To be honest, I'm not sure what an altus does or what's happening chemically, I just know that it makes a big difference in the bread.

aaronatthedoublef wrote:

Kid, Mike, Thanks.

I am working to make a Jewish deli rye. I have three recipes I am looking at and going from simplest to most complex there is:

Jim Lahey’s which does not use a starter or an altus but is mixed and then sits for 18-24 hours at room temperature. So it will ferment and this will add some nice flavor. Mr. Lahey does not refer to his rye as

Then Marcy Goldman’s from Jewish Holiday Baking has a bread with no altus but a starter.

Last is George Greenstein from his book Secrets of a Jewish Baker. This recipe calls for a sour which is a starter that is built over 48 hours (at least) as well as a half cup of altus (this is optional but recommended). Mr. Greenstein also calls for real clear flour and the only place I’ve found this retail is KAF.

I’ve checked with Whole Foods and Hartford Baking Company (HBC makes the best bread in the area and where I apprenticed shaping and making breads) and neither uses an altus but both use a starter.

I will try those three and see which hits. Based on experience at HBC the people around here do not like very sour bread like the kind found in San Francisco and Seattle.

AARON:
Good afternoon. Aaron the best rye bread or any bread that is best for you is the recipe that pleases you.
Sooo, with that said, you need to bake a easy recipe. One that is to your understanding of what you are doing. This way you may get what you are happy with.
I have a saying...SIMPLICITY IS OF THE ESSENCE... keep it simple Aaron.

Aaron do a simple recipe with a "OVERNITE SPONGE"
Aaron a simple DELI RYE is simple. Look "CLEAR FLOUR" is good for rye but only for this reason...it is flour that is hi in gluten but with the bran left in, hence it provides the article that tannish color to the bread that deli rye is associated with..
Aaron you can do the same thing go to the health food store & buy BRAN FLOUR in bulk form . Use bread flour unbleached style. Do not employ more than 3/8ths in weight of the total flour weight in MEDIUM OR LITE RYE FLOUR. You can use tiny bit of cocoa powder or even 1/2 tsp molasses or brown sugar even a very slightly amount of OJ for the hydration. Trust me Aaron you can make your recipe just as well as these book authors can.

Let us know how you well you have done for yourself...SOON !!!.

Enjoy the day.

~KIDPIZZA

Aaron, have you checked with the restaurant supply folks to see if clear flour is available in bulk?

As I recall, when my ex-neighbor checked on it, GM had it in 50 pound bags in the eastern US and on the west coast, but not in the central US. (Unless I wanted to order a pallet--40 bags.)

Stover & Company (Pittsburgh area restaurant supplier) has Bay State Milling clear flour in 50 pound bags. Star of the West Milling also sells clear flour.

It is not quite the same as adding bran to flour, clear flour has a yellow tint that make it almost cream colored. That's not a problem when making rye bread.

I've added rye chops to rye dough, it adds a crunch like cracked wheat.

We have a bakery with French-trained bakers in town that imports #55 flour from France and bakes it in a steam injection deck oven they imported from Italy. According to the people in the local French club their sourdough baguettes are as good as what you will find in most of the boulangeries in Paris. I agree that it's VERY good, my wife thinks it's a bit too sour for her. Their crust is incredible, you just can't duplicate what a good steam injection oven can do at home.

But they've been unwilling to sell flour to folks, they'd rather sell the bread. There's a place in California that sells #55 French flour in 2 kilo bags, but with shipping it gets kind of pricey.