I have always loved good bread, but in the UK it is difficult to find - especially rye breads (I am Scandinavian, and we enjoy a lot of rye!). So I decided to try baking my own.

Characteristics

Murdo is very hardy, and bounces back quickly after a period of neglect. He is very easy to maintain in the fridge, where he has a light fluffy honeycomb texture after fermentation. After 4-5 days a tough layer forms on the surface, but no hooch. When missed with larger quantities of wheat flour and water, Murdo produces nice glutenous liquid levain with fine bubbles.

Viscocity

Taste & flavour

Recipe

Starting ingredients

25g Wholemeal rye flour
50g Water
25g Wholemeal rye flour
50g Water
25g Wholemeal rye flour
50g Water

Feeding ingredients

50g Rye starter
50% Water
50% Flour
50% Wholemeal rye flour
50% Water

I bake once a week or so, and the night before a bake I take my starter out of the fridge and use a tablespoonful or so to start building up a starter to bake with. This is usually around 50g of rye starter at 100% hydration.

50g Rye starter

I then add equal weights of water and flour to give me around 250-300g of starter to use in my bake. So my rye starter is used to build a larger quantity of starter for my dough. Depending on what I am baking, this leaving can be made using mostly wheat flour, rye flour, or whatever is suitable for the bake.

50% Water 50% Flour

To my jar of rye starter, I add wholemeal rye flour and water in equal weights, stir, cover and out back in the fridge until next time. I only keep a small amount of starter in the fridge and don't discard.

50% Wholemeal rye flour 50% Water

Working method

Mix 25g organic wholemeal rye flour and 50g water, cover and place somewhere warm for 24 hours.

25g Wholemeal rye flour 50g Water

Add 25g wholemeal rye flour and 50g water to the previous day's mix. Cover and place somewhere warm for 24 hours.

25g Wholemeal rye flour 50g Water

Repeat these instructions two more days. By Day 5 you should be ready to bake, and switch to feeding your established starter with equal weight flour and water (for a 100% hydration starter).

25g Wholemeal rye flour 50g Water