Rye bread is my favourite kind of bread. I have said it many times – if I could only eat one kind of bread for the rest of my life it would be rye bread.
There are thousands of rye recipes around because it can be such a simple bread to make, and the versatility and customizability is endless. You can add any seeds that you like to it. You can sweeten it with various syrups of honey. You can make it with a yeasted preferment or a sourdough starter. You can bake it low and slow like a pumpernickel or you can bake it like a regular loaf.
No matter what you do you will get a sturdy loaf which will stay fresh and moist for many days and will develop even more great flavour over time.
Cut it thin and top it with your favourite toppings. It goes well with anything!
This recipe is so easy and hands-off that there is no good reason not to make it.
There is one important thing to look out for – temperature. This loaf will fully ferment in 10 – 12 hours at around 24C (75F). If your kitchen is cooler or warmer, then you may need to adjust the water temperature slightly to make up for it. Or you can use less or more yeast.
I would suggest making it on a day when you are at home all day, so that you can monitor it. Then you will be able to adjust accordingly.
It will fit perfectly in a 900g (2lb) loaf tin.
Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.
Ingredients
For the dough –
450g (1lb) white rye flour
5g (0.17oz) caraway seeds
70g (2.45oz) raisins
120g (4.25oz) sunflower seeds
8g (0.28oz) salt
0.3g (0.01oz) instant dry yeast 0.36g (0.012oz) active dry yeast or 0.9g (0.03oz) fresh yeast
30g (1oz) malt syrup or any syrup you like. You can also leave it out.
400g (14.1oz) water*
*To learn more about dough temperature control click here.
If you are using active dry yeast, then you may need to let it sit in the water for 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients or else it could take a lot longer to raise the dough.
Method
- In a large bowl combine the water, yeast, salt, seeds, raisins, and syrup. Stir well to dissolve the salt completely.
- Add the flour and mix until there is no dry flour left. *Desired dough temperature 24C (75F).
- Place the dough in a non-stick paper lined bread tin.
- Cover and ferment for 10 – 12 hours.
- Bake at 180C (356F) fan off for 1 hour.
Leave to cool down completely before cutting into it or else it will be gummy!
Keep in mind that the conditions in each kitchen are different, so fermentation times may vary for you. It is up to the baker to control the bread and react accordingly.
Your oven may be different too, so your baking time may vary.
Watch the video here
