I love pastrami sandwiches. Usually just pastrami on rye w/ mustard. But I'll do changes of pace occasionally - like a Rueben.

I've always just been accustomed to rye bread but not a specific type. Been indifferent until now.

I see Jewish, Rye, Extra Sour Rye, Pumpernickel, Dark Rye, and others at the market. Mostly Oroweat.

Can you educate me - what's the high level differences? What's each type best for? What's best for pastrami sandwiches? What's a good brand for rye bread?

The Best bread I've ever eaten comes from here:

https://www.bigskybreadokc.com/varieties

Their German rye is fantastic. A couple times a month they make a Black Forest Pumpernickel Rye that makes the best Ruebens I've ever had.

You'd have to check their website to see about shipping etc. I pestered the owner for years before he finally got a website. Super nice guy. I checked the website and it said they would ship breads call for details. I used to live in OKC and utterly LOVED that store. I've never had better bread anywhere.........

quote:

Can you educate me - what's the high level differences?

Try this.

Thanks. I looked at it but it doesn’t really describe all the types I see in stores, what they taste like and how best they are used. But good info on what rye bread is in general. Looking for more details.

quote:

Originally posted by djpaintles:
The Best bread I've ever eaten comes from here:

https://www.bigskybreadokc.com/varieties

Their German rye is fantastic. A couple times a month they make a Black Forest Pumpernickel Rye that makes the best Ruebens I've ever had.

You'd have to check their website to see about shipping etc. I pestered the owner for years before he finally got a website. Super nice guy. I checked the website and it said they would ship breads call for details. I used to live in OKC and utterly LOVED that store. I've never had better bread anywhere.........

Thanks. I’ll check it out. I’m looking for info on what German rye / Black Forest pumpernickel is vs other rye breads. And why BFP is great for reubens and better than other ryes for that purpose. I’ll see if any local stores carry the brand.

I'd tell you a joke about it but not everyone appreciates rye humor..........

It's really hard to get REAL German style Pumpernickel from US bakeries. The real stuff is baked for like 24 hours at a low temperature, which caramelizes the natural sugars over time. Most US can't dedicate that much baking time to a single batch of bread, so they "cheat" and use molasses.

So really there's 2 different Pumpernickels you can find. The stuff with all the other bread in the grocery store is almost guaranteed to be molasses style, and if that's what you like that's cool, I like it too. The real stuff is typically in the "ethnic" section if you can find it at all, and it's a tiny dense loaf, sliced super thin, which is also good but different.

Thanks for the info
I am looking forward to more answers.
Me Loves Rye Bread

Pumpernickel is pretty rare these days, unless you find a real-deal bakery or, a shop that can source it. Most Jewish and Rye styles are pretty blah, again, gotta find a bakery that specializes or, has a interest in such types.
I always liked how the Scandinavians and Germans do their open-face sandwiches, she can make it with whatever she likes

I usually go deer hunting with the guys in Nov. Around home if I deviate from the household ‘standard’ bread, I hear about it.

When I supply for the hunting trip I often get dark rye or pumpernickel type breads, heavy & dense. It’s just something different from the standard ‘Oatnut’ bread or similar.

Yeah, in Europe they can just about make lunch out of bread, maybe add a little cheese.

About the only thing I can tell you is you dont need to be Jewish to love Levy's. Since the sandwich originated in NYC around the turn of the last century, I'd think a German rye bread would be closest to original status. Other than that try and find a bakery that also sells bread. That's your best bet.

https://www.seriouseats.com/20...n-new-york-city.html

https://www.myjewishlearning.c...e-pastrami-sandwich/

We like ours without the seeds.

At our supermarket, the bakery keeps the Jewish rye in a separate glass-fronted cabinet. A 12oz loaf is three bucks; I can eat it in two days. So I do not buy it too often. Seeded, not, swirled, they keep the good stuff away from the average shopper.

Teachings of The Woodman - Try fresh single bakery product. As opposed to company bread.

quote:

Originally posted by SgtGold:
About the only thing I can tell you is you dont need to be Jewish to love Levy's.

You’re not stupid!

I can’t tell you much about rye bread in general. But if I look at the list of ingredients of rye bread I find in my grocery stores, rye flour is usually far down on the list.

I can tell you about pumpernickel though. Several years ago I discovered this German baked pumpernickel:

Mestemacher Bread, Westphalian Pumpernickel, 8.8-Ounce Packages (Pack of 11)

www.amazon.com/dp/B00176GK1O/r..._encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I’ve never been without it since. Its flour is milled exclusively from whole grain rye. In fact, there’s almost nothing in it except rye flour and water. Its dark color is the result of a long (18- 24-hour) baking process that promotes the Maillard reaction.

All US baked pumpernickel that I know of has a good deal of wheat flour in addition to rye. And is colored by additives (cacao, coffee, and dark molasses).

The Mestemacher pumpernickel comes 11 packets per box. Unopened packets keep good at room temperature for months. Each 8.8 oz packet has 6 dense rectangular slices. It takes some care to separate the slices without breaking them – they’re fragile because rye has much less gluten than wheat. I find a corner that separates a bit, then slide in a table knife blade to complete the separation.

Here’s one of my BLTs (sans lettuce) on that pumpernickel:

Jewish rye is the best, IMO. Although, I haven't had good Jewish rye bread since I left Northern NJ.

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:

The Mestemacher pumpernickel comes 11 packets per box. Unopened packets keep good at room temperature for months. Each 8.8 oz packet has 6 dense rectangular slices. It takes some care to separate the slices without breaking them – they’re fragile because rye has much less gluten than wheat. I find a corner that separates a bit, then slide in a table knife blade to complete the separation.

I'm not sure but I think I've seen that in the local market. Seemed really heavy relative to other loafs. I'll go back and check again.

If you live in the Nashville area go to:

http://russiannashville.com/

They have fresh baked German rye's as well as several inported ryes from Lithuania.

Nice Jewish Rye. Oh, and when you change things up, try a Rachel, not a Ruben. It's Ruben fixings made with Pastrami instead of corned beef. Paradise.