Rye Bread
Jewish rye bread — a sourdough-leavened bread made from a blend of rye flour and wheat flour, with a tangy crumb, a thin but crackling crust, and caraway seeds throughout — is the bread of the Jewish-American deli and the essential vehicle for pastrami, corned beef, and every sandwich in the canon. The rye tradition descends from the Ashkenazi Jewish communities of Eastern Europe (Poland, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine) where rye was the predominant grain and sourdough was the only leavening available. Jewish immigrants brought the sourdough starters and the baking knowledge to New York, and the Lower East Side bakeries of the late 19th and early 20th centuries established the standard that still defines Jewish rye: tangy, moist, slightly dense, with a crust that audibly cracks.
A loaf with a medium-brown, slightly glossy crust and a moist, slightly dense, tan-coloured crumb speckled with caraway seeds. The flavour is tangy (from the sourdough fermentation), slightly sweet (from the rye's natural sugars), and aromatic (from the caraway). The texture is softer and moister than a European rye (which can be dense and heavy) but firmer and more flavourful than American white bread. When sliced for a sandwich, the bread should be sturdy enough to hold a pile of pastrami without collapsing, but tender enough to compress slightly when bitten.