Terrie, Rye is a whole other animal, as we've noted in other blog posts. When working with rye flour you need to be a bit more gentle and not prolong fermentation. While the techniques presented in this blog may not be perfect for developing rye dough, there are definitely some tricks that can make rye kneading easier: I would forgo the initial pause, and cut the dough only briefly to make sure all the ingredients are fully blended. The slap and fold method will be a little rough for rye dough, so try more of a traditional kneading stroke. Rather than adding more flour, wet your hands and mist the table with water periodically to prevent sticking. Try to move as quickly as you can when you knead, and don't push the dough too hard into the table, as that will cause more sticking. Clean the table and your hands periodically so that the dough has less to stick to as it develops. I hope this helps and you don't give up on making rye bread!
Barb
June 26, 2017 at 7:47am
In reply to Oh my goodness...how timely that this popped into my email toda… by Terrie (not verified)