Sourdough rye bread is an ancient food which is full of flavour and deep in colour. It has many health benefits and is easier to digest than most breads. You have probably heard that Sourdough Rye Bread is the king of bread, but do you know why? Let me give you a little insight why it is so beneficial and also check out my post about What happened To Real Bread? The Reason Why People Are Struggling With Today’s Bread.
Benefits of eating Sourdough Rye Bread
1. Sourdough bread often has a lower glycemic index than most other bread meaning it doesn’t spike your blood sugar levels dramatically.
2. It contains higher proportions of bacteria Lactobacillus to yeast than other bread. What does this mean? More mineral availability and easier digestion. The good bacteria pre-digests the starches of the grains and all the heavy lifting for your digestive tract is already done.
3. Do you think it’s too time-consuming to maintain a sourdough starter? Believe me, the benefits are well worth it. Through this lengthier process, the gluten is broken down into amino acids and therefore easier to digest. Some people who are sensitive to gluten are able to tolerate sourdough rye bread.
4. Without containing any artificial preservatives it stays fresh much longer, than most homemade bread.
5. The fermentation process increases the content of beneficial bacteria in the bread AND your gut. It keeps yeast overgrowth in your intestines under control which makes it suitable for all candida warriors out there.
6. Unlike commercially produced bread it naturally contains many nutrients such as vitamin B1-B6, B12, folate, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, vitamin E, selenium, iron, manganese, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and potassium.
7. Sourdough bread tastes delicious and can vary in tanginess. Why don’t you get creative and add in some dried fruits, herbs or spices? My personal favourite is Fig & Walnut sourdough rye bread.
If you prefer to avoid gluten altogether check out my Best Gluten-Free Bread Recipe for inspiration.
Click here to learn How to make a Sourdough Rye Starter
Your turn
What is your favourite kind of bread? Let me know, I’m looking forward to reading your comments.
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Sourdough Rye Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups sourdough starter
- 7 cups organic rye flour
- 4 teaspoons salt
- 2 1/3 cups filtered or bottled water
Instructions
- Add all ingredient into a big bowl and mix until well combined.
- Oil two loaf tins and pour in the dough mixture. Sourdough rye dough is too liquid to bake it without a tin
- Cover the tins with a plastic bag and let the dough proof in a warm room for 4-5 hours. You can also let it proof overnight.
- If the dough hasn't risen allow it to sit for another hour.
- Once it has the desired size, wet your hands and smooth out the top.
- Preheat the oven to 450° F-475 °F/230 °C - 250 °C.
- Bake at 450 °F-475 °F/ 230 °C - 250 °C for 20 min, then lower the temperature to 400 °F-425 °F/ 200°C- 220 °C for further 30-40 min.
- If you are using a fan oven reduce the temperature by 68 °F/20 °C.
- I recommend letting it sit overnight before you cut it. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Can this be made in bread machine?
Hi Margaret, I am really sorry, but I have never owned a bread machine and I am not familiar with what their limitations are. Maybe somebody else on here has a tip for you. Sorry, I couldn’t help.
Can you make this into rolls by pouring the dough into muffin tins? I used to go to this German restaurant in Milwaukee and I have memories of their sour rye rolls with kosher salt on top.
Hi Jilly, I don’t see why you couldn’t, just reduce the baking time, but I don’t think that it will be the same like the rolls you used to get at the restaurant.
When I checked my bread in the oven it looks burnt and still have 15 minutes on the timer. So I decided to take the rye loaves out of the oven. I’m so worried that it might be still under cooked. After a fews hours can’t wait to have a slice. Oh my the bread turned out and smelled so good!
It says pour the dough into the pans but it seems like that is impossible because it’s so solid is this something wrong with the equivalence that’s an awful lot of flour Rye flour to liquid it’s very dense I added more water quite a bit more I hope I haven’t done the wrong thing it is now Rising
Hi Marilyn, you have probably done everything right and I should reword this in the recipe. The dough is like concrete, but it would be too “liquid” to bake it without a pan, it would lose its shape. Sorry for confusing you, I hope it turned out alright, it is a very heavy German-style bread.
Hello, I’m in the process of making this recipe now, but my dough was not pourable or liquidy at all…actually it felt more like concrete …wondering if I did something wrong?
Hi Ute, you have probably done everything right and I should reword this in the recipe. Yes, the dough is like concrete, but it would be too “liquid” to bake it without a pan, it would lose its shape. Sorry for confusing you, I hope it turned out alright, it is a very heavy German-style bread.
Wow! It’s absolutely delicious! I too have had issues with candida and haven’t had any real bread in years. I found your website when I was searching for Spelt Pizza crust recipe, saw your post about sourdough starter and bread instructions and became hopeful. I’m now making both the Spelt Pizza crust and Sourdough starter/bread recipes. Thank You sooooo much!
Hi Louise, I am delighted to hear that you are enjoying the recipes and that you are able to eat bread again. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment 🙂
Can I halve the amount of salt in this recipe (to protect my kidneys) without destroying the rising and baking? And, related to that topic, what is amount of phosphorus.
Salt is not a necessary ingredient in baking bread. I’ve baked a lot of bread and I’ve even done loaves with zero salt. It will be OK if you don’t add salt and it’s in the recipe to add flavor. Also, if you use salt, try a high-mineral content salt such as Himalayan, which is a completely different kind of salt from iodized salt (iodized salt is bad because it robs the body of minerals whereas a high mineral content salt feeds the body with minerals).
As aside, this is a great recipe as a baseline to start making sourdough rye! It is indeed a dense bread, which I prefer. Also, a longer ferment time will give the bread a more sour taste (some prefer) but then that also requires kneeding in more flour after that longer fermentation.
Hi Simone, the salt content can make a huge difference to the structure in sourdough recipes, I would highly recommend to stick with the measurement.Himalayan salt is a great choice.
Hello! If I am letting the dough proof overnight should I put it in the fridge? I am scared it’ll over proof- at 8-12 hours left in room temp?
Thank you
Hi Taya, this really depends on the temperature of your kitchen, my kitchen is about 20 degrees Celsius and I prove it on the counter.