An easy high altitude recipe for no knead rye bread made with a combination of bread flour and rye flour, as well as caraway seeds. Today’s homemade rye sandwich bread is a little dense but still soft, and perfect for sandwiches or toast.
You might also love these high altitude recipes for simple Irish brown bread, honey whole wheat sandwich bread, and white sandwich bread.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
No Knead. While this rye bread is made with yeast, you won’t actually be kneading the dough, like most yeast bread recipes require. Simply stir together the ingredients in a bowl, then let rise before shaping and baking the bread.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude. That said, most of my yeast dough recipes for rolls, buns and bread can be made at any altitude without adjusting the ingredients. The main difference will simply be on how long it takes your dough to rise, since dough tends to rise faster at higher elevations. If making this recipe at sea level or low altitude, you’ll likely need to use the whole packet (2 1/4 tsp) of yeast.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Flour. You’ll be using two types of flour to make homemade rye bread, both bread flour or high protein flour, as well as rye flour. Rye flour is made from ground rye berries or kernels, and has a nutty, malty flavor.
- Salt. Flavor. Without enough salt, your bread will be very bland.
- Yeast. I use and love this instant or rapid rise yeast. Note that you won’t be using a whole packet of yeast.
- Caraway Seeds. Some might say that the caraway seeds are optional, but I’d argue that they’re not optional at all. Most of the flavor that we associate with rye bread comes from the caraway seeds. I was not able to find these at my grocery store, so I bought them on Amazon. If you leave out the seeds, I think you’ll be disappointed in the lack of flavor in your bread.
- Warm Water. Be sure your water is at the specified temperature of 110-115F. Too cold, and it won’t activate the yeast, and your bread won’t rise. Too hot, and it will kill the yeast.
- Molasses. I used original molasses to add a little sweetness and darker color. You can also use honey, or any other sweetener that you like.
- Olive Oil. Adds just a little richness to the dough.
- Butter. Use this for greasing the loaf pan.
Instructions
Make the Dough and Let Rise
- In a bowl, combine the bread flour, rye flour, salt, yeast and caraway seeds.
- Stir the molasses/honey and olive oil into 1 1/2 cups of the warm water, then pour the liquid into the dry ingredients.
- Stir the dough until moistened and sticky, gradually adding the remaining 1/4 cup warm water, if needed.
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set in a warm place until doubled in size. Depending on your altitude, this may take anywhere from 45-90 minutes. At 5,280 feet, it took 60 minutes for me. The higher the altitude, the faster your dough will rise.
Shape the Bread and Let Rise
- Butter the inside of a small Pullman loaf pan (9x4x4 inches) with softened butter.
- Use a spatula to gently scrape down the dough from the sides of the bowl; this will cause it to deflate. Scrape the dough out onto a floured surface, then sprinkle the top of the dough with more flour, so it doesn’t stick to your hands.
- Press the dough out into a rectangle, measuring 9×12 inches. Roll the dough up, so you have a 9-inch long log, then transfer it to the buttered pan, seam side down.
- Set the pan in a warm place to rest and rise a second time, about 30-45 minutes. When the dough has risen above the top edge of the pan by about 1-2 inches, it’s ready to bake. Note that this bread has very little “oven spring”, so it will not rise much more when it’s baked.
Bake the Bread
- Preheat the oven to 375 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- If you don’t want the floury surface on top of the bread, brush off the excess flour with a pastry brush, then brush the top of the dough with about a tablespoon of melted butter.
- Bake the bread for about 40-45 minutes, until an instant read digital thermometer inserted into the center of the bread reads 195-200 F.
- Turn the bread out of the pan onto a cooling rack. Let cool for at least 30 minutes, before slicing.
- Enjoy the bread warm or toasted with butter, or used for sandwiches.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
I used the small USA Bakeware Pullman Loaf Pan, which is 9 x 4 x 4 inches. The USA 1-lb Bread Loaf Pan is my other favorite loaf pan, and it’s a little smaller at 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75 inches. Most standard loaf pans are approximately 9 x 5 x 2.75 inches. Personally, I prefer the tall loaves baked in the high-sided pullman pan, and you might find that today’s recipe yields too much dough for one smaller loaf pan. I’d advise dividing the dough between two loaves, if using a standard loaf pan.
Store leftover slices of bread in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3-6 months.
If you increase the amount of rye flour, your bread will have a more dense texture.
Yes, you can use brown sugar, honey, molasses, pure maple syrup, brown rice syrup, light treacle, etc.
I absolutely love Red Star Platinum Premium Instant Yeast with Dough Enhancers. Instant yeast doesn’t require proofing first, and can be mixed directly into the dough. If using active dry yeast, you’ll need to proof or activate it first. Instead of mixing the yeast into the dry ingredients, stir it into the warm water along with the honey or molasses. Let stand for 5-10 minutes until bubbly, then stir the liquid into the dry ingredients.
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High Altitude Rye Sandwich Bread (No Knead)
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups (14.4 oz) bread flour or high protein flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 cup (4 oz) rye flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 ½ tsp instant or rapid rise yeast (not the whole packet)
- 4 tsp caraway seeds
- 1 ¾ cups warm water, divided (between 110-115 degrees F)
- 2 tbsp "original" molasses or honey
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- softened butter, for greasing the pan
Instructions
Make the Dough and Let Rise
- In a bowl, combine the bread flour, rye flour, salt, yeast and caraway seeds.
- Stir the molasses/honey and olive oil into 1 1/2 cups of the warm water, then pour the liquid into the dry ingredients.
- Stir the dough until moistened and sticky, gradually adding the remaining 1/4 cup warm water, if needed.
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set in a warm place until doubled in size. Depending on your altitude, this may take anywhere from 45-90 minutes. At 5,280 feet, it took 60 minutes for me. The higher the altitude, the faster your dough will rise.
Shape the Bread and Let Rise
- Butter the inside of a small Pullman loaf pan (9x4x4 inches) with softened butter.
- Use a spatula to gently scrape down the dough from the sides of the bowl; this will cause it to deflate. Scrape the dough out onto a floured surface, then sprinkle the top of the dough with more flour, so it doesn't stick to your hands.
- Press the dough out into a rectangle, measuring 9×12 inches. Roll the dough up, so you have a 9-inch long log, then transfer it to the buttered pan, seam side down.
- Set the pan in a warm place to rest and rise a second time, about 30-45 minutes. When the dough has risen above the top edge of the pan by about 1-2 inches, it's ready to bake. Note that this bread has very little "oven spring", so it will not rise much more when it's baked.
Bake the Bread
- Preheat the oven to 375 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- If you don't want the floury surface on top of the bread, brush off the excess flour with a pastry brush, then brush the top of the dough with about a tablespoon of melted butter.
- Bake the bread for about 40-45 minutes, until an instant read digital thermometer inserted into the center of the bread reads 195-200 F.
- Turn the bread out of the pan onto a cooling rack. Let cool for at least 30 minutes, before slicing.
- Enjoy the bread warm or toasted with butter, or used for sandwiches.
I hope you all love this recipe as much as I do!
Perfect! Bread came out amazingly delicious.👍
Can you leave out the caraway seeds. I’m not a fan of them but I really like rye bread. Thanks
The recipe will work fine without them, but the seeds add the majority of the rye flavor.