Delicious Homemade Rye Bread doesn’t get much simpler than this bakery style artisan bread. Caraway and rye flour gives the bread its distinct flavor. And guess what? No machines required! You can make this bread by hand!
Rye is one of our family favorites, but we can never find it in our local bakeries. It is a bread that is full of flavor and brings an interesting twist to sandwiches. Classic sandwiches using rye bread are pastrami on rye, tuna on rye, and corned beef on rye, but you could use rye in a variety of different sandwiches to bring out a new flavor. Or you can go the route of my children who just devour it plain. Seriously, who would have thought little kids would love rye bread so much?
This recipe is super simple to put together, gives some great bread making techniques, and makes a lovely light rye. I’ve also included instructions for a dark rye that has cocoa powder and molasses in it if you’d like to try your hand at that.
How to make Bakery Style Rye Bread:
The key to making great bakery-style bread at home is all in the method. Bakeries use steam ovens to get that wonderful chewy crust. You can create your own steam oven by placing a shallow pan of water in the oven with your bread. The water will evaporate in the heat, filling your oven with steam.
Using a baking stone or pizza stone is vital to creating both the perfect crust and the perfect crumb. Bakeries use fancy ovens of the masonry variety. See, the oven in your house cooks using radiated (the flame or the electrical elements) and convected heat (the air moving around the oven. A convection oven has fans to assist in the circulation of the air). A masonry oven is able to use conduction on top of convection and radiated heat. Masonry ovens utilize stone, just as their name suggests. Stone retain heat really well. When you put a loaf of bread directly on a hot stone, the stone transfers its heat to the bread through conduction. So when you use a pizza/baking stone, you are literally adding a third heating method into your oven. Isn’t that awesome? There’s your science lesson for the day!
Don’t have a mixer? No problem! Watch the video below where I show you how to make this bread by hand! No machines required. It’s THAT simple!
This recipe first appeared on The Stay At Home Chef on January 30, 2013
Is it possible to do this on a baking sheet? I do not have a stone.
Yes, your crust just won’t be as crisp.
Don”t have a mixer,, will be hand kneading. Any guidelines as to how long to knead? Thank you.
This does not require a long knead. You want to knead just enough until the dough is tacky, but not so sticky that it sticks to your hands.
I used a 12 inch cast iron skillet .. came out perfect 🙂
Just made this loaf. My husband bought organic rye and barley flour and had no idea what to do with it! So I used this recipe and used 2 cups barley flour and 1 cup all purpose and it came out amazing! It has a very beer like taste to it and it’s so delicious!
I’ve made this three times now. Each time it seems to spread wide. This last time, after the first use, I divided into two loaves. More manageable, but still spread wide. Should I be shaping into more of a ball than an oval?
The crust and flavor are superb!
Yes, try a more round ball next time.
Can this recipe be frozen, either before baking, or after?
Awesome Recipe, thank you! Liked the video as well. Bread turned out fantastic even though when one as putting the cornstarch wash on my bread seemed to deflate a bit. I still would do the cornstarch wash.
Wish I could post a pic!
Can you use a stoneware loaf pan to bake the bread in, instead of putting it on a pizza stone?
Worth a try!
Excellent crust! No sugar added, that’s definitely a benefit. I used more of the rye flower, reducing the amount of all-purpose adding coriander seeds as well. The bread came out mouth-watering indeed. I will definitely do it again.
Wow!
I enjoyed this loaf of bread so much! I am a new baker and my loaf flattened out, but OMG!
I look forward to practicing this!
OMG ! thanks ! I just made it … and I think it is the best bread i’ve tasted in my hole life, I mean this is good ! so tasty, moist, the crust just hard enough, make great sandwiches, with smoked salmon you roll on the ground!
This recipe is fantastic. My family loves it. I have made four loaves in two days. This one is a keeper. The crust is perfectly chewy and the crumb is tender. It stays moist and makes the best toast. I cued and dried a loaf for the Thanksgiving stuffing this year.