This is the calling The best rye bread I do not make a claim lightly. With a delicious, slightly crunchy crust, an airy, soft crumb, and incredible flavor from the overnight starter, this rye bread is truly going to be the most amazing bread you’ll ever make or eat. Use it for your favorite sandwich or toast it and top it with a dab of vegan butter!
I love rye, a wonderful grain known for its many nutritional properties and health benefits. The high-quality fiber found in whole-grain rye improves heart health, fights diabetes and inflammation, and can help with weight loss.
I’ve been making homemade rye bread for a few years now, and the recipe I’m sharing with you today is my favorite everyday bread. This is a super easy one.
We start the rye bread recipe with a sponge starter or biga that rests overnight, adding amazing flavor to the bread. You can use a healthy and recently fed sourdough starter instead if you have some on hand. If you’re starting the sponge starter from scratch, you’ll want to let it sit overnight or at least six hours. The trade-off in taste is totally worth the time.
Index
Why you will love this bread
- Loaded with flavor. Rye flour and overnight starter add lots of flavor to this bread, along with a sprinkling of caraway seeds.
- Amazing texture. The crust is lightly crispy and the crumb is surprisingly soft, making it the perfect sandwich bread.
- Easy recipe. This is an easy recipe that almost anyone can make (be sure to stick strictly to the directions if you’re a beginner baker–only make changes when you know what you’re doing).
- Healthy bread. Rye is great for you, and the overnight fermented starter really makes this bread even better for you.
- versatile You can bake this bread in a loaf pan for your favorite sandwiches or toast. Or shape it into an oval or bowl for a more professional look (this should be done in a bowl or banneton so it rises vertically). The bread is perfect for serving with soups and stews.
Tips for success
- Rye flour is low in gluten, so it needs some help, both to rise and to make a bread that isn’t dense and inedible. Combining bread flour with rye flour helps give the bread both structure and lightness.
- If you don’t have bread flour, you can use all-purpose flour. In that case, add a teaspoon of essential wheat gluten to the starter to help the bread rise.
- Adding maple syrup (or sugar) to the dough helps feed the yeast, allowing it to multiply. This helps the rye bread rise better and adds a lot of flavor.
- The liquid portion of rye bread flour contains a combination of plant milk and water. Milk makes a soft dough. You can make bread with just water if you want.
- Add caraway seeds to the flour to give rye bread an authentic taste. If you don’t like the taste, you can skip them.
- You can shape the dough into a loaf or you can make an artisan-style bowl. In that case let the dough rise a second time, after shaping into a ball, in a banneton or in a bowl or dutch oven and turn it out onto a lightly oiled baking sheet before baking.
- Brush the top of the bread with a mixture of maple syrup and non-dairy milk for a rich, golden-brown color.
material
- instant shout or Active dry yeast. Either will work in this recipe.
- Maple syrup. You can use sugar instead.
- flour: Rye flour And bread flour. You can use all purpose flour instead of bread flour but in that case add a teaspoon of essential wheat gluten when making the starter for better rise.
- Extra virgin olive oil Or any oil of your choice.
- Caraway seeds. These are optional but highly recommended.
- Non-dairy milk. I used oat milk.
Storage instructions
- Keep in fridge: Slice the bread and store in an airtight bag for up to a week.
- freeze: Rye bread can be frozen, sliced or whole, in freezer-safe bags for up to three months.
- Thaw and reheat in oven or toaster before serving.
Recipe FAQs
You certainly can. Use 1 cup of my sourdough starter recipe, after feeding and making sure the starter is strong and bubbling with yeast. Add half a cup of warm water to it. You don’t need to add any more yeast — just proceed to add the flour and knead.
Rye has a delicious, nutty, malty flavor. Because it is mixed with bread flour in this recipe it is not an overpowering flavor but rather a very savory, pleasant one that goes especially well with spicy fillings. Caraway seeds complement the flavor of rye very nicely.
You can substitute another cup of bread flour with rye flour in this recipe. But if you do, add a tablespoon of essential wheat gluten to help structure and rise, or you’ll end up with a dense loaf.
Like rye flour, whole wheat flour is low in gluten so you can end up with very dense bread. If using whole wheat flour, add at least three to four tablespoons of essential wheat gluten to the dough.
More delicious bread recipes
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The best rye bread ever with a delicious, slightly crispy crust, an airy, soft crumb and incredible flavor from an overnight starter. Use it for your favorite sandwich or toast it and top it with a dab of vegan butter!
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Serving: 16 pieces
Calories: 111kcal
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instructions
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In a large bowl, mix the yeast and one tablespoon of maple syrup with 1 cup of lukewarm water. Mix and then add 1 cup of bread flour to it. Mix with a wooden spoon for one minute. This is the starter. (See notes below if using active dry yeast.
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Cover the starter with a tight lid and leave in a warm place overnight or for at least six hours. The starter will swell at first and then settle down and look very bubbly.
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Mix ½ cup milk with ¼ cup water and heat until lukewarm. Add to the bubbling starter with maple syrup and olive oil.
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Then stir into the starter a tablespoon of caraway seeds, a cup of rye flour, 1 ½ cups of bread flour and salt. Use a wooden spoon to mix the flour into the starter until a haphazard dough is formed.
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Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and begin kneading it, adding more bread flour if necessary, until very smooth and pliable but still very slightly stiff–it should not stick to the surface when kneading. I need about ½ cup more bread flour. Make a smooth ball with the dough.
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Oil the bowl in which you have prepared the dough and place the dough balls in it. Coat the dough with oil, then cover the bowl with a tight-fitting lid and let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size, about 1 to 1½ hours.
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After the dough has doubled, turn it out onto a surface, making sure the top of the dough ball is now on the bottom. Punch down the dough into a disc.
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Roll the dough into a cylinder. Press into the seams and tuck in the ends to form a loaf. Make sure the bread is seam side down when placing in an oiled loaf pan.
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Brush the top of the bread with a mixture of 1 teaspoon maple syrup and 1 teaspoon non-dairy milk to improve the color of the baked bread. Sprinkle the top with optional caraway seeds.
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Cover the loaf with a clean shower cap or kitchen towel. Set aside in a warm place to rise for 1 ½ hours or until the dough forms a nice dome over the loaf pan.
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Half an hour before the bread is done rising, preheat the oven to 450°F/230°C.
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Place the loaf pan in the preheated oven and immediately lower the temperature to 400°F/205°C. Bake for 45 minutes.
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Let the baked bread stand on a wire rack for 20 minutes or until cool enough to handle the loaf pan. The bread should come out of the pan easily. Return the bread to a cooling rack until it has cooled to room temperature. Slice and serve.
Recipe notes
Tips for success
- Rye flour is low in gluten, so it needs some help, both to rise and to make a bread that isn’t dense and inedible. Combining bread flour with rye flour helps give the bread both structure and lightness.
- If you don’t have bread flour, you can use all-purpose flour. In that case, add a teaspoon of essential wheat gluten to the starter to help the bread rise.
- Adding maple syrup (or sugar) to the dough helps feed the yeast, allowing it to multiply. This helps the rye bread rise better and adds a lot of flavor.
- The liquid portion of rye bread flour contains a combination of plant milk and water. Milk makes a soft dough. You can make bread with just water if you want.
- Add caraway seeds to the flour to give rye bread an authentic taste. If you don’t like the taste, you can skip them.
- You can shape the dough into an artisan-style bowl instead of a loaf. In that case, let the dough rise a second time, on a floured banneton or in a bowl or Dutch oven lined with parchment paper. Turn it out onto a lightly oiled baking sheet before baking.
- Brush the top of the bread with a mixture of maple syrup and non-dairy milk for a rich, golden-brown color.
Storage instructions
- Keep in fridge: Slice the bread and store in an airtight bag for up to a week.
- freeze: Rye bread can be frozen, sliced or whole, in freezer-safe bags for up to three months.
- Thaw and reheat in oven or toaster before serving.
nutrition
Worship: 1pieces | Calories: 111kcal | Sugars: 19g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 0.4g | Monounsaturated fats: 1g | Sodium: 151mg | Potassium: 77mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 31IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 0.4mg
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