Homemade Rye Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the ratio of rye flour to bread flour? ›

This recipe calls for 1 cup of rye flour and 3 cups of bread flour, and while you could play around with increasing the proportion of rye in this recipe (which is roughly 20% by weight), keep in mind that the more rye flour you use, the denser your bread will be.

For high-rising rye breads, use "white flour" – unbleached all-purpose or unbleached bread flour – in combination with rye.

All rye breads need some wheat flour in order to properly rise, because rye is low in air-trapping gluten, so the real question comes down to the ratio of rye to white all-purpose flour.

It's hard to tell with rye sometimes. The very best thing to do is get a probe thermometer. Bread is around 98 degrees C on the inside when it is done.

Rye is very low in gluten, so kneading is neither necessary nor useful. Rye does contain gluten, but in a form which is not able to form the tight, stretchy network found in wheat flour. Instead, rye relies on pentosans to hold together into dense, rustic bread.

To substitute by volume, start with this: 1 cup all-purpose flour is approximately equivalent to 1 cup + 2 tablespoons medium rye flour. For selected recipes, I added one more test: 125% rye (i.e., I used 25% more rye flour than the amount of all-purpose flour called for).

Rye gluten does not develop into strong and stretchy dough the way wheat gluten does and this means that any time you add rye flour to wheat flour you can expect the dough to be more fragile. It is also stickier and more absorbent. The more rye flour you have, the more pronounced the changes become.

As with most grain products (e.g. breads and pastas), whole-grain varieties of rye bread will provide the most impressive nutritional benefits. Whole grain rye contains plenty of fiber, iron, calcium, zinc, potassium, selenium, manganese, copper, plant compounds, and B vitamins, including riboflavin, niacin, and B6.

Rye flour absorbs more water than bread flour or all purpose flour, so you need to add more water to make the flour workable. If you feel the dough is too stiff after autolysing this dough, wetting your hands can be a good idea to gradually work extra water into the dough.

Rye is high in fiber and gluten, which may cause bloating in people who are sensitive to these compounds. Unsuitable for a gluten-free diet. Rye bread contains gluten, making it unsuitable for people on a gluten-free diet, such as those with celiac disease. May be high in added sugar.

What do I do if my bread doesn't rise enough? ›

Increasing the temperature and moisture can help activate the yeast in the dough so it rises. You can also try adding more yeast. Open a new packet of yeast and mix 1 teaspoon (3 g) of it with 1 cup (240 mL) of warm water and 1 tablespoon (13 g) of sugar. Let the yeast mixture proof for 10 minutes.

Bread doughs made with rye, especially those with a high percentage of rye, tend to be quite sticky and—to most American bakers—harder to work with. (To make up for this, any flour that is added to a rye dough recipe will usually be high gluten bread flour.)

At a warm room temperature, 74-76°F (23-24°C), bulk fermentation should take 20 minutes (yes, it's short!). No stretches and folds are necessary. Prepare an 8-inch round proofing basket or banneton by liberally dusting on whole rye flour.

If moistened rye flour is given too much time to ferment, however, amylase will degrade rye's starches. The starch will not absorb water in the expected ratio. As a result, the bread's interior will be excessively moist and gummy, sticking to the knife as it's sliced.

Gently remove the bread from the pan, wrap in a kitchen towel or baker's linen (couche) and let it rest on the counter for 24-48 hours. If you slice too soon, you'll end up with a gummy interior.

(Rye flour can't be directly substituted for all-purpose or bread flour because it has different gluten-forming properties.)

no, bread flour is made from wheat grain andd rye flour is made with rye grain. Rye flour has a very distinctive flavor. No, bread flour is a white flour that is denser than all purpose flour. Rye flour has a particular flavor that it gets from the rye grains it is milled from.

Bread has a moist, chewy texture that you can't achieve with whole wheat. Because of rye's ability to absorb and keep much of it's moisture, the inside of a sourdough loaf made with rye flour will have a more moist texture.

Rye flour absorbs water more readily than wheat flour, so you'll need to adjust your recipe accordingly.