Rye bread is one of my favourites and I made it my mission to make soft sandwich loaf that is easy to make with a nice long fermentation and I think I found it! This recipe was developed from my Sourdough Sandwich Loaf, which I also highly recommend!
What is rye?
Rye is an ancient grain, with a much lower gluten content than you would find in modern bread flours. This tend to make it a little tricker to work with as it tends to make a dense loaf of bread. Because of this we combine rye with AP or bakers flour in order to allow for the flavour and some of the benefits of the rye when also getting a nice soft bread that is more palatable to our modern palates.
Another benefit of using rye flour in our sourdough is that there are enzymes in the flour that support the growth of lactobacilli, the yeast in the starter that makes the starter bubble and the bread rise. If your starter is a little sluggish feed it some rye and it should perk right up within hours!
The How
Noon: feed your starter, preferably rye flour
7pm (or when starter is nice and active): combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with a dough hook for about 10 minutes, until the dough comes together in a shaggy wet dough.

Fold out onto a floured source and do your first of 3 stretch and folds. Allow to rest 20-30 minutes and repeat 2 more times

8:30pm: form dough into a tight ball and ferment overnight in an oiled bowl on the counter. Cover with plastic or beeswax.

8am: fold dough out into a floured surface, divide in two and degas with a rolling pin, rolling it out into a rectangle and the forming into loaves.
Allow the doughs to rise in their loaf pans until above the sides of the pan (approx 4 hours)

Noon: Bake at 475°F for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 400°F and continue for another 20-25 minutes.


Sourdough Rye Bread

Ingredients
- 300g very active starter (preferably fed rye at last feeding)
- 200g dark rye
- 800g bakers or AP flour
- 20 g honey
- 10g salt
- 40g oil
- 600-700g water
- 2 Tbsp caraway seeds
Instructions
1. Weigh out all ingredients in the bowl on the stand mixer
2. Mix/knead with the dough hook for 10-15 minutes until the dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. The dough will still be sticky
3. Fold dough onto a floured surface and stretch and fold amd form into a bowl. Allow the dough to rest 20-30 minutes and repeat.
4. Allo dough for ferment overnight on the counter in a large oiled bowl with beeswax or plastic wrap covering.
5. The dough should be more than double by morning. Punch down the dough and fold out into the counter top.
6. Deflate with a rolling pin and form into a sandwich loaf. Place in bread pans and cover with beeswax paper or plastic wrap. Allow to rise until above the edge of the loaf pan.
7. Bake at 475 for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 400° and bake an addition. 20 minutes.
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