Once you get a handle on rye breads and the mystery of German baking, you'll return for the moist and deep flavors that permeate from a grain that's more or less a grass. Thankfully I got a copy of Nil's E- book, "Brot," over at his blog, The Inverse cook. You should get it, as well. It takes out the mistake and mystiques of trying to interpret a skill, a craft, a tradition and screw it up with some bad online translations.

Nil is a person who's completely dedicated to baking, even though he's been silent for a while on his blog. "Yo, Nils, what's up with that???" Anyway, there's plenty of great hints and formulas to make use of in his archives. I made his Classic German rye bread, and it's going to be a standard for me. This particular loaf uses an old bread soaker. So if you have old bread at home, don't toss it out,just  use it again to create the deep flavor and quality you'll find when making this loaf. I just need some liverwurst now….