Sourdough Rye Country Bread
This sourdough rye country bread is bursting with earthy notes and baking spice aromas alongside flavors that develop from the almost 24-hour fermentation process. It's an ideal bread to pair with stews, dip in olive oil, or use for hearty sandwiches.
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 35 min
- Yield
- 10 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 260 grams bread flour (2 cups)
- 130 grams rye whole grain flour (1 cup)
- 90 grams red fife whole wheat flour (2/3 - 3/4 cup)
- 355 grams water (1 1/2 cups)
- 90 grams sourdough starter (1/3 cup)
- 10 grams salt (scant 2 tsp)
Instructions
- 1
My dough rose for 6 hours at about 76°F, and the final proof was 16 hours in the refrigerator. You should modify this timing as needed with different ambient/dough temperatures.
- 2
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flours, water, sourdough starter, and salt. Mix on low speed with the dough hook attachment for 1-2 minutes. You can also mix by hand if you don't have a stand mixer.
- 3
Cover the dough and let it rest.
- 4
To develop gluten in the dough, either do several rounds of stretching and folding with 20-30 minute rests in between (I did three rounds) - or - rest the dough in the stand mixer bowl (covered) for 1 hour, and then run it again on low-medium speed for 5-12 minutes.
- 5
Let the dough rise until it is between 1.5x and 2x the original size: target expansion of 75%.
- 6
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and preshape it into a boule. Cover and let it rest about 15 minutes.
- 7
Shape the dough to your preference (boule, batard, oblong loaf). Make sure you build tension on the surface of the dough and dust it with flour before placing it seam-side up in a proofing basket.
- 8
Cover the basket and refrigerate it for 12+ hours. If you prefer to bake same-day, let the dough proof at room temperature for 1-2 hours or until it has expanded and is puffy -- see the photo gallery above for before and after pics.
- 9
Preheat your oven and baking vessel to 500°F for 30 minutes.
- 10
Directly from the refrigerator, flip the dough out of the proofing basket and onto a sheet of parchment paper or a silicone bread sling. Score and load the dough into your baking vessel and oven.
- 11
Bake for 12 minutes at 500°F with the option to uncover and re-score your "oven spring" cuts at the 7-minute mark and put the lid back on afterward.
- 12
For a softer crust, at the 12-minute mark, leave the lid on and reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and bake for 30-45 minutes more or until the internal temperature of the bread is over 205°F.
- 13
For a harder crust, at the 15-minute mark, reduce the oven temperature to 450°F. Continue baking with the lid on for another 10 minutes. At the 25-minute mark, remove the lid and bake 5-10 minutes more or until the internal temperature of the bread is over 205°F.
- 14
Let the bread cool for about 12 hours before you slice it because of the relatively large amount of rye in it. This will allow the crumb to set and not be gummy.