Rye Sourdough Bread

This homemade rye bread, made with sourdough, is the perfect excuse to fire up the oven. Once baked and after the appropriate resting time, each slice of this sourdough rye bread will be a celebration in its own right. Delicious with butter, honey or bitter orange jam — if you spread it with fresh cheese and top it with a slice of smoked salmon, you’ll reach heaven with every bite.

To make this yeast‑free bakery loaf, on this occasion we’ll use wheat flour and a portion of rye flour. The sourdough, together with the water, will work its magic. The cold fermentation, leaving the dough to rest in the fridge overnight before baking, will gift us a homemade bread full of aroma with a wonderful crumb.

You’ll see how simple it is to make homemade bread step by step, following the recipe for the sourdough rye bread I share today. The most laborious part, the kneading, we’ll leave to our Ankarsrum stand mixer, which is a true expert in these tasks and will make the work much easier. The fridge will handle the resting, and getting a crunchy sourdough rye bread is the oven’s job. So you’ll only need to focus on shaping and following the recipe instructions to enjoy a perfect homemade bread for any occasion.

Ingredients

• 280 g organic wheat flour
• 120 g organic rye flour
• 300 g water
• 80 g rye sourdough starter, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 8–10 g salt

Preparation

1. Place the stainless steel bowl, dough hook and scraper in your Ankarsrum stand mixer.
2. Pour the water into the bowl, add the sourdough starter and begin mixing on low speed.
3. Now add the flours, salt and honey and mix gently on low speed until the ingredients are fully combined.
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for one hour.
5. After this time, grease a sufficiently large container or rectangular dish with olive oil. Take the dough out of the bowl and place it in the oiled container.
6. Now lift the corners of the dough and bring them to the centre. Turn the dough over and cover the container. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
7. Repeat the folding in the same way three more times, allowing 30 minutes of rest between folds.
8. Once all the folds are done, cover the container and let the dough rest until it has doubled in volume (about 4–6 hours).
9. When the dough has doubled in volume, place it on a lightly floured baking tray and sprinkle a little flour over the dough. If it sticks, use a scraper to help place it on the tray.
10. Gently pull one corner of the dough, fold it towards the edge pressing slightly in the centre, and rotate the dough about 45 degrees.
11. Repeat until the dough has tension. Turn it over, flour it and leave it to rest for about 30 minutes, covered with a cotton cloth.
12. When 30 minutes have passed, flatten the dough slightly with floured hands. Bring the four corners of the dough towards the centre and press. Then fold one edge over the other and place the dough in a floured rectangular banneton with the seam facing up. Pinch the seam lightly with your fingers and cover the dough again with the cloth.
13. Place the dough in the fridge and let it rise overnight.
14. In the morning, preheat the oven to 270ºC (or the highest temperature your oven can reach) and place the tray you will bake the bread on in the centre rack.
15. Remove the dough from the fridge and, turning it over, place it onto a lightly floured pizza peel or smooth board.
16. Remove excess flour from the dough and make a crosswise cut with a bread lame.
17. Slide the bread from the peel onto the baking tray and bake for 15 minutes at 270ºC.
18. After that time, reduce the temperature to 225ºC and bake for approximately another 30 minutes. The internal temperature should be 96–98ºC.
19. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool and rest on a rack for one hour before slicing the first piece.

Suggestions

• As you can see, this rye bread is made with sourdough. If you want to make bread but don’t have sourdough or prefer to use baker’s yeast, here are different options to choose from — or try them all! Some of our favourite breads are this easy cocotte bread, the pan de coca, or two perfect beginner recipes you can find here.