:-) Waving HI

Watching with interest................

Deanna (AKA "Mom")

If I were to venture a guess, I'd say the hydration will be off. Gluten in wheat flour is the "sponge" that soaks up liquid. Rye flour has very little gluten, so will not require as much hydration in a recipe that calls for wheat flour. If you've made the dog "crackers" before, add enough flour to get the consistency needed, not necessarily the amount called for in the recipe.

I'd also warn you, rye dough is typically very sticky, even with the correct hydration. You may find you have better results mixing and kneading the dough (if necessary) in a large freezer-style zip-lock bag (press out as much air as possible), instead of a bowl. People typically mistaken the "stickiness" with needing to add more flour, and that's not necessarily the case - it's just sticky stuff! To get the dough out of the bag, just push it to one side, open the bag and turn it inside out. You may find the dough is easier to work with if you have wet hands, so keep a bowl of water handy to dip your hands in, as needed.

As far as texture, I have no idea. You may need to "tweak" other ingredients or baking time to get the texture you want, so start by making 1/2 or 1/4 of a recipe to see what happens so you don't waste ingredients. I'd also suggest you do a google search, or contact your Vet., to see if you can find a pooch-friendly recipe that uses rye instead of wheat.

-Grainlady

Ok, I know it's been a while since the original idea... but I'm back with updates.

I decided that I didn't want to fuss with both new ingredients and new techniques. That would leave me with only instinct to ensure things came out as planned and they're not always reliable!

Instead I used a recipe called Good Dog Biscuits I found on doggiebistro.com and adapted it as follows:
2 C rye flour, plus a little
3/4 C steel cut oats
1/2 C nutritional yeast
2 tsp garlic powder
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 Cups boiling water with approx 1 1/2 Tbsp beef boullion
Mix all in stand mixer (I discovered that the eggs either need to be tempered or mixed in VERY quickly once the boiling water is added). Plop on plastic wrap and freeze until hard enough to cut into 1/4 inch slices (I recommend a serrated knife due to the steel cut oats still being rather hard).
Bake 375 for 20 mins if brought to room temp or longer if still frozen/cold. Turn oven off and leave biscuits in oven overnight or until cooled to ensure they are dry and crunchy.

Couple of thoughts... Grainlady was right, and I could have probably used 3/4 cup of broth mix since the rye flour got very sticky (these were originally supposed to be rolled) and I was slightly short on the steel cut oats and the nutritional yeast.
This calls for way too much garlic for my taste-the house smells like meatloaf and the dog wasn't too keen on the dough. I'm sure he'll find them more appetizing once they're done and he doesn't have to lick it off my finger, though.
As they're baking now, I'm pleased to see that they're not spreading so I can pack them on the cookie sheet next time.

Will try to remember to comment on the finished product tomorrow when they're dry, cool and have been taste tested.

Wow! You'll have to teach Porter to say "Thank You!"

Deanna

Well, how did they go over?

I often make Jillian's treats. But found some wheat free ones at Walmart. She likes them. I'm going to try making her my usual recipe but using sorghum and maybe brown rice flour too.
I put fresh herbs from the garden in them, and no garlic.

Molasses Onasis

Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
½ cup white flour
1 Tsp Salt
2 Tbs Vegetable Oil (usually use some meat fat/drippings or EVOO)
¼ Cup Milk
¼ Cup Cornmeal
1 Tsp Garlic Powder
¼ Cup Oatmeal
¼ cup molasses
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients. Add oil, molasses, eggs and milk. Add more milk as needed to make firm dough. Roll the dough so that it is ¼" thick and cut into shapes. Bake on lightly oiled cookie sheet for 25-30 minutes. (Less time for chewy treats)

Terri - I would suspect sorghum will be grainy and rice flour will make them crunchy. Adding up to 20% rice flour to a cookie recipe is a trick for making really crispy cookies and will probably do the same thing in dog biscuits. Short- or medium-grain rice milled into flour is a better choice for baking than long-grain rice. You can mill your own rice flour in a coffee/spice mill.

When I've made dog biscuits, there was so much garlic in them the house smelled like there had been an Italian Cook-Off going on in the kitchen after baking (LOL). I always thought garlic was good for dogs, but just read a magazine article that lists garlic in with this list of "Don't Feed This to Fido"... Why? Damage red blood cells causing anemia. Possible effects of Poisoning: Vomiting, red-colored urine, weakness, anemia.

1. chocolate
2. grapes, raisins
3. garlic, onions
4. xylitol
5. alcoholic drinks
6. raw yeast, bread dough
7. macadamia nuts
8. avocados

ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center - (888-426-4435)

-Grainlady

Thanks for the feedback GL!

I've got lots of flours in the pantry or freezer. She's fine with some wheat..but she does get a yeasty ear..so I try not to over do it..I can tell when the boys are sneaking her her FAVORITE treat..a heal from their bread package..next thing you know...ear issues.

I'll have to play around with some flours.

They're ok. Most of the fault is in human error and perspective, although the dog doesn't find them quite as interesting as other things we've tried recently.

Because I sliced them off a log, they're much too large to give as is (he's under 20 lbs) and WAY too hard to break by hand. I actually had to break them with the butt end of the kitchen knife! I've stuffed them into a toy so he has to work to get it out and that seems to be the best use of them.

Maybe next time I really will try the cracker recipe!