It would be mostl likely a fermented pickle, or a half sour. The subject has just been discussed here in length. You start with pickling salt and water in a large jar or crock and mentioned in the other posts. Add fresh dill weed and dill seed heads, and garlic. Then add trimmed ends pickling cukes. About the rye bread, that may be an old wives tale as its supposed to help introduce a wild yeast, but once bread is baked its yeasts are dead. The fermenting in summer and in direct sun is a bit much, and should not be heated as it can cause the fermentation to either stop or go bad prematurely.

The fermenting guidelines detailed by NCHFP (linked below) may be of some help to you. Be sure to review the General Guidelines and the Problems section as various bacteria including listeria, yeasts, and molds can be a real problem with fermented items - especially in too hot of an environment.

Honestly I'd be really surprised if sun fermentation was considered safe to do but I have no actual knowledge about it.

Since the acidity level is so important it is going to be difficult for you without an actual recipe. The NCHFP recipe for Fermented Dills gets good reviews. Good luck.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - Fermentation Guidelines

In Eastern Europe rye bread is used atop fermenting cucumbers because it attracts yeasts. Of course it's optional, but it does no harm and certainly can be used.

I have a feeling the sun part of the process is from a more northern climate where the temperatures may be less extreme. I personally don't see any advantage between fermenting pickles outside and fermenting them inside as long as the temperatures fall within the recommended range.

But you know, many of these traditional methods do work one way or another, so as Dave mentioned, just follow the guidelines and do them outside with rye bread atop. It can't hurt (as long as you keep the bugs out).

Carol

brine: 5.5 ounces by weight of pickling salt to one gallon of water.

I had forgotten about this article which does explain why major companies do ferment pickles outside. It makes for interesting reading. About halfway down on the right-hand column.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Fascinating Pickle Facts

This recipe works for me every time.

Stuff you'll need: A wide-mouth one-gallon glass jar with a tight fitting lid, 4 pounds fresh pickling cukes, cold well water, vinegar, canning salt, dill, garlic, hot pepper (optional).

Rinse the cukes under cold water. Slice 1/8" of blossom end off each cuke (this keeps pickles from going soft). Fill jar with cukes, layering in several heads of dill & several cloves of diced garlic. If you like a little bite to your pickles, add one or more cut-up hot peppers, seeds and all. Add 3 Tbs. vinegar and 6 Tbs. canning salt. Fill jar with cold well water. Place some plastic-wrap over the mouth of the jar and secure lid tightly. Now grasp the jar with both hands and slowly turn it upside down, then rightside up; do this several times until all the salt is dissolved. The pickles will be ready in about 2-3 weeks depending on temperature. You can speed up the process by placing the jar outside where the sun will shine on it. The brine will become cloudy which is the normal formation of lactic acid and nothing to worry about.

The same process of fermenting cukes has been discussed in great detail here. Well water is ok, if its not high in calcium, iron or other minerals. Some have had bad luck with fermented cukes only because the water quality was not up to par. Boiling the water first will only concentrate the minerals and make it worse. I add the vinegar after the half fermemtation which is in 2-3 days. If I add it before then, it will cause the brine not to produce the proper amount of lactic acid necessary for proper taste and fermentation.

Actually the purpose of the vinegar is to bring the water pH down to neutral (7.0) before starting the process. Most well water (and municipal water for that matter) has a pH above 7.0. In other words, if you were to start out with distilled water, no vinegar would be required. I agree that water with lots of minerals should be avoided.

My water here is at 6.8 pH right out of the tap and is quite soft. The vinegar is added to a fermented pickle brine to stop it from fermenting further. I add it after 3 days in my half sours. These are also less salty compared to fully fermented ones.

Is your "half sour" recipe posted? I'd like to try making a batch.

There are many posts and threads about the half sours. They are slightly translucent and crisper than fully fermented ones. I use the same ratio of pickling salt, or Mrs. Wages dill pickle mix, and add fresh dill weed and seed heads and cut up garlic. Its left for only 3 days at room temps of 75 degrees. Then the tablespoon or two of vinegar is added and its placed in the fridge. With the Mrs. Wages mix, it doesn't form any mold or scum on the surface, even after a whole year. I like the extra dill taste of teh Mrs Wages mixes. Currently, I am down to two pickles that were made last summer, and am eagerly waiting for some fresh picklers for this years batch of three half gallon jars.

For many years of making these, I was able to taste the salt water brine to get to the proper level. I learned how to get that taste from my Polish grandmother who made these every summer. I remember a big gallon jar filled with them until my grandfather was home for lunch. The taste method was easy to get to. It required several tasts after dissolving salt in water. Too little salt and its salty tasting, too much salt and its bitter. The right amount of salt is when you taste it and your mouth starts to water. Start off with amall pint size brine mixture and see if you can get to that same sweet like taste. The Alton Brown measurments are OK if your not wanting to experement. Just be sure to add enough salt as if its too low, the cukes will soften and spoil before fermentation starts. Once they have that natural fermented lactic acid, its almost like it tastes like vinegar instead of salt and water.

Here is a link that might be useful: Links to half sour threads.

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

If anyone else has tried the half sours, let me know how it went. I enjoy these moreso than any other pickle type as they aways bring back memories of my grandmother and her old kitchen in VT, and grampas bakery next door to the house.

Ken, I made some half sours last year after reading many of your post w/ instructions. They were great! I can't wait to make them again this year! If only my cuke plants would hurry up!

Me too. O have no cukes yet as my plants are only a foot tall now. At least its getting warmer outside and IO am now seeing the first of the tassle tops of my corn plants to. Lat year I made three half gallon jars of them and will probably make the same amount this year, minus some dill seed heads. I still like using the Mrs. Wages dill pickle mixes as opposed to just pickling salt. It helps to prevent scum and mold on the brine surface. Mine keep a year in the fridge and I still have two pickles left from last summer.

The method you are describing - where cukes in brine topped with bread are set out in a jar in the sun - is exactly that of Hungarian "kovászos uborka," which when I lived in Hungary, were produced in abundance by virtually every family on my street. If you google "kovászos uborka pickles," you will find all sorts of recipes in English, like this one http://www.timvidraeats.com/2012/07/hungarian-kovaszos-uborka-sour-pickles.html. Hope this helps.