To make the starter (2-4 days ahead of time):

Cup of Yum
1. Place the water and rye flour in a small bowl. Whisk together.
2. Pour the starter into a large glass jar (mason jar). Remove the lid from the ring.
3. Place a paper towel or thin towel on top of the jar and secure just the ring on top to hold the towel in place.
4. Place the starter in a warm, dry area. Ideally you want it to be at a temperature between 70-75F. The starter is ready when it starts to bubble and smell sour. This may take a day or two. Once it’s ready, you can use it for the next step for the bread or store in the refrigerator.

To make the bread (1-2 days ahead of time):

1. You’ll need to “feed” the sourdough starter. Place about ½ cup of the starter in a medium bowl. Add the two cups of warm water. Stir together.
2. Add one cup of rye flour. Stir well.
3. Place a damp towel over the bowl and place the bowl in a warm place for one day.

On the day you’re ready to make the bread:

1. Put ¼ cup warm water in a small bowl. Pour the yeast into the bowl and dissolve in the warm water. Add the yeast and water into a mixing bowl (of a standing mixer) with the sourdough starter.
2. Add the salt to the mixture and use a dough hook to blend on low speed. Simply stir by hand if you don’t have a standing mixer.
3. Add the rye flour and white bread flour. Increase the speed slowly and mix until the dough forms.
4. Let the dough rest in the bowl for about ten minutes before kneading.
5. After ten minutes, you can knead in the mixing bowl until the dough becomes smooth or you can knead by hand.
6. Oil a large bowl and place the dough in the bowl. Place the bowl in a warm place and let the dough rise until it’s doubled in size.
7. Form the dough into the shape that you’d like the bread to be. Ideally, with this amount of dough, you can form two loaves or four mini loaves.
8. Preheat the oven to 375.
9. While the oven is preheating, place the loaves on a tray lined with parchment paper and let them rise for another 30 minutes.
10. Prick the loaves all over with a fork. You can bake the loaves on the tray lined with parchment paper or you can bake on a baking stone.
11. Place the loaves in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes.
12. Remove the bread from the oven and let the loaves cool on a cooling rack before slicing and serving.