Rye Bread
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This recipe for homemade Rye Bread gives you a perfect rustic loaf, loaded with fibre and aromatic caraway. With my step-by-step instructions and detailed tips, you’re guaranteed a success no matter your baking expertise level.
The Best Rye Bread Recipe
I’ve been baking up a storm lately! When I have free time on my hands, I always gravitate to my true calling: bread making. Most bread recipes are made with a short list of ingredients and incredibly easy steps. Nothing is quite as satisfying as pulling out a gorgeous homemade loaf from the oven!
Not to mention that smell. The aroma of freshly baked bread is absolutely hypnotizing. Especially with the caraway seeds in this loaf of rye bread! You’ll barely be able to contain yourself while it’s baking. Trust me, it’ll all be worth it in the end once you sink your teeth into a slice.
What Is Rye Bread?
This variety of bread is more dense, fibre rich, and a bit darker than whole wheat bread. While the flavor is a bit stronger than typical white or whole wheat bread, the main source of flavor that we all recognize and love about rye bread comes from the caraway seeds.
While similar to pumpernickle, rye bread is a little more airy and light. It’s the perfect type of loaf to make when you want to pack a bit more flavor into your bread while still maintaining a great balance between a soft and dense bite.
- Yeast – Active dry yeast. If you use instant yeast, you can skip the first proofing step and mix it straight into the flour.
- Water – It’s super important to make sure your water is lukewarm. The best temperature of the water should be anywhere from 95 degrees to 105 degrees for this. You don’t really want anything warmer, as it will kill the yeast.
- Brown sugar – While granulated can be used instead, brown sugar will give your bread a deeper flavor.
- Salt – To taste.
- Caraway seeds – The classic flavor of rye bread comes from caraway seeds. Make sure they’re fresh, and not stale.
- Vegetable oil – Canola or olive oil will work too.
- Flours – Rye, and all purpose. You can also add in a bit of whole wheat flour, so for example instead of 3 cups of all purpose flour, use 1 cup whole wheat flour and 2 cups all purpose.
- Cornmeal – For dusting.
How To Make Rye Bread
- Proof the yeast: Add the lukewarm water and yeast to the bowl of your mixer. Give it a quick stir, and leave the mixture for 5-10 minutes to foam up.
- Form the dough: Add the brown sugar, salt, caraway seeds, oil, rye flour, and 2 1/2 cups of the all-purpose flour. Using the dough hook, mix on medium speed until smooth. Add the remaining flour and mix until the dough is firm and comes clean off the sides of the bowl. About 5 minutes.
- Rise: Spray a large mixing bowl with cooking spray. Place the dough in the bowl, spritz the top of the dough with oil, and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free environment for 30-40 minutes, or until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 425F. Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and sprinkle it with a bit of cornmeal. Punch the dough down and form it into a ball by pulling the dough from the center to underneath, repeat these pulls about 4 or 5 times. Sprinkle some flour over the risen dough. Cut a few slashes into the top of the dough with a sharp knife. Place the ball on the the prepared baking sheet. Let it rise for 30-40 minutes or until doubled in size in a warm, draft-free environment.
- Bake: Pour 1 cup of water into a shallow metal pan and place it onto the lower rack of your oven. Transfer the dough, with the parchment paper, onto a baking sheet or dutch oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until crusty and golden brown.
How to tell when my bread is done baking
Every oven is different. Not sure if your bread is done? Turn the loaf upside down and give the bottom a firm thump with your thumb. It’ll sound hollow when it’s done.
You can also use an instant read thermometer. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the loaf. It’ll read 200F when the bread is completely done.
Best place for your dough to rise
Dough thrives in a warm, draft-free environment. If your oven has a “proof” function, then use it. The “proof” function preheats the oven to 100 F degrees, causing a warm, but not hot environment for your dough to rise nicely.
If your oven doesn’t have this “proof” function, I would still use the oven. What I usually do is preheat the oven to 200F degrees, or whatever the lowest setting is for it. Once it reaches that temperature, turn off the oven, then place the dough in there to rise. This will speed up the proofing process tremendously.
My dough isn’t rising!
The most important part about bread baking is the yeast. If you are having trouble getting the dough to rise, this is an issue with your yeast.
- Make sure your yeast is new. Even if it’s close to the expiry date but not past it, the yeast may be dead.
- If the yeast doesn’t foam up in step 1, stop. The bread will not rise. This can be one of two issues:
- The water was too hot and killed the yeast. You just want want lukewarm- about 110F/43C.
- The yeast is dead and you’ll need a new jar.
- Yeast thrives in a warm environment. Preheat your oven to the lowest setting, then turn it off. This is a perfect draft-free place for your dough to rise.
- Last, but DEFINITELY not least, store your yeast in the freezer and it’ll stay fresh much longer.
What to serve with your freshly baked bread
You can make some gorgeous sandwiches:
Or serve it as a side to soak up these saucy dishes:
- Chicken and Mushrooms in Creamy Dill Sauce
- Beef Ragu
- Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs
- Beef Barley Soup
- White Chicken Chili
How to store homemade rye bread
The bread will need to be fully cooled down to room temperature before storing. Keep your loaf in a bread box, large freezer bag, airtight container, or cake plate with a dome to ensure it doesn’t go stale. It’ll last 3-4 days at room temperature or 6-9 days in the fridge.
How to freeze homemade rye bread
Wrap the loaf well with both plastic wrap and foil. It’ll last frozen for 3 months. Let it thaw at room temperature, or you can use your microwave if it has a bread function.
Looking to expand your bread baking repertoire?
- No Knead Bread
- Homemade Croissants
- Ciabatta
- Artisan Bread
- White Bread Recipe
- No Knead Skillet Bread
- Cinnabons Cinnamon Rolls
- Raisin Bread
- Slow Cooker Bread
- Brioche Bread Recipe
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Rye Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tablespoon active dry yeast
- 2 cups water (lukewarm)
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon caraway seeds
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 ½ cups rye flour
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon cornmeal (for dusting)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Proof the yeast: Add the lukewarm water and yeast to the bowl of your mixer. Give it a quick stir, and leave the mixture for 5-10 minutes to foam up.
- Form the dough: Add the brown sugar, salt, caraway seeds, oil, rye flour, and 2½ cups of the all-purpose flour. Using the dough hook, mix on medium speed until smooth. Add the remaining flour and mix until the dough is firm and comes clean off the sides of the bowl. About 5 minutes.
- Rise: Spray a large mixing bowl with cooking spray. Place the dough in the bowl, spritz the top of the dough with oil, and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free environment for 30-40 minutes, or until doubled in size.
- Form the bread: Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and sprinkle it with a bit of cornmeal. Punch the dough down and form it into a ball by pulling the dough from the center to underneath, repeat these pulls about 4 or 5 times. Sprinkle some flour over the risen dough. Cut a few slashes into the top of the dough with a sharp knife. Place the ball on the prepared baking sheet. Let it rise for 30-40 minutes or until doubled in size in a warm, draft-free environment.
- Preheat the oven to 425℉. Place a shallow pan (not glass, glass will break) on the lower rack in the oven. Transfer the baking sheet to the middle rack in the preheated oven. Pour 1 cup of water in the shallow pan on the lower rack.
- Bake for 30 minutes until crusty and golden brown.
Notes
- You can mix the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour, so use 1 cup whole wheat flour and 2 cups of all-purpose flour.
- You can also place the loaf of bread in a Dutch oven to bake, if doing so, make sure to preheat the Dutch oven first.
- Do not use a glass pan for the water bath in the oven, as it will break.
- The bread will need to be fully cooled down to room temperature before storing. Keep your loaf in a bread box, large freezer bag, airtight container, or cake plate with a dome to ensure it doesn’t go stale. It’ll last 3-4 days at room temperature or 6-9 days in the fridge.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
First time making bread after a long hiatus. This is a great recipe. I just took my loaf out of the oven and the taste is wonderful. The texture inside is perfect, but the crust isn’t crusty at all. I used the proof setting on a new oven (wow, it’s fabulous). I used wheat flour, rye flour and all purpose with your measurements. I baked in a Dutch oven with a water bath, 20 minutes covered, over 15 uncovered because I could not get the internal temp at even 200. The dough rose beautifully after two proofed risings. Loaf filled the 5.5 Dutch oven but loaf didn’t puff up enough. Looked like your pic of yours so I wasn’t concerned about that. It never browned enough for my taste, but again, it tasted perfect. Any thoughts? I’m thinking I should check my oven for temperature accuracy first off, but I haven’t had to adjust baking time for anything else I’ve made.
It’s great to hear that you gave rye bread a try after a break and enjoyed the flavor and internal texture. As for the crust and browning, there could be a few reasons:
Oven Temperature: As you mentioned, checking the oven’s accuracy is a good idea. Even new ovens can sometimes be off. An oven thermometer can help verify the temperature.
Steam: A Dutch oven typically creates a steamy environment which helps bread rise and develop a crusty exterior. However, if there was too much moisture, it might prevent the crust from becoming crusty and brown.
Flour Types: Different flours absorb water differently. Since you used a combination of wheat, rye, and all-purpose, it might have affected the moisture content of the dough, influencing crust formation.
Water Bath: The additional water bath might have introduced extra moisture, preventing a crustier exterior. Usually, the Dutch oven alone can trap enough steam.
Baking Time: Since you mentioned it took longer to reach an internal temperature of even 200°F, extending the uncovered baking time might help in achieving a crustier and browner exterior.
For your next attempt, consider omitting the water bath and extending the baking time uncovered to achieve a browner, crustier exterior. Also, ensuring your oven is calibrated correctly will help in baking consistency.
Hi, Jo. All great suggestions! I’ll implement them and try again. Thank you so much for your quick reply!
Can i use instant yeast instead of dry one??
Absolutely, you can use instant yeast in place of active dry yeast. You can also skip the proofing step and add the instant yeast directly to the dry ingredients, as it doesn’t require activation.
OMG! Great recipe…turned out better than I would have ever expected! Going to try to play with the rye/AP flour ratio a bit…but tender, flavourful, and simple to make! This was my first bread ever, using a stand mixer.
Thanks for the recipe!
Ken
The recipe works very well, even if I swap the ratio of the 2 flours. However, the site is super annoying with auto play videos that cover content. Also hate that the video ads disappear when I rotate my screen because then they just pop up again and again and again. So I’ve taken photos so that I never have to come back on the site. Thanks for the good recipe, I’m sure your other recipes work as well but with all the moving ads and features unresponsive to mobile, I’m out.
I’m really glad to hear that the rye bread recipe worked well for you! It’s wonderful that you found success even when altering the flour ratio – that’s what I love about baking!
However, I’m sorry to hear about your experience with the ads on my website. As a content creator, ad revenue helps me keep the site running and continue to provide free recipes to all my followers. But I completely understand your frustration – I want my site to be user-friendly and it seems like you had some issues. I appreciate your feedback and will definitely look into improving the user experience, especially on mobile. Thanks for your honesty and patience, and for trying out my recipe.
This is my first time trying to understand bread making. I want to make a Rye bread with caraway seeds and found no rye flour in stores. It is too expensive @ Amazon for a first time tryout especially since I am a senior and money is an issue if not a good result with bread. On this recipe can you use extra flour in place of rye flour. Thank you for answering.
I totally understand your situation. If you can’t find or afford rye flour, you can use all-purpose flour instead, it’s a perfectly acceptable substitution. Adding caraway seeds will still give you that classic rye bread flavor. The texture and taste will be slightly different, but it’s a great way to try out the recipe without the extra expense.
Just made it last night and it was perfect. So many recipes with Rye flour turnout like a brick. Just too dense. I subbed Bread Flour for All Purpose and baked it in a Dutch Oven, 30 minutes covered and ten uncovered. The perfect Rye boule! Thanks.
That’s fantastic to hear! I’m thrilled that you enjoyed the rye bread recipe and found it to be just the right texture. Your substitution of bread flour for all-purpose flour, along with using a Dutch oven, sounds like it worked wonderfully. The Dutch oven does a great job of creating a nice crust and helping the bread maintain moisture. It’s fantastic to know that you’ve found your perfect Rye boule recipe. Thanks so much for your feedback, and keep enjoying your baking adventures!
Nice easy recipe for me. I mixed in one cup of white wheat ,because I have it, and one teaspoon of molasses to sweeten further. Got three 8×4 loaves with great flavor!! Thanks for recipe!! Kathy
Wondering if I can use all whole wheat flour instead of mixing/all white all purpose flour?
Yes, you can absolutely combine whole wheat flour with rye flour.
I have made this bread twice now. My husband and I love it! Best recipe ever!
Thank you for the recipe. My first rye bread. It came out well and tastes great. I think mine looks like the one in your photos, so I feel like I made it properly.
It looks great!!
Excellent recipe. Tried four others before this and they all failed. Have made this several times with great results.
I’m so glad you like it!
I have been trying to find a good recipe for rye bread and this one is a hit. I left out the caraway seeds because we don’t like them. I also made it in a loaf pan instead of on a sheet pan. I had the same trouble someone mentioned (with a different recipe) where the loaf spread out on the pan. I still used the pan of water underneath in the oven. It turned out great!
The recipe tastes great and plan to make it again.
However I followed the instructions by putting on a cookie sheet. My bread flattened out. What could I have done to prevent that from happening? Also I kneeded the bread by hand.
It’s possible you needed a little bit more flour. Glad you liked it!
This is a very easy bread recipe, and it is also super fast for making bread. Other recipes take 3-4 hours.
I made this recipe a few times. I have also added whole wheat, and most times I did have to add more flour to get the right consistency. One time I also added buckwheat flour by mistake…it turned out absolutely delicious every time. And so excited to discover you are Romanian as well. Thank you!
My pleasure! Glad you like the recipe!