My third attempt at rye in a week was not completely disastrous. Nor was it a rousing success.
I followed the same method as Attempt 2, but did not melt any plastic wrap or bowls. A small victory.
The bread rose each time I expected it to. Baby steps.
However, the final step in no-knead bread is to put the dough into a pre-heated 2 3/4 quart dutch oven. My dutch oven is slightly larger, 6 quarts, I think. But I had made this bread before and it worked, right? Wrong. My rye oozed across the bottom of the dish. And that’s how it baked. It tasted good, but you can’t make a sandwich out of a puddle of bread. So we came close, but for now I’m taking a break from rye. When I revisit it in a few weeks, I have a plan:
Step 1: Borrow bread book from my dad. Indefinitely. Follow a recipe until I better grasp how to work with rye flour. Then improvise.
Step 2: Buy a small dutch oven. I’ve already picked one out.
I don’t think I’m admitting defeat, but I do think I may need to be less stubborn. It’s not about Bread vs. Elizabeth. Well, not today.