this is a traditional country bread, made using a large proportion of wheat flour but with enough rye to give a pale, beige-colored crumb. it has an excellent sweet/sour flavor, partly from the rye and partly from the buttermilk, which is used instead of milk or water. it comes in all sort of shapes and sizes, sometimes with a floury crust and sometimes without inside, the bread is always open-textured and slightly chewy, and is good with soups and stews.