This is a German-style sourdough rye bread that you can find in just about any bakery in Germany (yes, with spelt flour). It’s a wonderful option for open-face sandwiches and served with soup. It is a lighter rye bread and doesn’t contain cocoa or oats, like sourdough dark rye bread.
While this does, of course, have a tighter crumb than a white flour loaf, I don’t see this as a negative. Most German breads are more dense and – shockingly – they also have lots of flavour. Adding alternative flours like rye, and spelt, reduce the gluten content but make for a fantastic tasting loaf.
With a low-hydration dough like this, it is easier to work with and doesn’t stick to work surfaces as much. Keep in mind that mixing needs a bit more elbow grease, but apart from that, it is simple in terms of mixing and shaping. The dough is slightly stickier due to the high rye content.
This recipe is adapted from my spelt sourdough bread. That post has an accompanying video that may be helpful if you’re unclear on some of the methods used here.
One reader, Els, commented: “This bread was unbelievable delicious! It was the first I ever made with my baby starter who is 10 days old. It was very easy and will definitely make it again. Can wait to bake more!”
Another reader, Guy, said: “Fed rye/bread flour starter with Bob’s Red Mill spelt the night before. Central Milling organic rye. Added 1% diastatic malt. A splash additional water. Bulk fermentation in Brod & Taylor proofbox at 75F. Final proof three hours on top of fridge. Great result.”
Why You Should Try This Recipe
If you like rye bread, you’ll love this homemade version. Not only is it much less expensive to make at home than to buy, it’s also surprisingly easy and good for novice bread bakers. This loaf is in our weekly rotation.
- It tastes great: this isn’t a chewy, tasteless apart from a bit of sour flavour, loaf! This is a more traditional German sourdough rye, with loads of nutty flavour from the rye and spelt flours.
- Low hydration is easier: especially for beginners, a low hydration bread is easier to work with for folding and shaping.
- Sourdough lasts longer: this loaf still tastes good after a week and doesn’t dry out as quickly as yeast bread does. The crust might get a bit tough but that’s it.
Ingredients
- Rye Flour: I often make this with sifted rye flour, but whole grain works too. It will make the bread slightly denser but the flavour is excellent.
- Spelt Flour: I recommend using light spelt for this recipe, no matter the type of rye flour. As you get more confident over time with it, you can use a higher percentage of whole grain spelt. I haven’t tried using white or standard wheat flour to sub for the spelt.
- Sourdough Starter: any 100% hydration starter made with flour that contains gluten. Whole wheat, spelt, rye, it doesn’t matter.
- Sea Salt: fine grain if possible. The salt amount shouldn’t be changed.
Step by Step
1. Mix liquids: mix the starter and water in a large bowl until combined.
2. Add dry ingredients: both flours and salt.
3. Mix: use a wooden spoon or spatula to mix until the liquids are absorbed.
4. Use your hands: the dough will be very shaggy. Mix with your hands to incorporate fully.
5. Rest: set aside to rest for 30 minutes before stretching, to relax the gluten.
6. Stretch and fold: do three rounds of stretches and folds.
7. Shape: after folding, the dough should be smooth and rounded.
8. Form a boule: use your hands to rotate the dough into a boule or ball with surface tension.
9. Place in the basket: seam side up into a lined and floured banneton.
10. Rise: a couple hours at room temperature, and then in the refrigerator overnight.
11. Score: turn the dough out onto paper and score if desired, then place into the preheated pot.
12. Bake: for about 40 minutes total.
Recipe Notes
There is not a very significant oven spring for this loaf. The dough rises primarily in the refrigerator and then not as much in the oven, so please keep this in mind. It is rye bread.
Scoring is optional, and only really needed here to control the way the bread rises during baking. Without scoring, the top usually cracks slightly instead.
The dough will seem too dense and firm to stretch and fold, but it isn’t. You might need to pull and shake it a bit during the stretches, but it gets less hard as you work with it.
How to Store
Storage: simply place it in an airtight container and keep at room temperature for 3-4 days. I usually keep it in the same pot it’s baked in. It will keep longer than that but does harden over time.
Freezing: individual slices are ideal and can be thawed during the toasting process. Otherwise, wrap well and freeze as a whole loaf (I use a double layer of beeswax wrap and paper). Thaw in a tea towel at room temperature.
Expert Tips
- Line the banneton: this is a stickier dough and tends to stick to even the most seasoned basket. Line with a linen towel and sprinkle with flour to ensure a good release.
- Don’t over shape: this is a lower gluten bread and will tear more easily during shaping. A quick shape to make it round is enough, don’t rotate it too much.
- Room temperature first: I know it seems a bit finicky, but the short rise at room temperature is necessary for the proving to be successful. If you refrigerate immediately, the dough will be under proved. This has been extensively tested.
More Ancient Grain Sourdough Recipes
Spelt Sourdough Pizza Dough
Honey and Oat Sourdough
Sourdough Rye and Spelt Crackers
Overnight Sourdough Waffles
If you make this Sourdough 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.
Sourdough Rye Bread
Description
Ingredients
- 300 grams (10.6 oz) water room temperature
- 100 grams (3.5 oz) sourdough starter 100% hydration
- 300 grams (10.6 oz) light (sifted) spelt flour
- 250 grams (8.8 oz) rye flour
- 10 grams (0.4 oz) sea salt
Instructions
- Add the water and starter to a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.300 grams (10.6 oz) water, 100 grams (3.5 oz) sourdough starter
- Add the spelt flour, rye flour, and salt to the bowl, and use a wooden spoon or spatula to mix until a shaggy dough forms. Finish mixing with your hands to fully incorporate the flour. The dough will feel quite hard and dense, this is normal.300 grams (10.6 oz) light (sifted) spelt flour, 250 grams (8.8 oz) rye flour, 10 grams (0.4 oz) sea salt
- Cover the bowl and set aside to rest for 30 minutes.
- Once the dough has rested, begin your stretches and folds. Do three rounds of stretches and folds over the course of an hour, once every 20 minutes.
- Form the dough into a ball or boule by placing it onto a clean surface and using your hands to rotate until surface tension forms.
- Line a banneton or round bowl with a tea towel and sprinkle with flour. Place the dough upside-down into the prepared basket.
- Cover and set aside to rise at room temperature for two hours. The dough should visibly rise during this time. If it hasn't, increase the rising time as needed – in colder interior temperatures (say 18°C) it can need up to six hours.
- Place the dough into the refrigerator overnight, or for at least eight hours. Cover with a plate to prevent drying.
- Place a heat-safe dutch oven into the centre rack of your oven and preheat the oven to 250°C (480°F).
- Turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper and score with a sharp knife (scoring optional).
- Carefully remove the dutch oven from the oven, remove the lid, and place your loaf into it, using the parchment paper as handles to lift the bread.
- Place the bread into the oven and reduce the temperature to 230°C (450°F).
- Bake for 20 minutes with the lid on, then remove the lid and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until browned to your desired degree.
- Remove from the oven and cool in the pot for ten minutes before carefully removing the bread and cooling fully on a wire rack. It must be completely cool before slicing. For this loaf, I recommend cooling for a minimum of eight hours.
- Store the bread in the pot you've baked it in, or freezing individual slices and toasting to thaw.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Hi, this is my first time making sourdough bread. A friend of mine gave me a starter. She makes sourdough bread weekly. My question is is there a particular reason why I have to let it cool eight hours before cutting? And when I was making it, my dough was very dry so while turning it, I added a little water in the process, but the dough was still very tight and hard to be able to fold, but I was able to make it this morning and I’m guessing it looks all right. Since I’ve never made one before. I wish I could take a picture and send it to you and get your opinion.
Hi Tracie, thanks for your comment – how nice that this was your first sourdough bread to try. You let the loaf cool so long because sourdough, and rye especially, turns out gummy if cut too soon and it ruins the texture. You can cut it sooner but it’s not as nice. It is a very low hydration dough, much more so than sourdough made with strong white flour, but adding a little water can be good depending on how much water your flour absorbs (all are different) so you followed your baking instincts along the right path there! I’d be happy to take a look if you want to mail me a photo at [email protected].
Fed rye/bread flour starter with Bob’s Red Mill spelt the night before. Central Milling organic rye. Added 1% diastatic malt. A splash additional water. Bulk fermentation in Brod & Taylor proofbox at 75F. Final proof three hours on top of fridge.
Great result
Well, I think this recipe is incredible, although mine did not look like yours. Mine looked like a lump of coal haha. I think my flour needs to be more fine and my dough was just so dry. I will try again! Thank you for the recipe and the beautiful photos.
Hi Colleen, you might need a touch more water (or a bit less flour) if the flour is very coarsely ground as it will absorb a bit more water. It can also be that it needs more time to prove at room temperature in the winter, when our homes are usually colder. Please let me know if you need any help if you make it again!
Hi Laurel, on the first resting 30 minute – can i put dough into my new oven setting – dough proving for 30 minutes ? Leigh
I don’t see why not, it should give it a good start!
Thank you for the recipe! I had some struggles since I used whole spelt (with all the bran) and the dough was DRY!!! I added more water obviously as I went along, but should have added quite a bit more. The rise was not what I had hoped for, but I baked it this morning and, while it is seriously dense, the flavour is amazing. I will try again, but if I keep the flour grams the same, would you recommend 400 grams of water maybe? I’ve made high hydration bread before, and YES, the dough is tricky. I wanted to try a bread with lower hydration, but this was too low because I used the whole spelt.
Hi Laurel, yes, I think I would recommend increasing the amount of water to about 400g if you’re using whole spelt – it sucks up so much moisture. I would try that and see how it goes. I’ve never made this loaf with only whole grain spelt and that would certainly also make the bread a lot more dense, but increasing the hydration should help.
Hi. If I were to use fresh milled hard white and rye would you suggest any changes? I want to try your recipe but these are the only wheat berries I have.
Hi Michelle, I think that hard white wheat would be fine. I usually use freshly milled flour for this loaf and have used wheat in place of the spelt before with no issues. You might find that by using the whole grain wheat (if you don’t plan on sifting) that you need to increase the hydration a bit to account for that extra absorption.
Does the rye bread respond to finger poke test ? I can’t tell if the dough has really raised in five hours
Hi Faith, it’s less reliable than standard white flour sourdough for the finger poke test, but it can be used as a method here.
I baked this a few hours ago. It was my first ever Sourdough loaf, with my lovingly nurtured 12 day old Starter. We waited 4 hours to cut the loaf, and couldn’t wait any longer! I used Light Rye flour to grow my Starter and bake this bread. I am trying to source some Dark Rye (not easy in Australia). I baked it in a loaf shaped tin, but will do a Boule in my cast covered dish, next time. My attempt is a bit dense, with a very closed crumb. It however, is delicious! Thrilled with my first bake. Thankyou for sharing your recipe. <3
Hi Dee, I’m glad you liked it! Since your starter is so new, you probably just need a bit more proving time. Your loaves will improve a lot with the age of your starter!
I am new to sourdough and have never made a normal kind, this is only my second attempt, but I am doing two different do both a rye sourdough. I’m curious as to why the bulk ferment for this recipe is only two hours. It doesn’t seem like near enough based on all my research, but again, I’m super new, so there’s tons I don’t know. I would love your insight on this.
Hi Rebekah, this is simply a different method, and you can consider the long proving time in the fridge overnight to be the equivalent of a bulk ferment. I make a lot of sourdough – for a second baking website, as well, with standard flour types – and find this way to be more beginner-friendly as the dough is easier to shape before rising.
That makes sense, thank you so much for explaining. It’s in the oven now. 🙏🏼
This bread was unbelievable delicious! It was the first I ever made with my baby starter who is 10 days old. It was very easy and will definitely make it again. Can wait to bake more!