Rye Bread with Caraway
Rye dough behaves nothing like wheat: it’s sticky like thick paste and doesn’t need long kneading, which makes this loaf simpler than it looks. A little honey and a spoonful of cider vinegar keep the crumb moist with a gentle tang, while caraway brings its familiar warm aroma. The one rule you can’t break is letting it cool completely before slicing.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 50 min
- Rest
- 4 h 50 min
- Total
- 6 h
- Servings
- 14
- Level
- Medium
- Per serving
- 130 kcal
Ingredients
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What to use instead
Swap the honey for dark molasses or golden syrup and the loaf becomes fully vegan.
Makes: 1 loaf (23 × 13 cm tin), 14 slices
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
Oven
230 °C · top and bottom heat, no fan
With a fan: 210 °C
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Step 1: Mix the dough
In a bowl, combine both flours, the yeast, salt and 2 teaspoons of caraway. Dissolve the honey in the warm water, add the vinegar and pour into the flour. Beat with a spoon or a dough hook for 5 minutes into a uniform, very sticky mass; it needs no more kneading than that.
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Step 2: First rise
Cover and leave somewhere warm for 60 minutes. Rye dough won’t double; it grows by about half and becomes dotted with small bubbles.
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Step 3: Fill the tin
Oil a 23 × 13 cm loaf tin. With wet hands, gather the dough into a rough log, lay it in the tin and smooth the top with a wet spatula. Brush with water and sprinkle over the remaining caraway.
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Step 4: Second rise
Cover and leave for 45–60 minutes, until the dough nearly reaches the rim and fine cracks appear on the surface. Heat the oven to 230 °C (445 °F).
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Step 5: Bake in two stages
Bake for 10 minutes at 230 °C, then lower to 200 °C (400 °F) and bake for 35–40 minutes more. It’s done when the crust is dark brown and the centre reads 96–98 °C (205–208 °F).
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Step 6: Cool completely
Turn the loaf out, brush the crust with water for a soft sheen and cool on a rack for at least 3 hours, ideally overnight. Rye crumb only sets fully once cold; cut it warm and it will stick to the knife.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Resist adding flour to stop the stickiness; it’s normal for rye. Work with wet hands and a wet spatula instead.
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Swap
Swap the honey for dark molasses or golden syrup and the loaf becomes fully vegan.
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Variation
Replace some of the caraway with 1 teaspoon of ground coriander, or add a handful of sunflower seeds to the dough.
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Storage
Rye bread keeps well: wrapped in cloth or paper it stays fresh for up to 5 days and tastes even better on day two.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 14 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 130 kcal | 1,820 kcal |
| Protein | 4 g | 56 g |
| Fat | 1 g | 10 g |
| Carbohydrates | 27 g | 378 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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