Meet your starter
Dark Rye
Fast, funky, and built for pumpernickel and hearty ryes.
Hydration
125% (rye drinks more water)
Peak time
2–3 hours at 76°F — moves fast
Temperament
Aggressive fermenter; watch the jar, not the clock.
Origin
Kept 100% on stone-milled organic dark rye since 2019. Rye's wild yeast population is denser than wheat's, so this jar wakes up loud.
Flavor notes
- Deep, earthy, cocoa-adjacent
- Pronounced tang from lactic acid
- Complex when baked into dark loaves
Best for
- Pumpernickel and dense rye loaves
- Seeded and multigrain boules
- Boosting sour notes in a wheat dough (10% add)
The story of this jar
Rye starters look different. The jar bubbles differently — dense, tight foam instead of an airy dome — and it will peak before you've finished your coffee. Feed it, watch it, use it.
We keep a jar of this alongside our wheat starter and blend the two when a dough wants more character. A 10% swap into a country loaf changes the flavor completely.
Take one home
Ship a jar of Dark Rye.
Recipes that love this starter
Whole grain · Intermediate
Deli-Style Sourdough Pumpernickel
Dark, dense, and faintly sweet with molasses and cocoa. A classic deli loaf that slices thin for smoked fish and sharp cheeses.
Read recipeBread · Intermediate
Toasted Seed & Multigrain Boule
A hearty, tightly-crumbed boule loaded with toasted sunflower, pumpkin, sesame and flax. The one we bring to potlucks.
Read recipeBread · Intermediate
Cranberry Walnut Batard
A holiday loaf that looks like a bakery centerpiece and tastes like something between dessert and dinner. Great with sharp cheese.
Read recipe