Easy Sourdough Rye Bread
You will love this rye sourdough bread recipe. You can use it to make a loaf of traditional dark rye bread or a lighter sourdough rye bread. Either way, it has a fantastic flavor!
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I have been baking sourdough bread for years, and I have always wanted to make a 100% dark rye sourdough bread. After quite some testing and tweaking, I am proud of this recipe that is as easy as it is delicious!
In Germany, rye breads are actually fairly common. However, most “rye breads” in the United States are not completely made with rye flour. You can also check out my authentic German Farmers’ Bread!
What people are saying:
Why you’ll love this recipe
The ingredients and substitutions
All you need are a few basic ingredients:
- Flour: I am using the King Arthur Baking Company’s medium rye flour but dark rye flour will also work. Feel free to replace any amount of rye flour with wheat flour. That can be white or whole wheat flour. You can then experiment with the texture and taste you like the best.
- Sourdough starter: if you don’t already have an active sourdough starter, you can easily make one with this simple method
- Salt: This is my favorite sea salt
- Caraway seeds: while these are optional, they are the classic spice for rye breads, especially those in Eastern Europe. If you grind them beforehand, they are barely noticeable. Other tasty seed options include fennel seeds and sunflower seeds.
- Whole grains: I used a finely milled flour for this rye sourdough bread recipe. You can always add some whole rye grains as well. If you like them soft, you can boil them before adding them to the dough. Or you mill them very coarsely, almost like a cracked grain.
Fun Fact? Because of its low gluten content, you can even wash your hair with rye flour!
Useful tools and equipment
Given that people have been baking bread for thousands of years, you really don’t need any special equipment. But since we live in modern times, I typically use the following:
- Large bowl: my favorite is an enamel bowl, but any bowl works.
- Kitchen scale: weighing your ingredients with a digital scale is more accurate than volume measurements
- Beeswax wrap: I love using beeswax wraps to keep my bread doughs from drying out. Alternatively, you can use plastic wrap.
- Bench scraper: while not strictly necessary, using a bench scraper will help you manage the dough.
- Banneton: I let my sourdough rye bread dough rise in a well-seasoned proofing basket.
- Parchment paper: this helps with transferring the dough into the baking vessel.
- Cast iron Dutch oven: you can bake this rye bread on a cookie sheet or pizza stone but baking it in a cast iron Dutch oven keeps it from getting too big and flat.
How to make my sourdough rye bread recipe
- Mix the dough and let it rise. It will feel very sticky!
- Cover it and let it rise in a warm spot. After about 4 hours, check your dough. It should have risen somewhat.
- Shape the dough into a ball. Transfer it to a well-floured proofing basket and let it rise again.
- Transfer the dough ball to a preheated Dutch oven. Bake the rye bread. For the first 40 minutes, bake with the lid on, then remove the lid and continue baking for another 20-25 minutes.
Helpful Recipe Tips
- Make sure you have an active sourdough starter. If you don’t, check out my no measuring, no discard sourdough method.
- Replacing any amount of rye flour with a different flour will create a lighter, fluffier bread due to the wheat’s gluten structure.
- Rye bread dough is typically very sticky, and this is normal. To make less of a mess, you can mix and knead the dough in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment.
- Be sure to preheat the Dutch oven before placing the unbaked loaf into it.
- To see if the bread is fully baked, check the internal temperature. Ideally, it should be around 205˚F.
- For the best flavor and consistency, allow the bread to sit for at least 24 hours.
Sample schedule for making the bread
First Day
6 pm: Prepare your sourdough starter if you don’t already have one that’s ready to use.
Second Day
8 am: Make the dough, first rise
12 pm (noon): Transfer the dough to the proofing basket for the second rise
5 pm: Bake and cool.
Europeans eat this popular bread with cheeses and cold cuts that can stand up to the bold flavor.
Also, you can serve slices of rye bread with any hearty soup, such as a Russian Borscht, pea soup, potato soup, or any other stew. It is also the perfect delivery device for traditional German egg salad.
Storing
Sourdough breads last longer than yeast-based breads. My loaves typically stay fresh for 7 days at room temperature.
Read my post on how to keep your sourdough bread fresh. Ideally, you’ll want to keep it in a linen bread bag or in a bread box. There’s a good chance that your bread will last up to 2 weeks if you store it correctly.
And remember that salt makes bread last longer. Therefore, you can play with the amount of salt, too.
Easy Sourdough Rye Bread
Ingredients
- 250 g sourdough starter (1 cup)
- 440 g medium rye flour (3 ½ c)
- 225 g warm water (little less than 1 c)
- 12 g sea salt (2 tsp)
- ½ tsp caraway seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Add sourdough starter and warm water to a large bowl. Mix well.
- Add flour, salt, and caraway seeds. Stir well. Note: This dough will be sticky.
- Cover the bowl with a beeswax wrap, plastic wrap, or damp towel.
- Let the dough rise in a warm spot for about 4 hours or until springy to the touch.
- Lightly flour a work surface. Transfer the dough to the work surface and form into a ball.
- Transfer the dough ball to a well-floured proofing basket.
- Gently cover the proofing basket and set in a warm spot for the second rise.
- When the dough has risen by about 50%, transfer it to a parchment lined plate.
- Slide the dough ball into a preheated dutch oven and bake covered in a preheated oven at 400F for about 30 minutes.
- Remove the lid and bake for another 30 minutes or until the internal temperature has reached about 205˚F.
- Remove the bread from the dutch oven and let cool for about 24 hours on a cooling rack.
Notes
- you can make this bread lighter and fluffier by replacing some or most of the rye flour with wheat flour
- you can omit the caraway seeds
Nutrition
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Other sourdough recipes you might like
Classic German Pumpernickel Bread
Fantastic recipe, I bake it every week. I only use your rye sourdough starter recipe. I have never made sourdough and with your help it was very easy. My son also loves rye bread, he was introduced to the german bakeries when visiting Kassel. Greetings from Cape Town, South Africa.
That makes me so happy to hear! Thank you so much for your nice comment ~ Anja
Thank you for the schedule, it helps a lot!
You are welcome and I am glad to hear that ~ Anja
Hi Anja, if I use 1/2 of whole grain rye flour and 1/2 of wheat flour, do I have to reduce the amount of warm water?
Thank you
Probably not but your dough should guide you, even when it feels very sticky at first ~ Anja
Can I ferment in refrigerator over night and bake the next day ?
Yes, you can ~ Anja
Hi, my ball didn’t rise overnight in fridge. Maybe 10%. Do I let it rise on the counter?
Due to the lower gluten content, it may not rise a whole lot. You can always let it rise some more on the counter ~ Anja
Hi Anja.
I absolutely love your recipes and am a faithful follower.
My question is, do I need to do stretch and folds or just make into a ball after the rise?
For this rye bread you can just form it into a ball ~ Anja
Hello Anja, I am so glad to have stumbled across you! I enjoy sourdough bread, and this year have decided to try to make my own. I started my sourdough starter on January 1. Today, 1/5, I see some nice bubbles. Is it best to let the starter mature before baking bread? If so, do I leave it on the counter?
Also, I was wondering if I can use something other than cast iron. I passed mine on to others as it was getting too heavy for me to use.
Lastly, I am T2d. Can you recommend any bread recipes that I should consider as being diabetic-friendly? Thank you so much for your willingness to share your passion!
You can start baking with you new SD starter but you might want to add a pinch of commercial yeast – just to make sure you get a good rise. You can use any other oven-proof baking vessel. While I can’t give specific medical advice, just know that any PROPERLY FERMENTED sourdough bread with be easier on your blood glucose ~ Anja
I’m going to make this now🙂
If I want to proof in fridge overnight, at what step in the recipe would I do that? After the 4 hour rise? Then in the morning, would I need to let it rise a bit at room temp before baking?
Thank you!
I would proof it in the fridge after you have shaped it. Many people recommend baking it right after you remove it from the fridge ~ Anja
I have never used rye before, this recipe was very beginner friendly and my 4yr old and 2yr old loved it. Planning to make this a regular in our bread baking. Thank you!
Hi Anja , so glad I found you. I always d my sourdough breads very easy too and I am a lover of “Roggenmehlbrot”. So I had to try your recipe (because so easy) too today and the result is wonderful. If I bake the dough in a rectangular bread form than in the round cast iron , would it then rise a bit higher up when baking; for as it is now it is a little bit too flat for having usual sandwich slices. But I love the outcome as you did it. It tastes just great and didn’t take me whole the day either, for I had a very bubbly sourdough starter to begin with and putting the dough into the oven with the oven light made it a shorter process. I have now another of your recipes going ,, a whole grain sourdough bread. It is rising now and I hope I will be able to bake it at the end of the day.
Great! That makes me so happy to hear! Happy baking ~ anja
It would be nicer if you had posted the carbs in this recipe. They are more important than calories.
I am still trying to figure out how to adjust my recipe card settings ~ Anja
Seriously? Why is that even important Eric? Anja’s channel is clearly about the beauty of making delicious food in the most hassle free, easy-going manner. Counting carbs doesn’t fit in here at all.
Good Morning!
I am wondering about the Caraway seeds. With grinding a tsp.’s
worth and adding it to the starter, is that going to be overpowering the taste? or should I use ¼ tsp. to start with. I like the taste but want to be gradual and not overpowering. I’m thinking that maybe adding a small grinding of seeds each month for taste, or would that be too much?
Thank you
I often add caraway seeds to my grain mill right with my grains and I can never taste them ~ Anja
Can I do the final rise overnight in the fridge?
Yes, that would work ~ Anja
Have you ever made any of your recipes with freshly milled grains? I am wondering how I would adapt your recipes.
What size Banneton did you use for this recipe
My banneton is 9″ ~ Anja
Could I use sorghum starter and flour with the same measurements?
I haven’t tried it myself but that should work. You might have to adjust the liquid a bit ~ Anja
I’m so thankful I found your site and your super helpful videos! We enjoyed rye bread from a German bakery in Canada and my husband asked me to try baking my own (we live in Mexico, so no German bakeries here!)
So far I’ve used about 1/4 rye flour and the rest all purpose, but it has that perfect sourdough rye texture! With so much white flour the dough was a lot drier, so my second loaf I decreased the amount of flour to get a wetter loaf the way you showed.
And adding rye flour to the starter to get it going, as you mentioned on another video, was the thing my starter needed! I had started my starter before I found your site and instructions, and was having trouble getting it going, but the rye tip worked amazing… now I follow your no-discard starter method. 😊
I am so glad you like this recipe and my sourdough method! And kuddos to you for experimenting and adjusting the recipe! Happy baking ~ Anja
This a great recipe. I enjoy making it and trying different ratios of rye and wheat flour and also trying different starters with it. Thanks so much for sharing your family recipes!
Nice! I am so glad you like my recipe! I am all for experimenting with ingredients and ratios ~ Anja
Can I leave it in the fridge overnight? If yes at which point in bread making I would put it in the fridge? Thank you
When you might put it in the fridge also depends on how warm your kitchen is but I tend to put mine in there after about 3 days ~ Anja
Please let me know why my comment/question was deleted. Did I write something inappropriate? I emailed you privately with some questions regarding this recipe on Feb. 19, no answer, then I posted here. The message was in moderation, but never answered and never posted. Is there a different way to get answers to questions about your recipes? I genuinely would like to know. Thank you!
I am so sorry, Lara, I get so many comments and emails that it may have just slipped through the cracks. Nobody purposefully deleted any comments. I will try to find your email and respond ~ Anja
I followed the recipe exactly, but the dough was extremely dry, so ended up adding a lot more water. Not sure what went wrong and why.
That can happen depending on the type of rye, how finely it was milled, the humidity it was kept in etc. You did nothing wrong, in fact, adding more water was the right idea ~ Anja
I absolutely love rye bread and you just reminded me that I haven’t had it in a while! This looks so beautiful and amazing. I will definitely have to give it a try! You know, my family moved to Germany when I was only a newborn (military brat here 😂) so all my baby pictures are from there. I’d love to go back! 🥰
That’s so great! Yes, rye bread is very popular in Germany ~ Anja
Yum! I definitely need to try this.
Nice! Happy baking ~ Anja
I’m not honestly sure if I like rye bread, but this loaf looks beautiful. And makes me think I may need to give it a try.
You can always add wheat flour and decrease the amount of rye flour to suit your preference ~ Anja
This Rye bread looks delicious and is so pretty!
Thank you so much ~ Anja