Rye Bread

Homemade rye bread is so simple to make at home with a few simple ingredients! Toast it or use it as is to make your favorite sandwiches.

Course bread

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 35

Rise Time 1 5

Total Time 1 55

Servings loaf

Calories 2063kcal

Author John Kanell

Equipment

9x5 inch loaf pan
Stand mixer with dough hook
Bench scraper

Ingredients

1½ cups warm water 105 to 110°F (360mL)
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2¾ cups bread flour 330g
1½ cups rye flour 160g
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1¾ teaspoons salt

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, whisk together the warm water, honey and yeast until combined. Let it stand for 5 minutes, until very foamy.
To the bowl with the yeast mixture, add both of the flours, oil, caraway seeds and salt. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, mix the ingredients together until all of the dry flour from the bottom and sides of the bowl is combined and a shaggy dough forms.
With the stand mixer, mix on medium-low speed for 6 to 8 minutes until most of the dough balls up around the dough hook and it is smooth and slightly sticky.
Place the dough in a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Flip the dough over once so that the top also has a coating of oil. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to shape the dough into a ball. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm, draft-free spot (75°F) for 30 to 45 min, until doubled in size.
Meanwhile, grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with oil or baking spray. Set it aside.
Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface. With moist hands, stretch and shape it into a 9-inch square. Using a bench scraper, coax the dough from the surface to roll it into a log. Pinch the seams on the sides together tightly to seal and gently tuck them under the loaf.
Place the dough in the prepared loaf pan seam side down. Brush a piece of plastic wrap lightly with oil or spray with nonstick spray. Cover the loaf pan and let it rise in a warm, draft-free spot (75°F) for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the dough rises ½ to 1 inch above the top rim of the pan.
After 15 minutes of the second rise, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake the bread for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top of the loaf is golden brown and it sounds hollow when tapped. Let it cool in the pan for a couple of minutes, then turn it onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Video

Notes

Use molasses: In place of honey, use molasses for deeper color and brown sugar flavor notes.
All-purpose flour versus bread flour: You can use all-purpose flour in place of bread flour, if that is what you have on hand. However, because rye flour tends to have less gluten than wheat flour, it's helpful to use a higher-gluten wheat flour, like bread flour, instead of a lower-gluten wheat flour like all-purpose flour.
Do not add too much flour, even if the dough seems sticky. This dough tends to be stickier than a classic bread recipe made with wheat flour. Resist the urge to add more flour! Instead, handle the dough with moistened hands so that it doesn't stick to them.
Bake a rustic loaf instead of using a bread pan. This dough can also be shaped into a free-form loaf. Let it rise, covered, on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper for the second rise, while preheating a baking stone or steel in the oven. Slide the loaf with the paper onto a baking steel or baking sheet and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the loaf is 195°F to 200°F.
Allow your no-knead rye bread to cool completely before slicing. I know waiting to slice freshly baked bread is really difficult, but the cooling time is important for the crumb to set.

Nutrition