By Mark Bittman
- Total Time
- 5 hours, plus 5 days' storing
- Rating
- 4(158)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Featured in: Sourdough Rye
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Ingredients
Yield:2 loaves
- 2⅔cups rye flourPinch instant yeast
- Sourdough starter
- 2cups rye flour
- 2cups whole-wheat or white flour
- 1tablespoon kosher salt
- 1½cups cracked rye or rye flour
For the Sourdough Starter
For the Dough
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Preparation
Step
1
To make the starter: In a tall, narrow, nonmetal container (a tall, narrow bowl is fine), mix ⅔ cup rye flour with ½ cup water, along with the tiniest pinch of instant yeast — less than 1/16 teaspoon. Cover and let sit for about 24 hours, then add the same amount of both flour and water (no more yeast). Repeat twice more, at 24-hour intervals; 24 hours after the fourth addition, you have your starter. (From now on, keep it in the refrigerator; you don’t need to proceed with the recipe for a day or two if you don’t want to. Before making the dough, take a ladleful — ½ to ¾ cup — of the starter and put it in a container; stir in ½ cup rye flour and a scant ½ cup water, mix well, cover and refrigerate for future use. This starter will keep for a couple of weeks. If you don’t use it during that time and you wish to keep it alive, add ½ cup each flour and water every week or so and stir; you can discard a portion of it if it becomes too voluminous.)
Step
2
To make the dough: Combine the remaining starter in a big bowl with the rye flour, the whole-wheat or white flour and 2¼ cups water.
Step
3
Mix well, cover with plastic wrap and let sit overnight, up to 12 hours.
Step
4
The next morning, the dough should be bubbly and lovely. Add the salt, the cracked rye and 1 cup water — it will be more of a thick batter than a dough and should be pretty much pourable.
Step
5
Pour and scrape it into two 8-by-4-inch nonstick loaf pans. The batter should come to within an inch of the top, no higher.
Step
6
Cover (an improvised dome is better than plastic wrap; the dough will stick to whatever it touches) and let rest until it reaches the rim of the pans, about 2 to 3 hours, usually. Preheat the oven to 325 and bake until a skewer comes out almost clean; the internal temperature will measure between 190 and 200. This will take about 1½ hours or a little longer.
Step
7
Remove loaves from the pans and cool on a rack. Wrap in plastic and let sit for a day before slicing, if you can manage that; the texture is definitely better the next day.
Ratings
4
out of 5
158
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Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Norman Berns
Everything is perfect here EXCEPT the finished loaves. Picture perfect, step-by-step process led to collapsed loaves and soggy bread. Baked for three hours and the dough was still undone. Gave up, sliced it as best I could and made rye crackers. At least I have a nice starter.... Now to find a better recipe.
Ogi the Yogi
I would also like to know, how much starter that is, as I already have my own fed starter.
naomi dagen bloom
What a disappointment! Frequent sourdough bread maker, always in search new recipes. Total loss in finished loaves. However, the rye starter did work beautifully for a Jewish Rye I made in recovery.
hannah
In step 2, "Combine the remaining starter in a big bowl" How much should you have, measured in cups? It would be good to know for the 2 loaves I'll be baking in a couple of days, and for future loaves from this starter, as well; if you've been adding/feeding the starter, and then toss some if it became "too voluminous" - well, it would be important to know the amount.
Pretty please?
Carlisle
I read the comments only AFTER Step 3 and so made a few changes to the remainder of the recipe. I mixed in a tbsp of salt and tbsp of honey, and omitted the additions of flour and water in Step 4.Using a mixer, I kneaded the dough for 5 minutes w/dough hook, poured it into 2 8x4 pans lined with parchment paper, and let the dough rise 2 hours. I preheated the oven to 450F, baked for 10 minutes, then reduced the heat to 350 and baked for 1 more hour, until internal temp was 200. Success!
Geoffrey Levens
Amounts flour and water given for initial starter vs for feeding after first loaf are quite different and so a large amount of material (the starter) going in to future loaves will be at quite different hydration than for first loaf...worse than your result as it will be "wetter"!
Kayla
I already have starter and so this recipe just ends up confusing me about how much of it to add. Also, is this flatbread? or rye? the title/video/pictures are confused!
Sam Sifton
This is quite exquisite but you may need to add more yeast
janash3
As far as the amount of starter that I used, it was a fair bit, probably about 3/4 cup, maybe even a cup full--I hate throwing away starter!--which I stirred into the water initially called for in the recipe and then into the two flours. I used my own starter and fed it as recommended in the recipe with the rye flour and water. Also, I realized I didn't use whole wheat bread flour in this recipe (that was in the sourdough with currants and walnuts I mixed up later) but 100% whole wheat flour.
janash3
I followed the recipe exactly except left fed starter for 12 not 24 hours. I used rye flour, whole wheat bread flour, and cracked wheat. My final dough wasn’t pourable, more aptly described as droppable from a spoon. And I should have checked earlier, because at 90 minutes bake time, the loaves were at 205-206 degrees F. However—and I only waited about half an hour to get out the bread knife—the bread is really good. Great crumb with little air holes throughout.
Karen
So what is the weight of the rye sour dough starter you are adding to the dough for those of us who have a rye starter already? Would be helpful to have this amount listed. But it seems like this question was asked multiple times and never answered. Does anyone from the Times read these comments. Going off to make up my own recipe.
Anne
I read comments and followed directions but did not add final water. A thick wet batter resulted. I did not use loaf pans but rather baked it traditionally in a large round loaf for 15 min @ 450 then 35 min @425F and seems to be a fine loaf of rye sourdough.
Carlisle
I read the comments only AFTER Step 3 and so made a few changes to the remainder of the recipe. I mixed in a tbsp of salt and tbsp of honey, and omitted the additions of flour and water in Step 4.Using a mixer, I kneaded the dough for 5 minutes w/dough hook, poured it into 2 8x4 pans lined with parchment paper, and let the dough rise 2 hours. I preheated the oven to 450F, baked for 10 minutes, then reduced the heat to 350 and baked for 1 more hour, until internal temp was 200. Success!
Val
Exactly how much starter are we using in the recipe? Recipe says to take 1/2 to 3/4 cup of starter to save, which means we could have as much as 1/4 c difference in how much starter we use in the recipe, which has to make a difference in overall hydration. Also, 24 hours after the final addition you've got an UNFED starter -- are we really supposed to start the recipe with an unfed starter? I'm not sure I've ever seen that instruction.
Mochita
I've had many successes baking rye bread - this is the worst. I've never baked one with such high hydration, but still. I followed the recipe. Baked until internal temperature was 201 degrees but the probe came out wet. I took it out of the oven to let it finish baking on countertop. When cooled, I sliced it open and the inside was very gummy. I have a No-Knead Beer Rye recipe and it's very good! Sorry Mark, what's wrong with this recipe? I think it's too wet?
Kayla
The recipe confused me and now i'm thinking it's not worth even trying to figure it out!
Corie
This was terrible.
hannah
In step 2, "Combine the remaining starter in a big bowl" How much should you have, measured in cups? It would be good to know for the 2 loaves I'll be baking in a couple of days, and for future loaves from this starter, as well; if you've been adding/feeding the starter, and then toss some if it became "too voluminous" - well, it would be important to know the amount.
Pretty please?
Ogi the Yogi
I would also like to know, how much starter that is, as I already have my own fed starter.
Norman Berns
Everything is perfect here EXCEPT the finished loaves. Picture perfect, step-by-step process led to collapsed loaves and soggy bread. Baked for three hours and the dough was still undone. Gave up, sliced it as best I could and made rye crackers. At least I have a nice starter.... Now to find a better recipe.
Geoffrey Levens
Amounts flour and water given for initial starter vs for feeding after first loaf are quite different and so a large amount of material (the starter) going in to future loaves will be at quite different hydration than for first loaf...worse than your result as it will be "wetter"!
Helene
Bake the breads 10 min more and let cool. Put in fridge. Then you can slice and have a wonderful piece of ryebread.
naomi dagen bloom
What a disappointment! Frequent sourdough bread maker, always in search new recipes. Total loss in finished loaves. However, the rye starter did work beautifully for a Jewish Rye I made in recovery.
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