Ah, rye bread — dense, hearty, slightly tangy, and perfect for sandwiches or toast 🥪. Here’s a classic homemade rye bread recipe that’s flavorful but approachable.
🍞 Classic Rye Bread
Ingredients (1 loaf)
- 1 cup (240 ml) warm water (110°F / 43°C)
- 2 tsp sugar or honey
- 2 ¼ tsp (1 packet) active dry yeast
- 1 cup rye flour
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose or bread flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp caraway seeds (optional, traditional)
- 2 tbsp olive oil or melted butter
Instructions
- Activate yeast: In a small bowl, mix warm water, sugar/honey, and yeast. Let sit 5–10 minutes until foamy.
- Mix dough: In a large bowl, combine rye flour, bread flour, salt, and caraway seeds. Add yeast mixture and oil. Stir until dough forms.
- Knead: Turn onto floured surface. Knead 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Rye dough is stickier than wheat dough — add a bit more flour if necessary.
- First rise: Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise 1–1.5 hours until doubled.
- Shape: Punch down, shape into a loaf, and place in a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan.
- Second rise: Cover and let rise 30–45 minutes until slightly puffed.
- Bake: Preheat oven to 375°F / 190°C. Bake 30–35 minutes until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.
- Cool: Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack before slicing.
Tips
- Caraway seeds are traditional, but you can leave them out.
- Dense or light: For lighter rye, replace half of the rye flour with bread flour.
- Optional flavor: Add 1–2 tbsp molasses for a sweeter, deeper flavor.
- Storage: Rye bread keeps well at room temp for 2–3 days or freezes beautifully.
I can also give you a quick no-knead rye bread or a classic sourdough rye loaf if you want a tangier version.
Do you want the sourdough version?
