Homemade Rye Bread Recipe

Rye bread dates back to the Middle Ages, with variations coming from Northern and Eastern Europe. In Germany and the U.S., rye bread's malty, earthy flavor is often augmented with caraway seeds, which gives rye bread a distinctive taste that's different from other seeded breads. This recipe for easy no-knead rye bread is more traditional (meaning, no seeds) and was developed by Mark Beahm, whose blog, The Sunday Baker, revels in the joys rustic European baking. Beahm was raised in Maine, where he told us "there was only one bakery in my hometown at the time that specialized in European bread and pastries." 

He now lives in London and shares his passion for the food, culture, and history of the European countries he's visited. Beahm's no-knead bread couldn't be simpler and will reward your minimal effort with a bread that has a rick, dark crust and soft and chewy interior. "I always wanted to learn to bake a loaf like that," Beahm said, "This bread is almost foolproof, and yet it will get you most of the way to that perfect loaf." Prep time for this recipe literally takes 5 minutes, and after that, you just let the flour and yeast do its thing. Once it's risen, you bake it in a Dutch oven, and 50 minutes later, you'll turn out a rye bread you'd swear a professional baker baked.

Stir together the flours, salt, and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Add the water and mix until no bits of dry flour remain. The dough will be very sticky.

Generously dust a work surface with flour. Tip the bowl slightly and use a rubber spatula or your fingertips to gently remove the dough from the bowl onto your work surface without tearing it. Lightly flour your hands and gently fold the dough into itself, shaping it into a ball.

Half an hour before the dough has finished its second rise, put a rack in the lower third of the oven, set a Dutch oven on the rack, and preheat to 475 F.

Remove the lid from the Dutch oven, then continue baking until the bread is a dark golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes longer.

When making this loaf, you might be tempted to swap out the bread flour for all-purpose flour. While you'll be able to get away with it and still have a serviceable loaf, we definitely recommend going the extra step and using bread flour. This specific type of flour has a higher protein content than the all-purpose stuff and allows the dough to rise higher. Bread flour's protein creates more gluten, which results in the desired chewy texture when the bread is baked. 

And don't let the name fool you: Bread flour is good for so much more than just making bread. Bread flour is the secret ingredient in Alton Brown's delectable chocolate chip cookies, creating an extra chewy texture. It's also great for making fresh pasta or noodles, as that higher protein count (i.e. more gluten) creates a bouncy noodle with just the right amount of bite. Basically, if chewy is what you're after, bread flour is your friend.