New York Rye

The Noo Yawk Rye. Made famous by New York’s Jewish community, it’s like a spinoff of its Old-World Eastern European cousin, the Rye loaf – its dark, heavy and intense cousin, the one you always feel slightly uncomfortable with at family events, but by the end of the night, find yourselves laughing and slapping each other’s backs basking in the warm glow of ‘familial love’ (conveniently enough, you can usually buy this in a bottle, wrapped in brown paper).

To the same effect of dousing oneself in implied substance to ease into uncomfortable family reunions, rye flour is blended with a higher proportion of wheat flour in the dough, giving the New York Rye a lighter crumb and milder flavour.

Our version of the New York Rye is an organic sourdough bread made with wheat flour, rye flour and rye starter. The secret to the typically dark brown crumb colour, according to Michael, is dark molasses and bitter dark cacao powder.

But one thing that is quite special about this loaf is that it’s a one day bake. Unlike our other sourdoughs, it doesn’t have to be proved day and night in different temperatures as part of the fermentation process. After being shaped by hand, it ferments at ambient temperatures through the day and gets baked at night, packed and distributed the next morning. Apart from not taking up too much room in the bakery, this process also influences the texture and taste of the loaf, making it quite unique in itself-

“A delicious crust is the result of the long fermentation process at ambient temperatures combined with a very high baking temperature.” – Michael K

Really, that’s the only non-New Yorker aspect about this loaf– the weather. All it does is sit pretty in its cushy banneton in the sunny tropics, digesting its food while burping and farting out carbon dioxide all day before hitting the sauna. Perhaps this loaf is more of a New-Yorker-on-holiday Rye.

Either way, it’s a delicious loaf which also comes in a Wholesale 1kg size, the Deli Rye. Try some today in our Café.

How to store your New York Rye: Store the loaf in a paper or calico bag at room temperature. You can also freeze it, but make sure you place it in an airtight container or tightly cling-wrap the loaf before placing in the freezer. More tips on bread storage here.

Here’s some delicious sandwich experiments we’ve tried for our New York Rye:

Let us know if you have any favourite New York Rye recipes!