I love overnight bread. It’s much easier to make than normal homemade bread, without any kneading necessary – you just mix everything together in a bowl, let it sit overnight, and then bake it in the morning. This is a typical north German rye bread, dark and slightly sour.
The usual problem is that it’s usually baked in a dutch oven or lidded ceramic dish and involves some dough folding and sitting in a tea towel in the morning after it’s risen overnight, which I find detracts a bit from the simplicity of the method.
The dough rises a second time in the pan you bake it in, so you don’t need to worry about proper folding technique or anything like that. All you have to do is mix it the night before, dump it in a loaf pan, and bake it. No kneading, no folding, no special equipment.
Despite the lack of work that goes into this bread, the crust is surprisingly crispy, and the inside of the loaf is soft and tender. It also lasts longer than other homemade breads, and it keeps for at least a week sitting on the counter, wrapped well.
If you like the idea of rye bread but don’t want to go all the way to a dark rye, try this overnight spelt rye bread instead, or sourdough rye bread if you prefer a natural yeast version.
Please note that the darker photos are made with regular cocoa powder and yeast, and the lighter bread is made with sourdough starter and natural cacao. The step-by-step photos are sourdough, so if you want to see the steps for the yeast method, please watch the recipe video.
One reader, Marina, commented: “We have made it 2 times – both times outstanding texture. First time – as written, with rye and regular wheat flour, it ended up being overpowered by cocoa and mild bitterness – not bad, but too mild in flavor. Second time – with spelt and rye and half of cocoa and some cumin and seeds on top. Really outstanding flavor. Thank you for coming up with this recipe – so easy to make and beautiful results even for non-baking people.”
Another reader, Janie, said: “Thank you for this recipe – it makes a delicious loaf that lasts for days. I have been looking for ages for an easy ancient grain recipe and this one hasn’t failed me yet. It’s great to experiment with additions – I’ve enjoyed fennel seeds, caraways seeds and will try a sweet loaf with cranberries for Christmas.”
Ingredients
- Whole grain spelt flour: if you don’t have spelt flour, all-purpose makes an excellent substitution. Whole wheat flour can be used as well, but you’ll have to reduce the flour slightly or increase the water a bit to make up for the greater absorption.
- Rye flour: sometimes called dark rye flour, this should be whole grain rye, though light (sifted) rye flour can also be used.
- Rolled oats: the oats can be left out if you prefer – I often omit them – though it is better to increase the amount of flour used by a couple spoonfuls in this case as the oats do absorb a fair amount of water.
- Cocoa powder: make sure you’re using 100% cocoa powder, not hot cocoa drink powder. There shouldn’t be anything like sugar or milk powder in it.
- Yeast (dry or fresh) or active sourdough starter: traditional yeast (not quick rise) is ideal, but it doesn’t make that much of a difference. Active starter can be any starter made with a gluten-containing flour – rye, plain flour, spelt, and so on. There’s a recipe in my cookbook for rye sourdough starter.
- Add-ins: dried fruit, seeds, and nuts can be added to the dough as well. I recommend mixing it in after the bulk rise (overnight) before placing the dough into the tin to rise a second time. Raisins, dried cranberries, and sunflower seeds are my favourite additions. You can also top the loaf with seeds, which makes for a very pretty gift.
Step by Step
See the recipe card notes for instructions on how to make this into a sourdough loaf. The step-by-step photos show the sourdough method because the video shows it made with yeast, so in the interest of maximum information, I wanted to include both.
1. Add wet ingredients: add the water, maple syrup, and active starter to a large bowl. The starter should float. If using fresh yeast, add it now.
2. Mix: whisk to combine well.
3. Add dry ingredients: stir in the flours, oats, cocoa, and salt. Add the dry yeast now if using that method and stir into a shaggy dough.
4. Rise: cover with a plate, board, or tea towel, and set it into a room temperature, draft free place for about 12 hours.
5. Transfer: once the dough as risen, place it into a well greased or parchment lined bread tin. It will lose volume here.
6. Rise: cover the loaf with a tea towel and set it into a draft-free place to rise again for a couple of hours. The dough should be expanded but not quite doubled after this time.
7. Bake: bake the loaf for about 45 minutes, or until the bread sounds hollow when it’s tapped.
8. Cool and serve: cool the bread completely – at least six hours, preferably overnight – before slicing and serving.
Recipe Notes
Like most darker whole grain breads and sourdough loaves, this one needs to rest for a significant amount of time before slicing. The recipe states to let it cool completely – that may mean several hours or even overnight. If you want really nice clean slices I recommend letting the baked loaf sit overnight in a tea towel before slicing the following day.
If you want to make this into a boule, you’ll have to introduce some stretches and folds. I recommend 4 rounds, starting directly after mixing. After the dough has risen overnight, shape it as you usually would and place it into a well floured banneton. Bake in a dutch oven 30 minutes covered and another 15-20 minutes uncovered, at 230°C (450°F).
The dark colour and traditional dark rye flavour here come from the whole grain flours and cocoa powder. It’s not quite a German black bread, which I grew up with, but this style of rye bread is also very common in northern Germany (where I lived) and Scandinavia (though it is hard to find in Gothenburg). If you feel that the cocoa will make it too bitter – though that is kind of the point – you can leave it out, no problem.
How to Store
Storage: the bread keeps well, wrapped in a tea towel, for about a week. The crust will harden slightly but the middle will still be fresh. You can also use a bread bin or sealed container, but I don’t recommend storing this in a plastic bag.
Freezing: this loaf freezes spectacularly, and I highly recommend having some in the freezer at all times. Freeze the whole loaf or pre-slice and take out individual pieces to toast, but either way it’s well worth freezing some in an airtight container.
Expert Tips
- Choose a good draft-free spot: I usually keep my dough in the oven with the door closed, no light needed, for the initial prove.
- Keep an eye on the dough the first time: you may need slightly less time if your starter is very active. The dough is finished the bulk proof when it’s approximately doubled in size.
- Don’t worry about overdoing it: the colour is harder to gauge because the loaf is so dark, but the outer crust should be quite hard and crisp when finished (it’s difficult to over-bake this bread).
- Serve with strong toppings: this is excellent with mirabelle jam, for example, something quite tart. We often have it with peanut butter but a sharp cheese is certainly more traditional.
- Refrigerate after shaping: if doing the sourdough method, it’s no problem to refrigerate the loaf for a few hours before baking. I recommend letting it rise at room temperature for an hour or so before refrigerating for the best results.
More Ancient Grain Bread Recipes
No Knead Honey and Oat Sourdough
Spelt Naan
Saffron Wreath Bread
Simple Spelt Bread
Einkorn Bread
If you make this Dark Rye Bread or any other bread recipes on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.
Easy Overnight Dark Rye Bread
Description
Ingredients
- 500 ml room temperature water
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
- 450 grams whole spelt flour
- 150 grams rye flour
- 60 grams rolled oats
- 25 grams cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon dry yeast** or 100g active starter see notes
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the water, maple syrup, and active starter or fresh yeast if using that option.
- Add the spelt, rye, oats, cocoa, and salt to the bowl. Add the dry yeast to the dry ingredients as well if that’s what you’re using. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine, mixing until no visible streaks remain.
- Cover the bowl with a lid, cutting board, or tea towel and let it sit for 12-15 hours at room temperature. It will at least double in size during this time.
- In the morning, grease* a 30 cm / 12 inch bread pan or line it with paper. Scrape the dough into the pan, and then press it down evenly (wet hands work well).
- Cover the dough with a clean dish towel. Let it rest again for 1-2 hours at room temperature.
- Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Once the oven is hot, place the bread on a middle rack and bake for 40-45 minutes. The crust will be hard and sound hollow when tapped once the bread is done baking.
- Remove it from the oven and place the pan on a metal rack to cool for 20-30 minutes before removing it from the pan to cool completely. The loaf will keep well for a week at room temperature, best stored in a cloth bag.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
This post was originally shared in October 2016. It has been updated most recently as of January 2023 with no changes to the recipe.
Thank you, I look forward to trying it.
Hi John! I'll be mixing another batch tomorrow morning, so I'll update the recipe then with the necessary weights. Thanks for your kind words and I hope you like it!
Do you have a scaled (weight) version to share? The bread looks delicious!
This recipe has been so great! Nice been making it for myself and weekly for the past several weeks. I’ve been doing half rye and half whole wheat and adding a couple tablespoons of caraway and molasses instead of honey. I’ve not baked with spelt flour before though.. what do you think would be the difference switching from half wheat to half spelt? Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so happy to hear that you’re enjoying the bread, Jason! There isn’t a real difference between whole wheat and spelt – just that whole wheat has a slightly higher gluten content and, if anything, will make the dough easier to work with. For this recipe the flavour difference wouldn’t really be noticeable. I prefer spelt because it’s a bit easier on the stomach but, again, because of the longer fermentation time, probably doesn’t make much of a difference!
I think after being afraid too long of baking any breads, I’ve come to the conclusion that I simply must give it a try. Never baked any breads in my life before, but hearing how many people are doing that with amazing results is just what I need to hear. Heading to the store to buy rye flour and will be making it over the weekend. Hope it will be a win. I’m more than tired of flavorless soft Canadian breads…
I get you with the bad Canadian breads! Just give this one enough time to rise before baking and you’ll be good : )
I can't wait to try this after reading the instruction and even more so after reading all the comments. I love to bake breads, but have never tried rye. I have some rye flour and whole wheat, will try it that way as one other said she did until I get some spelt flour. I belong to a food coop and I know they carry it; now I know what I will be ordering next month. Thanks, this sounds delicious.
So happy to hear it! It definitely doesn't rise as significantly before baking as a regular white bread does, but it's meant to be a dense and hearty loaf 🙂 I'm thrilled that you liked it, especially as an Austrian who's used to dark rye!
So glad you liked it! It's a staple in our house, I make one every couple of days now.
Thanks Karen!
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe!! I baked this at the weekend and me & my boyfriend loved it – so easy and it looks really impressive too!
Super amazing! So absorbed in the flavor of rye flour, definitely going to try it this weekend!
Wow! This recipe is amazing! :))))) I was in need of a SIMPLE, everyday recipe for a healthy bread without the struggle of sourdough! You did it! Thanks so much! I tried it yesterday and although the dough did not really rise overnight it came out perfectly! Crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside and the density is perfect for our taste! Thank you SO much! Love from Austria! 🙂 Julia
Goodness, I'm so surprised! I'm happy to hear that you like the coconut bread recipe. Hmm, well this bread definitely doesn't taste as sour as a true sourdough – the goal is more to make the bread easier to digest so that you can absorb more of the nutrients without having to worry about a sourdough. That being said, I have made this bread several times as a true sourdough and it's excellent. To make it really sour, replace the dry yeast with 1/2 cup sourdough starter. Let the bread sit out at room temperature overnight, and then refrigerate it for a day and another night. The following morning (36 hours later) push the dough down into a loaf pan and let it sit for a couple of hours to come to room temperature. Bake at 475F, reducing to 425F 15 minutes in, and bake until it sounds hollow when tapped (sorry I haven't written the exact time down). It should rise really nicely and have a good strong sour flavour. I hope that helps!
Hi Alexandra! I discovered your blog through Food52, the cleaned up coconut bread recipe (which is fantastic). I've made this bread today, replacing whole spelt flour with whole wheat one since I didn't have any on hand. The loaf is not sour at all, I let it sit for 14h, and room temp is around 20C. Do you have any idea how I can increase the sourness?
Try using some pickle juice in place of the water, and slightly less salt!
Thank you, Sofia! No, I don't think the chocolate is really noticeable – it just adds a little dimension and makes it a bit more rye-tasting. Ugh it took me three weeks of babying to get my sourdough starter going! The guidelines I followed said it would take three days, ha.
Thanks, Leslie! Hooray!
Exactly, Markus! Haha I was always appalled by squishy white bread!
What is the best substitute for spelt flour? Can I use bread flour or use more rye flour
Best would be white (bread flour or all-purpose) or another wheat flour. You can use all rye, especially if it’s a higher gluten content rye.
I’d like to make this bread in an iron skillet on top of the stove. I have a deep iron skillet that my great grandmother used to fry chicken. It’s the cutest skillet about 10” in diameter and 4 inches deep. I live and work out of my travel trailer and I prefer not using my oven because it uses so much propane. I love rye bread!
If you try it on the stove, please let me know how it goes! I’m sorry I can’t give any advice on this as I’ve never tried but I think it’d work well.
I used red wheat flour as a substitution for spelt, and yeast – which at 1/4 t dry seemed live a very small amount – instead of sourdough starter. The dough that is a few hours into its overnight rise seems Very Dense. Have I ruined it? And If so, how do I save it?
Hi Kymberli, 1/4 teaspoon yeast is due to the long overnight rise, and is a typical amount for overnight bread. It takes at least eight hours to rise, so don’t be concerned if it’s not rising so quickly within a couple hours of mixing.
Oh yes! That loaf looks delicious. Do you taste the chocolate at all? I've been trying to make sourdough starter and failing hard. An easy bread is in order 🙂
looks amazing! my fiance's favourite bread if rye so he will love this.
My parents being German, I (naturally) grew up on lots of homemade bread. From sourdough to dark rye bread. I love a good hearty bread and still dislike what passes for bread here in Canada. If you can sandwich the bread thinner then a piece of paper it should not be considered bread!
Thank you, Samantha! We're in Germany now 🙂 it's lovely being in a different food landscape.
This bread looks fantastic and your photos are stunning as always! I'm not too sure exactly where you're living currently, but it sounds like a fantastic experience and I love that you're sharing inspiring food from there.