How to Make Rye Bread

Rye is one of the most traditional types of bread, but it's becoming increasingly popular. If you'd like a deli-style, light rye bread, use a mixture of rye flour and standard bread (wheat) flour. This will give your bread a lighter texture and reduce the time it needs to prove. If you want a denser, darker rye bread, use all rye flour. Since it doesn't contain as much gluten as wheat flour, you'll need to prove dark rye dough for at least eight hours. You'll soon find that the flavor of homemade rye bread is worth the effort!

Ingredients

Light Rye Bread

2 cups (200 g) rye flour, plus extra for dusting
1 2/3 cups (200 g) bread or whole wheat flour
1 cup plus 2 teaspoons (250 ml) warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons (7 g) instant yeast
½ teaspoon fine salt
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon caraway seed (optional)

Dark Rye Bread

5 cups (500 g) rye flour
1/2 tablespoon (10 g) salt
3 1/2 teaspoons (10 g) instant yeast
4 teaspoons (20 ml) molasses or black treacle
1 1/2 cups (350 ml) cool water
Olive oil, for kneading

Makes one loaf

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Making Light Rye Bread

1
Combine the flours, instant yeast, and salt. Measure 2 cups (200 g) of rye flour into a mixing bowl. Add 1 2/3 cups (200 g) of bread flour along with 2 1/4 teaspoons (7 g) of instant yeast and ½ teaspoon of fine salt. Stir the dry ingredients until they're well mixed.^{[1]XResearch source}
- If you don't have bread flour, you can use whole wheat flour.
2
Pour the honey and water into the bowl. Pour 1 cup plus 2 teaspoons (250 ml) of warm water into a small mixing bowl or jug and add 1 tablespoon of honey. Stir the mixture until the honey dissolves in the water and pour it into the bowl of dry ingredients. Use your spoon to stir the ingredients together. You should see a shaggy dough form.^{[2]XResearch source}
- If the dough seems too dry to form a rough dough, you can add a few teaspoons of water at a time and stir it in. Rye flour absorbs a lot of water, so it may need a little more.
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3
Knead the dough. Sprinkle a little extra rye flour on your work surface and scoop the shaggy dough onto it. Use the palms of your hands to knead the dough for about 10 minutes. The dough should become smoother (although not as elastic as dough made with white wheat flour).^{[3]XResearch source}
- There are many ways to knead dough. For a basic way to knead dough, use one palm to spread the dough away from you. Fold the dough back to the center and turn it about 45 degrees. Use your palm to push the dough away again. Continue pushing, folding, and turning.
4
Prove the light rye dough. Get out a large bowl and spread a little vegetable oil or cooking spray in it. Set the dough into the bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Put the bowl in a warm spot and let it rest for one to two hours. The dough should double in volume.^{[4]XResearch source}
- If you use a clear bowl for proving the dough, you can easily see when the dough has doubled in size.
Once the dough has doubled, sprinkle a little more flour onto the work surface and scoop the dough onto it. Use your fist to punch the dough down, so any air trapped in the dough is knocked out. If you'd like to add caraway seeds to the dough, you can knead 1 teaspoon of the seeds into the dough.^{[5]XResearch source}
Get out a 9 x 5-inch (23 x 13-cm or 900 g) loaf pan. Sprinkle the pan with some rye flour and set it next to your work surface. Use the palms of your hands to shape the dough into an oval loaf. Set the loaf into the loaf tin.^{[6]XResearch source}
7
Prove the dough again. Spray some plastic wrap with cooking spray and cover the loaf pan with it. Put the pan in a warm place to prove one more time. Let the dough rest for one to one and a half hours more. The dough should double in volume again.^{[7]XResearch source}
- The rye bread dough will develop flavor as the dough rests.
Turn the oven on to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) once the dough has almost finished proving. Try to preheat the oven during the last 30 minutes of the proving time. If you wait until the dough has finished proving before you turn the oven on, your dough may over prove and collapse when it bakes.^{[8]XResearch source}
9
Sprinkle the dough with flour and slash the loaf. Once the dough has finished proving, take the plastic wrap off. Sprinkle the top of the loaf with more rye flour. Use a sharp, serrated knife to make a few shallow slashes across the top of the loaf.^{[9]XResearch source}
- Slashing the bread will give the air a place to escape as it bakes. If you don't slash the bread, the bread may tear unpredictably as it bakes.
10
Bake the light rye bread. Put the loaf of bread in the preheated oven. Bake the light rye bread for 30 minutes. The top should turn a dark brown. Remove the pan from the oven and tip it out of the pan. Let the bread cool for at least 20 minutes before you cut it.^{[10]XResearch source}
- You can tap the bottom of the bread to test for doneness. If the bread sounds hollow, it's finished cooking.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Making Dark Rye Bread

1
Combine the rye flour, salt, and yeast. Measure out 5 cups (500 g) of rye flour and remove a few tablespoons of the flour. Set this small amount aside for sprinkling over your work surface. Dump the remaining rye flour into a large mixing bowl. Add 1/2 tablespoon (10 g) of salt to one side of the bowl and put 3 1/2 teaspoons (10 g) of instant yeast in the other side of the bowl. Stir to combine the dry ingredients.^{[11]XResearch source}
- You want to avoid placing the salt right on the yeast, or the salt could kill the yeast.
2
Stir in the molasses and some of the cool water. Measure 1 1/2 cups (350 ml) of cool water and pour about 1 cup (240 ml) of it into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Add 4 teaspoons of molasses. Use your fingers or a rubber spatula to stir the mixture.^{[12]XResearch source}
- If you don't have molasses, you could use black treacle.
3
Add more water to make a shaggy dough. You should have about 1/2 cup (120 ml) of water set aside. Add a few tablespoons to the dough bowl at a time and mix the dough well in between additions. The dough should come away from the sides of the bowl once you've added enough of the water.^{[13]XResearch source}
- You might not need to add all of the water to the dough. Avoid adding so much water that the dough becomes sticky and soggy.
4
Knead the dough. Spread a little olive oil on your work surface and scoop the shaggy dough onto it. Use the palms of your hands to knead the dough for about 10 minutes. The dough should become smoother (although not as elastic as dough made with white wheat flour).^{[14]XResearch source}
- There are many ways to knead dough. For a basic way to knead dough, use one palm to spread the dough away from you. Fold the dough back to the center and turn it about 45 degrees. Use your palm to push the dough away again. Continue pushing, folding, and turning.
5
Shape the dough into a ball. Use your hands to shape the dough into a smooth ball. You can turn and tuck the dough until you've got a smooth ball with a small seam underneath.^{[15]XResearch source}
- Since you won't bake this bread in a pan, it's important to get the dough into a tight free form ball.
6
Prove the dough for at least eight hours. Sprinkle the inside of a large, round bowl with rye flour and set the ball of dough into it. If the ball has a seam, you should place that on the bottom of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and set the dough in a warm place. Prove the dough for at least eight hours or overnight.^{[16]XResearch source}
- Rye flour takes much longer to prove than wheat flour, but the dough should double in volume.
7
Prepare the oven and a steaming pan. About 30 minutes before your dough has finished proving, turn on the oven to 425 degrees F (220 C). Set a roasting pan in the bottom of the oven while the oven preheats. Once it gets hot, carefully pour enough boiling water to fill the pan half full.^{[17]XResearch source}
- The roasting pan full of water will make steam in the oven. This gives your rye bread a better crust than if you baked it in a dry oven.
8
Set the dough on a sheet and slash the top. Lay a sheet of parchment paper or a silicone mat on a baking sheet. Carefully turn the risen dough out of the bowl and onto the baking sheet. Use a sharp knife to make three deep slashes on top of the dough.^{[18]XResearch source}
- You can do straight slashes or crosshatches. The slashes help steam escape from the dough as it bakes.
9
Bake the dark rye bread. Put the bread in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Since you won't be able to tell whether the bread is finished baking based on the color, you'll need to take it out of the oven. Turn the bread over and tap the bottom. Once the bread is cooked, it will sound hollow. If it doesn't, return it to the oven for a few more minutes.^{[19]XResearch source}
- Cool the bread completely before you slice it.
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Question
What is rye?
How.com.vn Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
How.com.vn Staff Editor
Staff Answer
Rye is a cereal grain related to wheat and barley. It is considered by some to be nutritionally superior to wheat and is popular in various European cuisines. Rye bread is often an easily found alternative to wheat bread, including on supermarket shelves. Rye can be eaten as flour (such as in rye bread, crackers and buns) and it can be consumed whole (rye berries) or as cereal flakes. Rye is a popular addition to beer and whiskey.
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Question
What is rye bread?
How.com.vn Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
How.com.vn Staff Editor
Staff Answer
Rye bread is bread made from rye flour. There are four types of rye bread: light rye, dark rye, marbled and pumpernickel. More of the nutritious husk and germ is included in darker rye bread, so this is the healthiest. Rye bread is not gluten-free but it is much lower in gluten than wheat bread. It is important to check whether rye bread has been made with wheat flour too because the gluten in wheat flour helps make a lighter bread; rye bread made with rye flour alone tends to be much denser due to the low gluten levels.
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Are foods made with rye healthy?
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How.com.vn Staff Editor
Staff Answer
Rye is good for you, so foods made with rye are usually healthy, provided there is not a lot of sugar or saturated fats also added. Since separating the bran from the rye grain is difficult, rye flour contains more of the bran, which makes it more nutritious than wheat flour. Rye itself has high levels of carbohydrates and protein and contains many vitamins and minerals (e.g. iron, zinc, magnesium). Light rye flour is less nutritious than dark rye flour, the latter containing more bran.
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Things You'll Need

Measuring cups and spoons
Scale
Large mixing bowls
Spoon
Plastic wrap or plastic bag
Knife
Roasting pan
Parchment paper or silicone mat
Kitchen towel
9 x 5-inch (23 x 13-cm or 900 g) loaf pan
Cooking spray
Serrated knife

Tips

Instant yeast is also called rapid rise or quick rise yeast. You can't substitute active dry yeast for instant yeast. Active dry yeast has to be activated in warm liquid before using it in a recipe.
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Bread flour is also known as strong flour.
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Whole wheat flour is also called wholemeal flour.
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