Rye = FAIL, take 2

This was actually worse than the first rye failure. The first failed rye at least had a nice flavor. This time, not so much. I could describe the fail in detail, but too depressing. So I've been trying to determine what the big problem is. And I've got a theory.

As I've been looking at different recipes etc. I've learned that there are different types of rye flour. One good description can be found on The Fresh Loaf, a community site for serious home bread bakers. Sometimes recipes specify what kind of rye flour to use, but the recipes I was using didn't. I've been using stone ground rye. As someone explained in that post, it's the most commonly available in the US. However, it may not the be most commonly assumed in recipes. Once I started exploring a bit more, I realized that Bernard Clayton seems to mean medium rye when he says "rye flour". And only rarely does he specifically indicate stone ground rye. This seems to be very personal based on what brands of flour the recipe writer buys. Apparently there are no standards for rye flour. So medium rye or stone ground can vary a lot by brand.

So I'm going to try two things. First i'm going to try some recipes that specify stone ground rye. Second I'm going to buy some medium rye and some pumpernickel flour so I can start experimenting. Ok, I already have ordered them from King Arthur with my lovely gift certificate. Maybe I should just try a recipe for pumpernickel using pumpernickel flour. No screwing around with more vague rye recipes. When the pumpernickel flour arrives anyhow.