This whole grain seeded sourdough rye bread recipe is an absolute favorite of mine, although I usually only make it in one very specific situation: whenever I have a brand new sourdough starter that I want to test out.
If you’re going to spend a week or more making a brand new sourdough starter from scratch out of rye flour, you might as well give the new starter the respect it deserves and turn it into an amazing whole grain rye bread!
This sourdough rye bread recipe is the perfect recipe to make with your brand new sourdough starter! It very beginner-friendly and it doesn’t require any complicated techniques. You’ll be impressed with what you’re actually able to make in your home oven!
Besides whole grain rye flour, the only ingredients you might not have at home already are pumpkin seeds, chopped walnuts, and molasses. The molasses is optional, but the seeds and nuts take this bread to the next level by providing delicious flavor and amazing texture. Don’t skip the nuts and seeds!
Here’s everything you’ll need.
Ingredients
- Whole Grain Rye Flour – 450 grams
- Rye Sourdough Starter (Levain) – 100 grams
- Water – 425 grams
- Pumpkin Seeds “Pepitas” (Or other nuts/seeds) – 50 grams
- Chopped Walnuts (Or other nuts/seeds) – 50 grams
- Molasses (Optional) – 15 grams
- Salt – 10 grams
My favorite tools for baking bread in a loaf pan:
Non-stick Bread Pan
Internal Temperature Thermometer
Once you’ve got all of the ingredients at home, here’s how to make the recipe from start to finish.
Instructions
Feeding the Starter
In the evening, take 25 grams of sourdough starter out of the fridge and add to it 50 grams of water and 50 grams of whole grain rye flour. Stir everything together until no dry bits of flour remain.
Mark the top of the starter with a rubber band and let it sit out overnight, or for around 6-8 hours, until it doubles in size.
Soaking the Seeds
The next morning, put the pumpkin seeds and the chopped walnuts into a bowl. Cover them with 100 grams of hot or just boiling water.
Allow the seeds to soak for at least 30 minutes before you mix them in with the rest of the ingredients. This will prevent the seeds from soaking up too much moisture from the dough.
When the seeds have soaked, drain them and pat them dry with a kitchen towel.
Mixing the Dough
When the starter has doubled in size and the seeds have been drained, you can finally mix the dough.
Weight out the water, molasses, salt, and 100 grams of rye sourdough starter into a mixing bowl. Stir these ingredients thoroughly to dissolve the salt, molasses, and starter into the water.
Then, add the whole grain rye flour and the seeds into the mixing bowl. Mix everything together with a wooden spoon or a spatula until it forms a cohesive dough. This dough will be very wet and batter-like – it won’t feel anything like a sourdough bread dough made from wheat flour.
The First Rise (Bulk Fermentation)
Cover up the mixing bowl with a kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise at room temperature for about three hours.
The dough may not double in size during this time, but you should notice some growth, and the dough will feel slightly inflated with air.
Shaping
When the dough has gone through its first rise, grease a standard loaf pan with neutral oil. This is optional if you’re using a quality non-stick pan. Click here to see my favorite non-stick bread pan on Amazon (affiliate link).
Pour out all of the fermented dough directly into the bread pan. Press down on the top of the dough with a wet spatula and flatten the dough into the pan. Ideally, the dough will reach about the halfway mark in the pan.
Sprinkle a thin layer of whole grain rye flour on top of the loaf. This will help you to see when the dough is done proofing later. (See the end of the “Proofing” section).
Note: Since this dough is more like a batter, shaping is relatively easy, and you’ll basically just dump the dough into the pan and let it rise!
Proofing
Cover up the pan with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise for about 3-5 hours. The dough should rise until it almost reaches the top of the pan.
You’ll know proofing is complete and the dough is ready to bake when you see cracks along the top of the dough. (The extra sprinkling of rye flour on top of the dough that was added before will make these cracks more noticeable).
When the dough is starting to show cracks on the top, preheat the oven to 400° for 30 minutes.
Baking
Once the oven is preheated, spray the top of the dough with water or add a few ice cubes to the bottom of the oven. Both of these techniques will add a little bit of steam to the oven to aid in developing a nicer crust on the loaf of bread.
Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and let the bread bake for 60-75 minutes at 400°F.
Note: You can bake this bread directly on the oven rack or on a baking stone/pizza stone. Either method will work fine.
When fully baked, the internal temperature of the bread should read at least 198°F on a probe thermometer. Keep baking for an additional 10 minutes, or until the bread reaches the correct internal temperature.
Cooling
Remove the loaf of bread from the pan and transfer it onto a wire rack to cool for at least 2 hours before slicing.
Note: Traditionally, whole grain rye breads like this are wrapped in linen cloth and allowed to rest for 12 hours or more before they are sliced. This aging process supposedly gives the bread a better flavor. If you want to do this, wrap the bread in a kitchen towel after it has cooled and let it rest for 12-24 hours before slicing, but if you don’t have the patience, just slice into it once it has cooled. It will taste great either way!
Video Tutorial: Seeded Sourdough Rye Bread
Seeded Sourdough Rye Bread
This 100% whole grain sourdough rye bread is packed with the perfect amount of nuts and seeds. It's crunchy, wholesome, hearty, and delicious. It's also very easy to make.
Ingredients
- Whole Grain Rye Flour – 450 grams
- Rye Sourdough Starter (Levain) – 100 grams
- Water – 425 grams
- Pumpkin Seeds “Pepitas” (Or other nuts/seeds) – 50 grams
- Chopped Walnuts (Or other nuts/seeds) – 50 grams
- Molasses (Optional) – 15 grams
- Salt – 10 grams
Instructions
Feeding the Sourdough Starter
- In the evening, take 25 grams of sourdough starter out of the fridge and add to it 50 grams of water and 50 grams of whole grain rye flour. Stir everything together until no dry bits of flour remain.
- Mark the top of the starter with a rubber band and let it sit out overnight, or for around 6-8 hours, until it doubles in size.
Soaking the Seed Mixture
- The next morning, put the pumpkin seeds and the chopped walnuts into a bowl. Cover them with 100 grams of hot or just boiling water.
- Allow the seeds to soak for at least 30 minutes before you mix them in with the rest of the ingredients. This will prevent the seeds from soaking up too much moisture from the dough.
- When the seeds have soaked, drain them and pat them dry with a kitchen towel.
Mixing the Dough
- When the starter has doubled in size and the seeds have been drained, you can finally mix the dough.
- Weight out the water, molasses, salt, and 100 grams of rye sourdough starter into a mixing bowl. Stir these ingredients thoroughly to dissolve the salt, molasses, and starter into the water.
- Then, add the whole grain rye flour and the seeds into the mixing bowl. Mix everything together with a wooden spoon or a spatula until it forms a cohesive dough. This dough will be very wet and batter-like – it won’t feel anything like a sourdough bread dough made from wheat flour.
The First Rise (Bulk Fermentation)
- Cover up the mixing bowl with a kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise at room temperature for about three hours.
- The dough may not double in size during this time, but you should notice some growth, and the dough will feel slightly inflated with air.
Shaping
- When the dough has gone through its first rise, grease a standard loaf pan with neutral oil. This is optional if you’re using a quality non-stick pan.
- Pour out all of the fermented dough directly into the bread pan. Press down on the top of the dough with a wet spatula and flatten the dough into the pan. Ideally, the dough will reach about the halfway mark in the pan.
- Sprinkle a thin layer of whole grain rye flour on top of the loaf. This will help you to see when the dough is done proofing later. (See the end of the “Proofing” section).
Note: Since this dough is more like a batter, shaping is relatively easy, and you’ll basically just dump the dough into the pan and let it rise!
Proofing
- Cover up the pan with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise for about 3-5 hours. The dough should rise until it almost reaches the top of the pan.
- You’ll know proofing is complete and the dough is ready to bake when you see cracks and bubbles along the top of the dough. (The extra sprinkling of rye flour on top of the dough that was added before will make these cracks more noticeable).
- When the dough is starting to show cracks on the top, preheat the oven to 400° for 30 minutes.
Baking
- Once the oven is preheated, spray the top of the dough with water or add a few ice cubes to the bottom of the oven. Both of these techniques will add a little bit of steam to the oven to aid in developing a nicer crust on the loaf of bread.
- Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and let the bread bake for 60-75 minutes at 400°F.
Note: You can bake this bread directly on the oven rack or on a baking stone/pizza stone. Either method will work fine.
- When fully baked, the internal temperature of the bread should read at least 198°F on a probe thermometer. Keep baking for an additional 10 minutes, or until the bread reaches the correct internal temperature.
Cooling
- Remove the loaf of bread from the pan and transfer it onto a wire rack to cool for at least 2 hours before slicing.
Note: Traditionally, whole grain rye breads like this are wrapped in linen cloth and allowed to rest for 12 hours or more before they are sliced. This aging process supposedly gives the bread a better flavor. If you want to do this, wrap the bread in a kitchen towel after it has cooled and let it rest for 12-24 hours before slicing, but if you don’t have the patience, just slice into it once it has cooled. It will taste great either way!
Notes
- Since this dough is more like a batter, shaping is relatively easy, and you’ll basically just dump the dough into the pan and let it rise!
- You can bake this bread directly on the oven rack or on a baking stone/pizza stone. Either method will work fine.
- Traditionally, whole grain rye breads like this are wrapped in linen cloth and allowed to rest for 12 hours or more before they are sliced. This aging process supposedly gives the bread a better flavor. If you want to do this, wrap the bread in a kitchen towel after it has cooled and let it rest for 12-24 hours before slicing, but if you don’t have the patience, just slice into it once it has cooled. It will taste great either way!
For more recipes like this one, check out my ebook, No-Nonsense Sourdough. I have 18 creative sourdough bread recipes that I can’t wait to share with you – Sourdough focaccia, cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls, sandwich bread, and so many more amazing recipes. Find out all about the ebook here!
