[Therese's Mommy]

Ok, I have my rye flour and am going to make this Lithuanian black rye bread for my fil. I have a couple of questions.<br><br>
First, this bread calls for a starter. The starter contains rye flour, yeast, and warm water. I am to mix these together and put them in a warm place for about 24 hours. Should this be covered or not? If I cover it, should I cover it tightly or just drape a towel over it? Does it matter what kind of container I use? Is a stainless steel bowl ok, or should I use a glass bowl.<br><br>
Next, the recipe is a bit vague. It gives exact amts of flour, yeast, and water, but then it just says, salt. I figure either the salt to yeast ratio is important, or the salt to flour ratio is important, which is it? There will be about 7lbs of flour and 2oz of yeast in the bread.<br><br>
Thanks for any help.<br><br>
Beth

 

[kjbrown92]

When I make my english muffin starter, I do it in my stand mixer's mixing bowl (which is metal) and I drape a towel over it. You don't want it to dry out.<br><br>
On the salt question, I have no idea. That sounds like a BIG batch of bread. A normal bread recipe (2 loaves) is usually about 1 tsp. of salt, so can you extrapolate?

 

[rachelagain]

I would put the starter in a glass container with a towel over it.<br><br>
For salt, I'm not sure-- but my normal recipe is 1 TB salt to 10-14 cups of flour.

 

[saintmom]

I judge the yeast and salt by the amount of liquid,1 tablespoons salt /yeast to 2 cups liquid.I cover starter with plastic wrap let sit 1 day add another cup flour/water let sit another day.Ditch half of it on the third day add 1more cup wheat flour and 1/2 to 3/4 cups water for the 3 day repeat on the 4th day.5th day make the bread.I get a really good starter this way that requires no additional yeast.It makes a heavy dense bread that I can use for wheat or rye bread.The first day starter is 1 cup rye 3/4 cup water.I use freshly milled rye,the second day I use fresh wheat flour.Hope this helps.