<p>I plan to experiment with a recipe or two for baking Rye bread, but rye flour is not particularly abundant in the supermarkets in my area. I discovered that Hodgson’s Mill sells it online at a great price, but the shipping costs are more than double the purchase price.</p>
<p>I haven’t tried Whole Foods Market yet but I am anticipating the typical excessive mark-up at WFM. Have any of you ordered rye flour online? Also, share your recipes for rye bread.</p>
<p>I’ve ordered rye flour from King Arthur. It is probably not the most economical way to go, but theirs is is the only flour I bake with. (I can buy the white and whole wheat at Wegman’s.) I made some great pumpernickel in the spring, probably a recipe from Epicurious or Bittman.</p>
<p>I’ve had some luck finding Hodgson’s Mill rye flour at Whole Foods and Sunflower Markets. You might try any local organic grocers you have nearby. And any food co-ops. (Ours sells locally ground sprouted rye flour which tastes wonderful!)</p>
<p>I second the KAF recommendation. If you get on their mailing list, they periodically send out emails that offer free shipping. KAF also sells rye bread ‘enhancers’–flavorings that will put an extra kick in your bread. Also vital gluten to improve your bread’s texture because rye flour lacks much of gluten that wheat flour has. I recommend using malt syrup instead of white sugar when baking rye bread. Helps keep the bread moist and strengthen the rye flavor.</p>
<p>Thank you both for your recommendations. I looked at the KAF website a few days ago and with shipping KAF-rye is pricier than Hodgson’s Mill. So I guess that’s the sum of the online shopping situation. I investigate Whole Foods Market this weekend to check out their stock.</p>
<p>Incidentally, Wayoutwestmom; do you mean molasses?</p>
<p>No, I mean barley malt syrup. </p>
<p>[Eden</a> Foods - Barley Malt Syrup, Organic](<a href=“http://www.edenfoods.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=104050]Eden”>http://www.edenfoods.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=104050)</p>
<p>Not as dark as molasses and without the sulphur/iron/bitter overtones that molasses can sometimes have. Not as sweet as brown sugar or white sugar, but it has enough “sugar” [maltose] to feed your yeast. I also like to use in plain white bread where it give the bread a richer, more complex flavor.</p>
<p>If you store your malt syrup in the fridge after opening it lasts a good long while.</p>
<p>One more rye flour source–</p>
<p>Bob’s Red Mill makes light, dark and pumpernickel rye flour.</p>
<p>[Bob's</a> Red Mill :: Search results](<a href=“Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods”>Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods)</p>
<p>Not sure if the shipping is any less expensive, but it’s another place to try.</p>
<p>I know that our Smith’s carries many Bob’s Red Mill products and they used to carry rye flour, but I haven’t looked for it in the past 3-4 years.</p>
<p>You might find both bulk rye flour and the Bob’s Red Mill flour at Whole Foods; ours has both. While WF is generally pricey, I find that their prices on bulk foods like flour is often very reasonable particularly when you can buy just as much as you need. If you do buy a larger bag of rye flour, I’d suggest keeping any you don’t use right away in a sealed package in the freezer – I find that the whole wheat and rye flours go off much more quickly than white flour does.</p>
<p>Gee, LW, we’ve never had trouble finding rye flour at basic, run-of-the-mill supermarkets (these are not your high-end type stores, and not in particularly “sophisticated” parts of the country), so I’m surprised you can’t find it at yours. Have you asked customer service for assistance, or tried another supermarket chain? Sometimes the more “exotic” flours and grains might be near the oatmeal and other dried cereal, or in the health food/organic section.
Agree that adding shipping costs to an otherwise fairly inexpensive item can make it prohibitively expensive.</p>
<p>If you have Amazon prime, try Amazon,</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dgrocery&field-keywords=rye+flour&x=4&y=16[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dgrocery&field-keywords=rye+flour&x=4&y=16</a></p>
<p>Large quantities though…</p>
<p>Be careful using Bob’s Red Mill stuff. Every time I have tried one of their products, it has had bugs in it. While flour bugs won’t kill you, it is a pain to get rid of them. Any kind of flour, grain, etc. that you are not going to use up right away is best stored in either a sealed container or in the freezer.</p>