Sourdough Rye Bread

Name: Sourdough Rye Bread
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1180 min
Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups water (295 grams); 1 cup starter (227 grams); 1 cup rye flour (120 grams); 2 1/2 cups bread flour (350 grams); 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (75 grams); 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (8 grams); 1 tablespoon molasses (17 grams); 2 teaspoons caraway

Sourdough rye bread boasts deep and complex flavors from the rye, and from the fermentation of the sourdough starter. This will easily become one of your favorite breads.

overhead photo of a crusty loaf of sourdough rye bread with a wheat design scored on top. The loaf rest on parchment paper with a jar of spices and a jar of molasses around the loaf

Why will you love this sourdough rye bread?
Ingredients:
How To Make Rye Sourdough Bread
How To Make 100% Rye Sourdough Bread:
Tips
FAQ
Baker’s Timeline:
Sourdough Rye Bread Recipe

Update: This post was update. The old recipe was 100% whole rye and this new one makes a more traditional rye loaf that is lighter with the addition of bread flour. The old recipe is still included down below.

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During summer, there is nothing like a delicious sandwich topped with home grown lettuce and tomatoes, thinly sliced meat, and raw cheddar cheese.

Now, if you want to kick up the flavor of this American classic, then I highly suggest making your own homemade, sourdough rye bread.

When I saw rye berries at my favorite online grocery co-op, I knew that this would be such a fun recipe to develop.

Rye has such a distinct flavor, and with the combination of sourdough, it turns into something extraordinary.

Obviously, we love sourdough around here. From desserts (hello, sourdough brownies) to breakfast and to my favorite artisan style bread, we love sourdough.

This will be added to our regular repertoire.

Why will you love this sourdough rye bread?

Delicious – Rye flour has such a delicious and distinct flavor that just doesn’t happen with regular wheat. And when you go and ferment it with sourdough starter, it’s just heavenly.

Chewy – This recipe has such a wonderful crumb and chewiness to it. It’s incredible as a side, slathered in rich butter, or you can dress it up as a sandwich for your main course.

Simple – This is basically a no-fail recipe. Mix, stretch and fold, ferment, shape, and bake. Pretty much as simple as it gets.

slices of sourdough rye bread on parchment paper

Ingredients:

Rye flour, bread flour, molasses, and spices mixed together.

Active sourdough starter – This is starter that has been fed within 4-12 hours, is super bubbly, and active.

Rye flour – Delicious and hearty, rye flour has so much flavor. Try making a rye sourdough starter.

Bread flour – Has more protein and gluten which give you that airy bread with lots of holes. If you don’t have bread flour you could use all-purpose, but the consistency will change.

Molasses – This adds a touch of sweetness and distinct flavor only molasses can add.

Caraway seeds

A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

Tools you may need:

Dutch oven

Grain mill

Large bowl

Measuring cups and spoons

overhead photo of a loaf of sourdough rye bread sliced with the slices gently overlapping on parchment paper with a small jar of caraway seeds and a mason jar of molasses to the right

How To Make Rye Sourdough Bread

woman wearing a black shirt and red half apron removing sourdough starter from a large jar. A large cream bowl with blue stripes is to the left and a bag of flour to the right.

Step 1: Feed a sourdough starter 4-12 hours before starting the bread, ensuring it is active and bubbly.

woman wearing a black long sleeve shirt mixing a bowl of flour with a wooden spoon. Ingredients are surrounding the bowl.

Step 2: Mix all the ingredients together into a large bowl. Allow to rest for 30 minutes covered with a damp towel, lid, or plastic wrap to autolyse. This allows the water to hydrate the flour.

Step 3: Stretch And Fold

hand pulling up on dough from a bowl in a white kitchen

To develop the gluten and obtain a nice rise, you will want to do 6 rounds total of stretching and folding. Honestly, this doesn’t need to be precise. I don’t set a timer anymore and just preform the stretch and folds ever so often and the loaf always comes out beautifully.

For the first 3 stretch and folds about every 15 minutes.
Complete the last 3 stretch and folds about every 30 minutes.

What is a stretch and fold? With the dough is in the bowl, grab the edge of the dough and pull up, stretching it upwards. Then push the dough that is in your hands into the center. Turn the bowl about a quarter turn and repeat this stretch and fold again, and again one to two more times.

This is considered one stretch and fold round. Repeat 5 more times according to the directions above. If the dough is too sticky, dip your fingers in water.

Step 4: Bulk Ferment

Cover with a wet towel or plastic wrap and allow the dough to bulk-ferment until doubled. This can take up to 12 hours depending on the temperature of the home and the maturity of your sourdough starter.

Be careful not to let the dough over-ferment.

shopping a dough ball on a white quartz countertop.

Step 5: Shape

Shape into a ball by gently spinning it toward you.

Develop a skin. Set out 15-20 minutes uncovered.

Turn over the boule dough and shape. I do this by folding the two sides over to meet in the middle, and then the other two sides.

two loaves of sourdough rye bread dough boules in banneton baskets.

Step 6: Transfer to floured banneton or bowl with tea towel, seam side up. Cover with plastic (you can use a shower cap, plastic grocery bad, or plastic wrap) and proof 12-15 hours in refrigerator.

scoring a boule of sourdough eye bread on parchment paper.

Step 7: Preheat dutch oven to 475 degrees for 1 hour.

Remove dough from the fridge immediately before scoring and baking and place on parchment paper.

Rub the dough with flour on top to make the scoring pattern stand out more. Totally optional.

Score with a razor or lame. Here are a few of my favorite scoring designs.

Step 8: Bake for 20 minutes with the lid on. Remove lid and bake for another 20 minutes or until browned.

Allow to cool and slice. It is also delcious cubed and made into a sourdough strata.

loaf of sourdough rye bread on a wood cutting board on an antique stove

How To Make 100% Rye Sourdough Bread:

Ingredients:

1 cup active sourdough starter
1 cup water
4 cups freshly milled rye berries
1.5 teaspoon salt

Directions:

About 4-12 hours before mixing the dough together, feed your sourdough starter. I usually like to do this right before I go to bed.

Freshly grind rye berries. Skip this step if you are using rye flour.

Place rye flour, active sourdough starter, and water in stand mixer bowl. Mix until it just comes together. If you want a lighter, fluffier loaf, use half all-purpose flour and half rye flour.

Allow it to set for 15-30 minutes. This helps get the gluten ready for development.

Add salt and knead for 5-10 minutes using a dough hook.

Place in a large, greased bowl and cover with beeswax wraps or plastic wrap and set in a warm place for 8-12 hours.

Punch down, shape, and add to a greased or parchment lined loaf pan for 2-4 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 375.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the crust starts to turn a golden brown.

Allow to cool, then slice.

Tips

This is a lighter loaf because it uses a combination of all-purpose wheat flour, bread flour, and rye flour. I used freshly-milled rye berries. You could also use store-bought rye flour. For a denser loaf, you could use all rye flour. Instructions are above.
Make sure you have an active sourdough starter- one that is nice and bubbly. If you take a spoonful of it and place into a glass of water, it should float.
Rye flour has less gluten than regular wheat flour, so it won’t get very stretchy compared to wheat bread, and it requires less kneading.
If you are new to sourdough, make sure to check out my guide on how to create a sourdough starter from scratch.
You can use a sourdough starter made with rye or all-purpose flour.

FAQ

Is sourdough rye bread good for you?

Yes. Rye flour has a better nutrition profile compared to wheat, and it contains more soluble fiber. Thanks to fermentation, the active yeasts and bacterias available in the sourdough help break down the anti-nutrients, making it even more nutritionally dense and the nutrients more readily available.
Plus, for those who have trouble digesting gluten, rye naturally contains less gluten than wheat, and the fermentation breaks down the gluten even further.

Is rye bread a sourdough bread?

Typically, it is a sourdough bread. This is because rye flour doesn’t usually contain enough gluten to rise well with commercial yeast.

Is sourdough rye bread easy to digest?

Yes. Rye is naturally lower in gluten and with the combination of the fermentation to help bread down even more gluten it can be easier to digest than regular bread.

Is rye sourdough better than white bread?

While this is obviously up to personal opinion and parameters, rye sourdough has a tremendous about of flavor compared to white bread that is hard to beat. It is also easier to digest making it a wonderful choice.

Baker’s Timeline:

This can be started or made at any time. I like to start doughs at night time so they can rise all night.

Day 1

8am – Noon

Feed sourdough starter with flour and water.

Day 1

6-8 pm

If the sourdough starter is mature, then proceed to creating the dough, autolyse, and then move on the the stretch and folds. Bulk ferment overnight.

Day 2

8am

(may be much sooner or later)

Shape dough, cover and place in the fridge for 12-15 hours or longer.

Day 2

8 pm

(may be sooner or later)

Preheat oven. Score and bake.

The bread could also be left in the fridge until the next day when you are ready to bake.

Find More Sourdough Recipes

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