Easy 100% Rye Sourdough Bread Recipe
A simple, old-world rye bread you can bake in your own kitchen, rich with real grain, deep flavour, and the satisfaction of slow hands.
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There is something humbling about baking with rye. It asks you to slow down, trust your hands, and believe in the unseen work happening beneath the surface. Rye dough does not stretch and dance the way wheat does. It sighs into the bowl, heavy and sticky like a memory passed down through old kitchens and stone ovens.
This simple, easy 100% sourdough rye bread is a nod to that older way of baking.
No fancy shaping, no chasing perfect bubbles, no rush. Just rich, nourishing bread, dense with history and honest work.
Designed for a small loaf pan and baked inside a Dutch oven, this mini loaf fits easily into real life, a quiet morning at home, a bowl of soup, a hand-cut slice toasted until deep and golden.
The Story of Sourdough Rye Bread
Rye is not the bread of kings. It is the bread of the people.
It crossed oceans tucked into grain sacks, stitched into the aprons of grandmothers, carried like seed promises into the unknown. Rye does not demand rich soil or gentle weather. It grows in the hard places, the cold, the wind-blown, the rugged edge of settlement and survival.
Germany, Russia, Poland, and Ukraine have relied on rye for centuries. Long winters. Short summers. Soils that wheat could not claim. The people planted rye knowing it would bow, survive, and rise again.
When the early pioneers came to Canada in the 1700s and 1800s, they brought rye with them. Ukrainian, German, and Polish immigrants planted it across the prairies. Where wheat faltered in rocky ground and harsh winds, rye quietly survived.
By the time of the Yukon Gold Rush in the late 1800s, bread had become a thing you fought for. Sourdough starters were treasured like gold, tucked inside shirts and coat pockets to keep the wild yeasts alive in the brutal cold. It was not uncommon for miners to sleep with their starters, a small crock or cloth pouch pressed against the warmth of their bodies.
Without a starter, there would be no bread. Without bread, there would be no journey forward. Heavy rye loaves, baked from these living starters, fed those who carved new lives out of frozen rivers and northern forests. It was bread meant for survival, not for show. Sourdough rye bread was hearty, dense, and strong.
Why Bake Sourdough Rye Bread Today?
Baking easy 100% sourdough rye bread today is about more than making a loaf. It is a small act of remembering, a way of reconnecting to the slow work of hands and hearth.
It teaches patience. It rewards humility. It fills the kitchen with a scent older than memory, warm, nutty, a little sweet. If you have never baked rye before, do not be intimidated. Rye is humble and forgiving, just like the people who lived by it.
This recipe will guide you gently through the steps.
100% Sourdough Rye Bread Recipe (for 1 Small Loaf)
100% Sourdough Rye Bread with Toasted Seeds
12-14 hours (including overnight levain)
30-35 mins
1 small loaf (8-10 slices
Bread, Sourdough
Germany, Eastern Europe, Pioneer Canada
Ingredients
Mini Rye Levain (Night Before)
20g 100% hydration starter (can be straight from the fridge)
100g rye flour
125g room temperature water
Instructions:
Mix all together in a bowl or jar. Cover loosely. Let sit at room temperature overnight (8–12 hours).
Mini Rye Dough (Next Morning)
200g ripe rye levain
175g rye flour
7g sea salt
140–150g boiling water
5g unsweetened cocoa powder (1 teaspoon)
15g molasses (1 tablespoon) (added after scald cools)
80g toasted seeds (optional)
Directions
Step 1: Scald
In a large bowl, mix the rye flour, cocoa powder and salt.
Pour 140–150g of boiling water over the flour mixture.
Mix until it looks like heavy oatmeal.
Let sit 10–15 minutes to cool slightly.
Step 2: Prepare the Pan
Grease your Pullman pan lightly with neutral oil.
Dust the inside with rye flour. Tap out any excess.
Step 3: Mix Dough
- Once scald is cooled off add the molasses and mix well.
- Then add the ripe levain into the cooled mixture
- Add the toasted seeds if using. (save some for topping the dough.)
- Mix thoroughly. The dough will be heavy and sticky, like peanut butter.
Step 4: Load and Proof
Scoop the dough into your prepared pan.
Smooth the top with a wet scraper.
Dust lightly with rye flour and saved toasted seeds if desired.
Cover loosely and proof for 1-3 hours in a warm spot. Depending on the temperature of your space, this could take longer to reach step 5.
Look for small cracks and bubbles — rye proofs by fissures, not by height.
Step 5: Preheat Dutch Oven
Place your Dutch oven (with lid on) into the oven.
Preheat to 480°F for at least 45–60 minutes.
Step 6: Bake
Carefully place the Pullman pan inside the hot Dutch oven.
Cover with the Dutch oven lid.
Immediately reduce oven temperature to 420°F.Bake for 20 minutes with the lid on.
Remove the lid.Bake another 10–15 minutes uncovered until the loaf feels firm to the touch.
Step 6: Cooling
Remove the Pullman pan from the Dutch oven.
Let loaf cool for 5 minutes in the pan.
Gently loosen the sides if needed and tip loaf out onto a cooling rack.
Cool completely. Rest 24 hours before slicing for best crumb and flavour.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 slice (~63g) | Calories: 120 kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 3.2g | Fat: 0.6g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 175mg | Potassium: 68mg | Fiber: 2.5g | Sugar: 0.3g | Vitamin A: 0 IU | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 0.9mg
What to Eat With Sourdough Rye Bread
Rye bread has always been a meal in itself. It's strong, sturdy, and made for simple, honest foods.
Here are a few beautiful ways to enjoy your easy 100% sourdough rye bread:
Good salted butter, spread thick and slow over a still-warm slice
Aged cheeses like sharp cheddar, smoked gouda, or a soft goat cheese with herbs
Cured meats, like thin-sliced prosciutto, salami, or smoked salmon
Simple egg salad, rich with good eggs and a little salt, spread thickly on fresh rye for a humble, perfect meal
Bowls of soup or stew — lentil, potato leek, beef, or cabbage, something you can dip and soak
Pickled vegetables or sauerkraut, bringing a sharpness that balances the deep grain
Wildflower honey or dark berry jam over a layer of butter for a sweet, rustic breakfast
In Germany, these pairings come together into something called Brotzeit or Abendbrot, meals built around good bread, butter, and simple, real foods shared at the table.
Sourdough Rye Bread does not ask for fuss.
It asks for food that feels like home.
Where did rye bread originally come from?
Rye first grew wild in ancient Turkey and surrounding regions around 4000 BCE.
It was originally a weed among wheat fields before farmers realized its strength and began cultivating it intentionally.
Why is rye so common in Germany, Russia, Ukraine, and Poland?
These regions have harsh climates. Rye survives cold, poor soils, and shorter seasons where wheat often fails.
It became the dependable grain for centuries in these rugged landscapes.
How did rye come to Canada?
Rye arrived with European settlers, particularly Ukrainian, German, and Polish immigrants in the 1700s and 1800s.
It became essential on the Canadian prairies where wheat struggled to grow.
Was rye bread important during the Yukon Gold Rush?
Yes.
Sourdough starters were so valuable that miners carried them inside their coats to keep them alive through the northern cold.
Rye loaves, hearty and durable, were part of survival kits for those making the long, brutal journeys through the Yukon frontier.
What kind of rye bread is this?
This is a traditional light to medium-dark sourdough rye , made richer with a touch of molasses and cocoa.
It is naturally fermented with wild yeast and good bacteria, not made with commercial yeast.
There are no added sugars or heavy sweeteners — just real fermentation, hearty grain, and deep, nourishing flavour.
It is perfect for everyday eating with butter, cheeses, eggs, and simple meals.
A Final Thought
When you bake easy 100% sourdough rye bread, you are doing more than making a loaf.
You are keeping an old promise alive, a promise that good bread, real bread, always comes from patient hands and humble beginnings.
Lisa Robitaille, Sourdough Teacher
Lisa Robitaille teaches naturally leavened baking with a reverence for tradition, memory, and the quiet strength of real bread.
Through Great Lakes Sourdough, she offers more than recipes. She shares a way of baking that slows time, honours those who came before, and brings old-world techniques back to life in modern kitchens.
Her work is rooted in the belief that simple loaves, like hearty rye patiently risen, can nourish more than the body. They can nourish the spirit too.
