Hi Gene - Thanks for the kind words. My fellow blogger, Barb Alpern, has written a terrific two-part piece on traditional Jewish rye; here's what she says about a "soaker" (the typical term for using up old bread in a succeeding loaf): "An old bread soaker (Zingerman’s calls it “Old” and Greenstein calls it “Altus”) is a traditional European baking practice that involves using up old bread by soaking it, mashing it up, and adding it to the new bread mix. This is not only frugal, but adds a depth of flavor to your rye bread." So it seems the soaker is used for flavor (and simply to use up the bread) rather than having any effect on texture, like tangzhong does. I'd say go ahead and give the soaker a try; as Barb says, it enriches the bread's flavor. Good luck — PJH@KAF

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