Rustic Rye Sourdough Bread Recipe • Heartbeet Kitchen (2024)

Homemade rye sourdough bread is a glorious choice for sandwiches, or eating on its own. Made with a blend of whole wheat, bread flour, and rye flour, this naturally fermented loaf holds its shape and has a moist, chewy crumb. The rustic crust is deeply colored and boasts beautiful blisters!

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A great deli has a great rye bread for sandwiches, am I right?

I certainly love my Everyday Sourdough recipe for toast and my sourdough english muffins for epic breakfast sandwiches, but I had my heart set on creating a loaf that was the perfect vehicle for my recent craving of EGG SALAD. I’m fully aware how strange this craving is, but let me tell you, when I piled it on this rye sourdough with crisp lettuce and pickled red onions – it was a joyful moment.

This rustic rye sourdough is called such because of its crisp, deeply browned crust and artisan sourdough shape, rather than baking it in a pullman loaf pan to get perfectly square slices for sandwiches. I might invest in one of those in the future, but for now, I wanted to share a sandwich bread recipe that you could make with your regular sourdough baking tools.

It’s hearty. Has substance. A pleasant tang. And a shatteringly crisp crust.

What is rye?

Rye is a type of grain, different than wheat, that contains a low amount of gluten. This means it will not create the same gas trapping air pockets that a bread made entirely of bread flour does.

The dough will also feel wetter and stickier compared to working with all purpose and bread flours, known as high gluten flours. Don’t be alarmed – the dough will become less sticky by the end of your stretch and folds. Knowing this before making this recipe is important.

For these reasons, I like to use rye in combination with bread flour, for a balance of high/low gluten percentages. This allows for excellent structure in the loaf, while the rye contributes a complex flavor and wonderful softness.

Why I love using rye flour in sourdough bread

• Complex flavor!
  • Rye flour bodes particularly well to sourdough as it’s unique fruity, subtle sourness compliments the traditional notes of fermented bread.
• Less dense than traditional rye bread.
  • Because of the chemical reaction that takes places in rye flour during fermentation, your loaf will be airier and fluffier than if you were to use rye flour in a bread made with commercial yeast.
• Bread has a moist, chewy texture that you can’t achieve with whole wheat.
  • Because of rye’s ability to absorb and keep much of it’s moisture, the inside of a sourdough loaf made with rye flour will have a more moist texture.
• Your loaf will stay soft for several days after baking!
• Higher nutritional profile that whole wheat.
  • Rye contains more nutrition than wheat flour does, and this is especially true when rye flour is added to sourdough bread. The slow fermentation increases the nutrient availability of the flour.

How to make rye sourdough bread that holds its shape

Because rye flour has little to no gluten content, it’s difficult to make a loaf of 100% rye bread. It can be done, but I wanted this to be a hybrid loaf, that would hold it’s shape for you, and still achieve a nice rise.

That’s why I used bread flour in combination with the rye and whole wheat, because it’s higher protein percentage is the key to the loaf holding its shape.

You’ll also notice this is a slightly smaller loaf, which makes the slightly wetter dough more manageable. Yes, you’ll notice the dough is slightly wetter than other sourdough bread you’ve made, and that’s okay! Just keep going with it. It will bake up with great structure if properly fermented.

WATCH this short video to see all the steps of making rye sourdough, so you know what to expect from your dough.

What should I bake an oval loaf in?

I tried using my round dutch oven for baking oval loaves in the past, but without fail the edges of the dough with hit the side of the pot, creating wonky, bulged shapes. I’m newly in love with the Challenger Bread Pan, which has a unique shape that allows you to bake any shape of bread in it! Bâtards, boules, demi-baguettes, and other loaves of almost any size.

Because of how it’s made, the perfect amount of steam is created inside the pan. I’ve never had better oven spring or thinner crusts.

This pan is magical. If you love baking sourdough, it is 100% worth having in your kitchen. You can learn more and purchase here.

My favorite things to eat on rye bread:

• egg salad
• whipped feta and tomato jam
• smashed avocado + lemon + smoked paprika
• ricotta + strawberry rhubarb jam
• salted butter

More sourdough recipes:

• Fabulous All-Purpose Sourdough
• Sourdough Focaccia Bread
• Amazing Sourdough English Muffins