Dark Rye Bread Recipe (with Sourdough Discard)

Dark Rye Bread Recipe (with Sourdough Discard)

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American, European

Keyword: dark rye bread, dark rye bread recipe

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 45

Fermentation and proofing: 7

Total Time: 8 5

Servings:

Calories: 130kcal

Author: Victor

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Ingredients

400 g bread flour King Arthur brand recommended
250 g dark rye flour
150 g rye malt flour substitute for dark rye flour if not available
608 g water at 85F/29C
200 g sourdough starter Sourdough discard (at 83% hydration). Adjust water content if your sourdough has a higher or lower hydration level.
18 g kosher salt
21 g honey use a good quality flower honey
5 g instant yeast SAF Gold recommended

Instructions

Add water and sourdough discard to a large bowl and stir until the starter is dispersed.
Add the flour, honey, then the yeast on one side, and salt on the other, ensuring the two don't touch each other. Mix with a large metal spoon until it becomes hard to mix, then finish mixing by hand, until a sticky homogeneous mass is formed. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.
Thirty minutes later, perform a set of stretches and folds, then another one after 20-30 minutes, and another one 20-30 minutes later. Let the dough continue fermentation for another 4-5 hours or until it doubles in size. Don't let it increase in size more than that.
Gently turn the dough over onto a work surface and cut it in half with a serrated knife. Shape each piece into a log about 9" long, then place the logs seam side down into liberally buttered 9" x 5" bread pans.
Cover each pan with a piece of paper towel (this will prevent sticking of the dough to the plastic wrap), then a plastic wrap. Let proof for about 1-2 hours or until the dough increased in size by about 40-50%.
Preheat the oven to 475F (245C). Fill another bread pan or similar with boiling water about halfway and carefully place it on the bottom of the preheated oven.
Carefully open the oven, there will be hot steam in it, and transfer bread pans into the oven and bake at 450F (235C) for 20 minutes. SEE NOTES.
After the 20 minutes, remove the water pan, decrease the temperature to 425F (220C) and bake for an additional 25 minutes.
Next, remove the bread pans from the oven and place them on top of the stove. Using oven mitts, carefully remove the bread from the bread pans and place it on a cooling rack.
Let the bread cool down before eating, about an hour to an hour and a half.
Once the bread has fully cooled down, after about 3 hours, wrap it in plastic and store it at room temperature. It will stay fresh for a few days. After that, dice it and make croutons, this bread makes the most flavorful and delicious croutons.

Notes

Everyone's oven bakes differently, sometimes very differently. Please, keep an eye on your bread the first time and adjust the temps as needed. The temps that I provided work flawlessly in my oven but may not work in yours, so keep that in mind.

At these temps, the bread comes out crusty and dark-colored. If you like yours less crusty, drop the temps to 425F and 400F respectively. Enjoy!

Nutrition