Rye

Rye is a strongly flavoured cereal grain, similar to wheat. Because it grows well in cold conditions it is widely used in Northern and Eastern European and Russian cooking. When milled, rye grains produce a dark flour, which is used to make black breads like pumpernickel. These breads are denser than those made with wheat because rye flour has a low gluten content, so, for this reason, rye flour is often mixed with wheat flour.