This delicious and healthy 100% rye sourdough bread has quickly made it into the regular rotation in my baking schedule. It is incredibly healthy, loaded with fiber and has a flavor that will quickly get you hooked. There is so much good going on in the bread; for starters, it is super high in fiber but low in gluten, and it has plenty of healthy fats from the sunflower, flax, and pumpkin seeds. It checks all the boxes and is perfectly balanced in macronutrients. I make a massive batch every time I bake this bread and pre-slice and freeze 3/4 of it. To serve, just take it from the freezer, pop it in the toaster in the morning, and use it for a lunchtime sandwich. I eat it almost every day and love it more today than ever.
Baking 100% Rye Bread FAQ
Forget half the rules you know about sourdough baking. Rye bread is a completely different beast. Let me correct myself. 100% rye bread is a completely different beast. Forget stretch and folds, forget building strength in the dough. Mix it and let it be.
Proofing 100% Rye Breads vs. Wheat
Where your sourdough rye bread can go off the rails is in the timing of the final proof. Long final proofs are a no-go for sourdough rye. The flexibility of a long cold proof is not an option either. Rye likes warmth, you can’t just throw it in the fridge like regular dough if you decide you want to go out. Rye doesn’t like that. It needs to proof long enough but not too long. You build flavor and starter in the first or second proof but not in the final dough poof. Here it rarely needs to be more than 6 hours. Usually 3-6 in the bowl and 1-2 in the bread pan.
Much of my understanding of rye baking has come from Dan Leader’s book living bread. I came to realize the German and Danish rye breads all had something in common. A 2-3 stage process of building the leaven. With the second stage often being the longest and done overnight.
This recipe is monstrously large. Because of the sensitivity of timing with rye bread, if I make it, I’m making a lot of it. I will typically leave the small loaf for the week to eat fresh and pre-slice and freeze the 14-inch Pullman loaf. This recipe is for a standard loaf pan and a long Pullman pan. It’s a lot of dough. In total, I think it weighs close to 4 kg seeds and all. If this is too much of a commitment for you don’t worry. I have it broken down for a single 8-inch loaf or a single 14-inch Pullman loaf here.
Converting Your Wheat Starter To A Rye Sourdough Starter.
If your not to concerned that your rye sourdough starter may be 1/100th wheat, you can simply convert your wheat sourdough starter, to rye with 2-3 feeds. Start with very small ratios to ensure you do not end up with a very large amount of starter. I like to build, in grams, from 10 starter/20 water /20 rye flour, let it sit for 6-8 hours at room temperature,then feed at a 50/100/100 ratio. From here you can take the required amount of starter for the recipe, and place the remainder in the refrigerator to serve as your new rye sourdough starter.
Do You Have A Sourdough Starter?
Like all the recipes featured on Bubbling Starter, this bread is made with a sourdough starter. To learn how to make your own; check out Beginners Guide to Creating a Bubbling Starter. Simply alternate the flour to rye if building a rye sourdough starter.
100% Rye, Super Seed Sourdough Bread, Healthy and Delicious
1
hour10
minutesIngredients
- Detailed break down
- First stage starter
25 g starter
100 g rye flour
100 g water
- Second stage starter
225 g starter
400 g rye flour
400 g water
- Seed soaker
200 g water
3/4 tsp salt
20 g fennel
100 g pumpkin seeds
100 g sunflower seeds
100 g flax seeds
- Final dough
1400 g rye flour
seed soaker
585 water 1/2 cold coffee
355 beer
75 g hemp hearts
50 g molasses
80 g honey
28 g salt
Directions
- The afternoon prior to baking, prepare your first stage starter
- After about 8 hours, just before bed, mix the second stage starter and prepare your seed soaker to rest on the counter over night.
- The next morning mix the final dough.
- Weigh all the dry ingredients into a very large bowl, and set aside
- Weigh all the liquid ingredients into a very large bowl, along with your starter, mix well with dough whisk.
- Begin adding the dry ingredients slowly, mixing well with dough whisk as you go.
- Once about half the flour is added, mix the seed soaker in also, continue adding the dry ingredients mixing with dough whisk.
- This is an extremely large dough, it is heavy, and requires a bit of muscle. I personally sit cross legged on the floor, holding the bowl on my lap so I can mix with both arms.
- Once the dough is mixed, smooth the top with whisk, and cover allowing to rest at room temperature for 3-4 hours or until it has increased in volume by about 50%.
- Once dough has increased in volume by at least 50%. Prepare your bread tins by coating the inside with butter or a high heat-tolerant cooking oil. Scoop the dough to the tins and spread it evenly smoothing the top with a spoon.
- Cover and continue to proof for 2-3 hours.
- Once the dough is approaching the top of the Pullman pans, preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Once the oven is preheated, uncover bread tins, and pierce the top of the bread about 1/2 inch deep, repeatedly with a fork.
- Place bread tins on cookie sheet and place on middle rack of oven. Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees and bake for 20 minutes, reduce oven temperature again to 400 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes, then again reduce oven to 375 and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Baking for a total time of roughly 70 minutes.
- The bread is ready once the internal temperature has reached 204 degrees Fahrenheit. Continue to bake at 375 degrees until the bread has reached this temperature, as ovens can vary.
- Rye bread flavor develops best if allowed to rest for 24 hours prior to slicing.
- Consume within 5-7 days if left out, or alternatively slice fresh, and freeze. to defrost, just pop it in the toaster.
My new favorite heathy rye bread!
Hi Rachel, this looks amazing! I’m going to try at 1/4x to fill a single 9.5 inch pullman. Can you clarify on the water amounts in the final dough? Water is listed twice: “525 water 1/2 coffee” and “60g water”. If I just use water instead of beer, would that be 525+355+60= 940g water in the final dough portion (full recipe before I adjust to 25%)? Many other seeded 100% rye recipes use over 100% water ratio to flour in total, this would be more like 86% including seed soaker water, so just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something with water being listed twice. Also, I’m going to try adding in a few tablespoons of cacao powder as well and reduce salt by 50%– let me know if any concerns there. Thanks so much for the great instructions!
Hi Joe,
I am excited for you to try the recipe. Please let me know how it turns out for you! I don’t see any issues swapping some salt for cocoa, I’m curious how the taste will be. To answer your water question. The water content is:
First stage + Second Stage + Seed soaker + Final dough
=
100 + 400 + 200 + 525 (including coffee) and 355 beer. The separate 60 grams of water is to dissolve the salt in when adding it. However I find this added step is not necessary. So I will be amending the recipe to add this with the initial water added.
This recipe is a slightly lower hydration than many 100% rye’s. I myself have not been successful with a 100% hydration rye recipe so I developed this one.
Thank you for your comments. I will run an edit and add bakers percentages! I realize that is quite useful, especially if the baker wants to adjust the volume of the recipe.
Thank you,
Rachel
Where can I find the recipe for the smaller 8 inch loaf?
Hi Melina,
I apologize the link is missing for the 8 inch loaf. I will look after that. Until then, I have listed below for you the measurements to make an 8 inch loaf. Please let me know how it turns out for you. 😊
* First stage starter
* 25 g starter
* 100 g rye flour
* 100 g water
* Second stage starter
* 81 g starter
* 144 g rye flour
* 144 g water
* Seed soaker
* 72 g water
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 8 g fennel
* 36 g pumpkin seeds
* 36 g sunflower seeds
* 36 g flax seeds
* Final dough
* 504 g rye flour
* seed soaker
* 211 water 1/2 cold coffee
* 130 beer
* 27 g hemp hearts
* 20 g molasses
* 30 g honey
* 10 g salt