Soft Rye Bread Recipe with Yeast
Get bakery-quality bread at home with our delicious soft rye bread with yeast. It's perfect for sandwiches or slathered with butter.
Servings 16 slices
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Ingredients
- 1¾ cups warm water 95-100 degrees F, divided
- 2¼ tsp active dry yeast
- 2 tbsp honey divided
- 3¼ cups all-purpose flour Medium Rye flour preferred
- 1 cup rye flour
- 1 tbsp caraway seeds
- 2 tbsp butter melted and cooled
- 1½ tsp salt
Instructions
- In a bowl, add ½ cup warm water, yeast, and 1 tablespoon honey. Set aside for 4-5 minutes to allow the yeast to activate.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour, rye flour, and caraway seeds.
- To the yeast mixture, add the butter, and salt. Mix well.
- Add the flour mixture in 4 increments. Mixing well in between each one. I used a Danish dough whisk instead of a hand mixer. The dough is too thick for a hand mixer, but you can make this bread in a stand-up mixer as well.
- Mix until it forms a ball. If you are doing the dough in a stand-up mixer, once the dough forms a ball, keep mixing for 3-4 minutes. The dough will be tacky (when you push on the dough with your fingers you don’t have any residue left), not sticky. If you are making the bread with a hand whisk or mixing spoon, once the flour is all incorporated, transfer the dough to a working surface and knead for 5-6 minutes.
- Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and place it in a warm, draft-free place for rising 60-90 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Butter a loaf pan ( 9x5 inches). Set aside.
- Once the dough has doubled, place it on a working surface and press down with your fingers into a rectangle, approximately 10 x 6 inches. Fold the short side back on itself about 1-2 inches and roll into a log. Place in the prepared loaf pan.
- NOTE: When placing in the pan, cover loosely with plastic wrap. I like to take a plastic wrap, lightly oil the inside of it (piece touching the dough), and place it on top of the bread. I don’t even seal on the loaf pan. This will make my bread rise high. If you gently press the plastic wrap on the loaf pan you restrict the loaf from rising properly which can lead to a denser bread. Don’t cover it with a towel, the dough will stick to the towel and it you wet it it will be too heavy and restrict the bread from rising properly.
- Allow the bread to rise for 45 minutes or until the bread is approximately ½ inch above the rim of the loaf pan.
- NOTE: At 30 minutes, I take a sharp knife and make 3 cuts on the bread diagonally. Don’t cover it back and allow it to rise for an additional 15 minutes or until my oven is at temperature.
- You can also do the cuts at the 45 minutes before putting the bread in the oven. When I do it this way, my bread is not as fluffy and airy. Both are excellent, just a preference.
- 15 minutes before the end of the rise, preheat the oven to 375 °F.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 43-45 minutes.
- The bread will be cooked when the internal temperature has reached 190 °F.
- Cool the bread in the loaf pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Tips
o Active dry yeast: 2 ¼ teaspoons is equivalent to an envelope.
o Caraway seeds: The caraway seeds are not mandatory for rye bread. The little seeds bring that special earthy, tangy, and sweet flavor to the rye.
o Honey always brings a great flavor to bread, however, you can substitute it with granulated sugar or molasses, just use 1 tablespoon instead of 2.
o Butter: You can substitute a 1:1 ratio with oil. The butter brings richness and helps with the structure of the bread.
o Egg wash: Optional (1 egg + 1 tablespoon water) on the bread. I've made it both ways and I prefer without it. The bread seems to keep longer without an egg wash.
o Storage: At room temperature for up to 5 days. There is no reason to refrigerate it as that will dry it out.
o Active dry yeast: 2 ¼ teaspoons is equivalent to an envelope.
o Caraway seeds: The caraway seeds are not mandatory for rye bread. The little seeds bring that special earthy, tangy, and sweet flavor to the rye.
o Honey always brings a great flavor to bread, however, you can substitute it with granulated sugar or molasses, just use 1 tablespoon instead of 2.
o Butter: You can substitute a 1:1 ratio with oil. The butter brings richness and helps with the structure of the bread.
o Egg wash: Optional (1 egg + 1 tablespoon water) on the bread. I've made it both ways and I prefer without it. The bread seems to keep longer without an egg wash.
o Storage: At room temperature for up to 5 days. There is no reason to refrigerate it as that will dry it out.
Nutrition
Calories: 138kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 232mg | Potassium: 62mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 45IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg
This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.
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