Hearty rye flavor meets soft, chewy texture in this easy sourdough bread. Mix it in the morning, fold between errands, and you’ll have a loaf is sturdy enough for stacked Reubens but still has a light, open crumb.
Once you’ve made it a couple of times, you’ll have the timing down. Just like all sourdough bread recipes, this one takes some time, but it’s mostly hands-off.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need
Combining rye and bread flours is important to get that nice light crumb, but also be sturdy for sandwiches. And don’t rush it, the long rise will let the rye sugars break down to give a better flavor and texture. You can replace up to 1/2 cup of rye flour with whole wheat flour if you want. You can also add some caraway seeds for a traditional deli rye flavor.
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And your Dutch oven has to be preheated. You need it to create and trap the steam for a crispy crust.
This makes 1 loaf with about 16 slices. If you’d like to double or triple this recipe, or use metric measurements, you can make adjustments in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- digital scale
- Whisk, spatula, or wooden spoon
- Dutch oven
- Bench Scraper
- Parchment paper
- Tea towel or plastic wrap
Ingredients
- 100 grams (½ cup) active sourdough starter
- 300 grams (1 ¼ cups) warm water
- 10 grams (1 ½ teaspoons) salt
- 32 grams (2 tablespoons) honey
- 120 grams (1 cup) rye flour
- 360 grams (3 cups) bread flour
How to Make
Step One: Feed Your Starter
You gotta feed your starter about 4-6 hours before you want to bake. I just mix 25 grams of starter with 35 grams each of flour and water. Let it double and you’re good to go.
Step Two: Mix up Wet Ingredients
When you’re ready to make the bread, grab a big bowl and mix your active starter with 300 grams of warm water, 10 grams of salt, and 32 grams of honey. Just stir it all together.
Step Three: Add Flour
First the 360 grams of bread flour, stir it in, then the 120 grams of rye flour.
Mix until it’s all combined and form it into a ball. Cover it and let it sit for 30 minutes.
Step Four: Stretch and Folds
Wet your hands (trust me on this), pick up one side of the dough, stretch it up, and fold it over. Turn your bowl 90 degrees and do it again. Keep going until you’ve done all four sides. Cover and wait 30 minutes. Do this whole thing 3 or 4 times total.
Step Five: The Long Wait
Cover your dough and let it sit at room temperature for 8-12 hours until it doubles. Warmer kitchen = faster rise. Cooler kitchen = longer wait. Just watch it, not the clock.
Step Six: Shape
Once it’s doubled, turn it out onto a floured surface and shape it into a ball. Put it on parchment paper.
Step Seven: Preheat Dutch Oven
Put it in your oven and preheat to 450°F. Let it sit at that temp for 20 minutes so it’s really hot.
Step Eight: Score and Bake
Make a few slashes on top with a razor blade, then carefully transfer your dough (parchment and all) into that hot Dutch oven.
Bake covered for 25 minutes, then take the lid off, drop the temp to 375°F, and bake another 25 minutes.
Step Nine: Wait for It
Let it cool for an hour or so before you cut into it. The bread is still cooking inside even after it comes out of the oven.
Serving & Storing
Serve toasted with jam or homemade butter, use for sandwiches for lunch, or as a side with soups, stews.
You can keep it at room temperature for 3 days, store it cut-side down on a cutting board the first day, then move it to a paper bag.
If you want to freeze it, slice it first to make it easier to grab for toast.
More Sourdough Breads For Everyday
- Sourdough spelt bread has a bit of a nutty flavor. Start in the evening, rise overnight, and bake in the morning.
- Sourdough whole wheat sandwich bread is soft an sturdy and my kids love it for lunch.
- Farmhouse white sourdough bread is the kind of bread your grandmother would be proud of.
- We use these crusty sourdough rolls for everything!
Printable Recipe
Sourdough Rye Bread
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Whisk, spatula, or wooden spoon
- Bench Scraper
- Tea towel or plastic wrap
Ingredients
- ½ cup active sourdough starter
- 1 ¼ cups warm water
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 cup rye flour
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1-2 tablespoons caraway seeds optional
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Instructions
- Feed the starter beforehand. About 4-6 hours before making this recipe, feed your starter. Mix together 25 grams of starter, 35 grams of all-purpose flour, and 35 grams of filtered water. Stir to combine. Allow to sit until it’s doubled in size.
- Mix starter with water and honey. In a large mixing bowl, add the warm water, active sourdough starter, salt, and honey. Stir to combine.
- Add bread flour. Add the bread flour to the water mixture. Stir to combine.
- Add rye flour. Next, add the rye flour, and stir to combine so the flour is fully incorporated. (If you're using caraway seed, mix that in now as well.) Form the dough into a ball. Cover and let it sit for 30 minutes.
- Stretch and folds. Pick up one side of the dough, stretch it, and fold the dough over. Tip: Wet your hands with some water to prevent the dough from sticking. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat. Repeat this process until all four corners of the dough have been stretched up and folded over. Cover and let it sit for 30 minutes. Repeat the stretch and folds 3 or 4 times. Flip the dough over. Cover the dough and let it sit for 30 minutes. Repeat the stretch and fold two more times.
- Bulk rise. Cover the dough and allow it to sit at room temperature for 8-12 hours or until it has doubled in size. The temperature of the room will affect the rise time. A warmer room will be quicker than a cooler room.
- Shape the dough. Once the dough has doubled in size, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Shape the dough into a ball and place it on a piece of parchment paper.
- Prep Dutch oven. Place the oven racks in the lower 2 spots. Place your Dutch oven in the oven and preheat the oven to 450℉. Allow the oven to sit at 450℉ for 20 minutes. This will make sure your Dutch oven is up to temperature.
- Score. Before transferring the dough to the oven, score the top of the dough with a pastry razor.
- Bake. Transfer the dough to the preheated Dutch oven. Bake covered at 450℉ for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, remove the lid, reduce the oven temperature to 375℉, and bake for an additional 25 minutes.
- Cool. Remove from the oven, transfer to a cooling rack, and allow the bread to cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting into it. Serve as is or with some butter and honey.
Notes
Nutrition
Thank you for the tips for sourdough breads. I will be making rye bread in a few days.
good luck Bernadette!