100% Rye

This is a pretty good book. It’s easy-going and the author has a friendly style. The book is not for everyone and the author doesn’t mind telling you so. Good for her. However, with a few minor changes it could be much better. For example, there is no index. Also, there are no metric weight equivalents for the ingredients. As the author admits that rye “has a window of hydration in which it works best”, why leave the reader to fail because of using a measuring cup rather than a scale? If a few grams of fluid made a difference in a loaf of wheat bread, then it could easily ruin a loaf of rye. Note that although she tells you the type of rye flour she uses, she fails to mention whether a cup is a scooped cup or a sifted cup. These are unforced errors that could and should be corrected, at least on her website.My suggestion is that you keep exact weight notes and write them alongside her recipes. But you will probably have a few failures along the way to getting the correct details.Six months later: I have coped with the minor shortcomings and have made some very good product. And not just bread, as some of her treats are great for those who want to kick the wheat and sugar. This is the best guide for you to start with rye. It's short and very nicely priced.

The no knead rye sourdough is the best recipe for 100% whole grain rye that I have ever used, and I have experimented with a number of traditional Finnish, German, Swedish, and Russian recipes. It is unbelievably light and airy for a whole grain bread without wheat. I also like the fact that all the recipes call for a long fermentation because I am very sensitive to grains that are not thoroughly fermented. Anyone who has ever read Nutrition and Physical Degeneration or is familiar with the work of Dr Weston A Price will find this book to be an absolute treasure! I wish that I had found it years ago. I did not make my own starter, but rather acquired one from Cultures for Health, which I recommend if you live in a city or an unhealthy environment or if you have trouble getting your own starter going. I have never had success with a homemade starter, living in New York City. I would get one, and it would rise the bread, but it would have "off" flavors. If you live someplace with fresh clean air, though, give it a try. Also, in another review someone said that the pictures were in black and white? My kindle version was in color, but I didn't really care about the pictures. Also, be sure to utilize a thermometer to make sure it is completely cooked. I had to bake mine for an extra ten minutes to reach 200 degrees. If I had just followed the time, my loaf would have been awful! But, this is dependent upon your oven and regional differences, and is not the fault of the author. A thermometer is crucial.

This book helps you get going easily with using rye flour in a fairly broad assortment of recipes, though not so many so as to dazzle or overwhelm. There is no “cutting” or mixing with other flours in any of these recipes-all were written based on use of *only* medium rye flour. Breads, sweets, breakfast, crackers, pizza crust and even a noodle recipe. Just about all of them use rye sourdough starter, but if you don’t have that on hand, the author offers a simple shortcut so you can start the recipe asap. The most important ingredient is patience😉She also gives a basic explanation for developing your own rye starter-make sure it’s well-established and vibrant. There’s nothing esoteric in this very useful little volume, and the several preparations I’ve followed so far are successfully tasty and ok-textured (for it being rye). Rye is inherently prone to being gummy, if you’re not already acquainted. If this is new ground for you, don’t worry about it-just start cooking through the book. I agree with other reviews about a preference for weight, not volume for recipes based on the use of flour of any kind. Some details don’t entirely jibe for me, either (asking for HOW much butter?!?). There’s a point when someone has such comfortable working knowledge of their subject that articulating what they know might leave the detail-oriented wanting. The author seems to be in that realm of familiarity with preparing rye. She makes clear that your results will vary; you’ll develop your own finesse-the recipes are a starting point. I’m using Bob’s Red Mill dark rye and do just fine, tweaking here and there. Recipes are for far larger quantities than my two-person home needs, so I need to adjust anyway. A few black and white pictures of finished product are interspersed throughout the book. If you require glamorous full-color photos, sorry-they’re only on the cover. It’s not seemingly meant to be flashy, but this sure is a very accessible, practical entry point of a book for making wonderfully tasty, tangy foods using rye.

I lived in England for a very long time and had a wonderful rye bread made with organic flour, salt and no other ingredients. It was a perfect loaf ... not a brick but with enough density to be great for toast.Since we moved to the US I have been trying to find something else to replace it to no avail. Making good rye bread without wheat flour was a mystery. My husband and I were just bemoaning ( again) the loss of the wonderful Rossynsky rye bread in the UK. Once again I went off to see what the internet might offer. I found this book.and I know this is the answer.. The long brewing of the sourdough and long raising of the bread must be how the English bakery did it. They describe "long baking".I am off to buy rye flour and get started.Thank you for all your hard work Shannon Stonger.!Lisa Morice

Um desperdicio de dinheiro. Um livro de capa mole e interior mole , super fino e com poucas fotografias... nem de perto, faz jus ao preço cobrado. Vou devolver. Muito insatisfeita.

I absolutely adore this book. I have it in 2 formats, the hardcopy and the e-version. This so I don't destroy my hardcopy while cooking with it in the kitchen. I'm not the neatest cook.I'm working my way through all the recipes in the book and have a number of favourites: The muffins (I like Christmas fruit and nuts in), the molasses snack bars (love with crystalized ginger and walnuts), the breads (so many ways to go about bread), and the sourdough pancakes! Delicious! I make with blueberries. Tried the clafoutis, apple, the other day and Wow! I'm an apple dessert person, with apple crisp being an all time fave, the clafoutis is an awesome apple breakfast and snack that can also double as an awesome dessert.It really doesn't get much better than sourdough AND rye.

I really wanted to like that book but no it's not worthwhile. First, it is not really a book, rather than a thin booklet with big print and lots of empty space. There is no colour photography, but really huge poorly done black and white pictures which don't contribute anything. There is a general part about the health benefits and advantages of rye, but I find this part rather superficial. The next part is how to make a starter and this one was what really put me off. There is so much waste of good expensive organic flour involved! I mean that is certainly not a traditional method, because people did not have the means to waste so much! Apart from that, the recipe for the starter is not really step by step. Then there is a section with recipes and the only good thing about that book is that the recipes are really easy and fast to make. But there are not many recipes and many are variations of the same. I am so disappointed!

A very helpful book if you have ever struggled to turn out a palatable loaf of rye bread. This book is written in an easy going, accessible style and the author goes places with rye that you would never have thought of.

Great resource to starting your own sourdough culture. I tried many different types of starters, but starting with rye flour with a few organic berries (fresh or frozen) really gave me a great starter. Other starters that I had tried didn't double as expected, but there was definitely a lot of bacterial activity. I still researched online, but this resource is now my staple. Simple and easy to use as a beginner.