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Copyright notice: The pictures were scanned -- and then somewhat edited -- from a book on baking procedures (Schild: "Der junge Baecker", Giessen, 1990). Placing these images on my website is the easiest way to convey the information to a group of people involved in an ongoing discussion about sourdough and rye. Given the size of the pictures relative to the total size of the book, I consider doing so fair use under the copyright act. However, please respect the original copyright.
Some background: The structure of rye breads is formed by a network of starches, not of gluten as in wheat bread. However, naturally present enzymes transform starches into sugars. This is partially a desired process. E.g. yeasts, which are mainly responsible for CO2 production, need sugars for their metabolic processes. However, if too many starches are degenerated, the structure of the loaf cannot be built. The amount of starches transformed into sugars during bread preparation depends on the amount of enzymes in the flour and this in turn depends on the rye grain used to make the flour. If the rye started to germinate before being ground into flour, the amount of enzymes will have increased and thus the ability to make bread with this flour will have been compromised.
The quality of bread that can be produced with a given flour is measured on a scale termed the "Backwert". 1 refers to the worst grade, 6 to the best.
The following pictures show loaves that have been baked from rye flour, water, commercial yeast and salt. No acids (sourdough or otherwise) were added.
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Impressive, isn't it? Now you know why it is so easy to bake a doorstop with rye flour :-)
The next pictures give you an idea of the changes achieved by adding acids. All loaves were produced from a flour with Backwert 1, the worst grade.
Not only acids but also salt can inhibit the enzymes. The following pictures show the relative effects of salt and acids.
The best because most tasty way to get acids into your rye bread is by using a proper sourdough. The following picture shows a bowl with "Vollsauer", a sourdough that is ready to be used in the preparation of a bread dough.
