed to have risen a bit by this morning so I went ahead and mixed up the dough. I did the mixing in my stand mixer, which made it a lot easier. The final kneading still had to be done by hand, but the dough was much easier to work with.

I decided to use a different fat (butter) and sweetener (brown sugar) this time. The recipe called for molasses so I thought the brown sugar would complement that well. I didn’t use the optional chopped onion or caraway seeds this time (some people might not be fond of the seeds), but I might try using them another time. Also, this time I didn’t bother hydrating the yeast first, which I had been doing for previous loaves because I’m using active dry yeast instead of instant. It didn’t seem to make much of a difference. The dough is rising just fine.

soaker
rye starter
2 oz whole wheat flour
5 g salt
.25 oz yeast
1 oz molasses
.5 oz organic brown sugar
1 oz unsalted butter, melted

extra flour needed: .5 oz

I mixed it for about a minute with the paddle attachment, then switched to the dough hook and mixed it on medium speed for about 3-4 minutes. I had to keep pushing the dough down with a spatula so it would all mix evenly.

Then I kneaded it on a floured surface for a few more minutes, let it rest for 5 minutes, then kneaded it for another minute before placing it in an oiled bowl to rise for an hour.

This dough feels pretty sturdy, so I’m hoping it’ll keep its shape when I form it into round loaves, instead of flatten like my other loaves did.