Can you get more rye than rye? Turns out the answer is yes. You can use all rye flour in bread and achieve a deli-worthy result, but to do so you must make a few distinctions and a few compromises. First, different kinds of rye flour exist. Light rye is most like typical all-purpose flour. The darker the rye, the more it acts like a whole grain flour with unmilled wheat berries when baking, meaning it will have more texture and take longer to rise. So keep a close eye on this loaf, and if it doesn’t seem to be rising to your satisfaction, just be patient. It will get there.
If you’re looking to speed up the process, use all light rye or a combination of bread flour and medium rye flour. You can still achieve a very satisfying result that’s definitely easier for a novice baker (or a busy or distracted one who doesn’t have time to wait for rye to rise).
Cooktop Cove
100% Rye bread
16
3 hours 20 minutes to 3 hours 50 minutes
45 minutes
4 hours 5 minutes to 4 hours 35 minutes
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup boiling water
2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon dry active yeast
3 cups rye flour
1 tablespoon salt
Mix seeds together and add boiling water to just cover. Steep at least 1 hour.
In a large mixing bowl, add 2 cups warm water (~90 °F) with dry active yeast. Mix to combine
Add rye flour and mix to completely combine. Allow to rest approx. 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, mix in seeds and salt until completely combined.
Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and proof 2 hours.
After 2 hours, move dough to a greased 9x5 loaf pan. Use a bench card or your hands to shape the dough into a loaf form inside of the pan.
Proof 20 minutes more until cracks begin to form on the top of the loaf.
Bake in a 425 °F / 220 °C oven for 30 - 45 minutes until dark brown. This is up to you how dark it gets. Internal temperature will be ~ 200°F.
Allow to rest overnight before slicing or the bread will be gummy.
FAQs
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.
What is light rye flour used for? ›
Perfect for baking an array of artisan-style bakery products, from classic rye sourdough bread to delectable pastries like croissants. Versatile flour that lends itself beautifully to pasta, noodles, and frozen dough, giving you endless creative possibilities.
How do you add rye flour to a recipe? ›
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). More about that later.
What does adding rye flour to bread do? ›
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.
Why add vinegar to rye bread? ›
A–The rye flavor in a rye bread comes from a combination of rye flour, caraway seeds and yeast. The sour flavor results from the addition of something with an acidic flavor–usually a sour dough culture or vinegar.
Why is my homemade rye bread so dense? ›
1. Breads made from rye flour won't rise as much as those made from wheat flour. Bread made with 100 percent rye flour will be very dense, which is why many recipes add wheat flour to get a better rise. High-protein bread flour will help as well.
What is the difference between rye and light rye? ›
“Light rye” is also kind of “greige” but it is fine without the flecky bits. “Light rye” is the equivalent of white flour and “dark rye” is the equivalent of whole meal (whole wheat/spelt) flour – that is to say, “dark rye” has all the bran and the germ in the flour and “light rye” does not.
What are the 3 types of rye flour we can purchase? ›
While light, medium, and dark rye flours are sifted to remove some of the nutrient-rich bran and germ, pumpernickel flour is unsifted and should be made from the entire rye kernel. That said, we've found that labeling is inconsistent among flours.
Why is rye flour so important? ›
Helps Lower Weight and Cholesterol
Rye positively differs from wheat when digested, and it's been shown to actually suppress body weight gain, as well as significantly lower obesity, in mice. Whole grain rye has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and lower total plasma cholesterol.
What is the best use of rye flour? ›
Rye flour is used to make rye bread, sourdough bread, gingerbread, crispbread, fruitcakes, scones, crackers, pasta, as well as a filler for soups and sauces. Perhaps the most famous product made with rye flour is pumpernickel bread, a yeast-leavened bread made with the darkest rye flour.
Rye bread can be baked at a range of temperatures, though 400-425°F (210°C) is preferred by many bakers. Expect loaves to take much longer than an all-wheat bread. To check for doneness, tip the bread out of the pan and thump the bottom.
Should rye flour have more or less water? ›
The rye will take a lot more water than the white and the spelt. Whilst the spelt needs a little more water to get to the same consistency as the white. When you are making bread use your senses – touch, sight and smell, to adapt your recipe.
Why is my rye bread gummy? ›
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.
What gives rye bread its distinctive flavor? ›
Rye bread is often made with additions like molasses and cocoa powder, which add color and flavor. Caraway seeds can be added as well, for an even more distinctive flavor. While you can make a loaf that is made 100% rye, those tend to be quite dense and heavy.
What does rye flour do to sourdough? ›
Rye flour is a popular choice in sourdough bread because of its unique properties, which can speed up fermentation, add a complex flavor profile, reduce density, retain moisture, and offer more nutrition than wheat flour.
Is rye flour hard to work with? ›
Dark rye is the flour milled from the periphery of the grain. It tends to be coarse and sandy, to absorbe quite a lot of water and in general is difficult to work with.
What are the disadvantages of rye bread? ›
Possible downsides of rye bread
- Contains antinutrients. Rye bread, especially the lighter varieties, contain phytic acid, an antinutrient that may hinder the absorption of minerals like iron and zinc from the same meal. ...
- May cause bloating. ...
- Unsuitable for a gluten-free diet. ...
- May be high in added sugar.
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.
