Today I have a classic rye bread with sourdough for you. Danish rugbrød is typically baked in a loaf tin and decorated with an oatmeal crust. Wholemeal flour and sunflower seeds make rugbrød a real power breakfast. To balance out the strong rye flavor a little, a tablespoon of honey or syrup is added to the dough.
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What is Rugbrød?
Rugbrød is a traditional Danish rye bread baked with sourdough. It’s a great everyday bread because it goes with everything, keeps you full for a long time and is easy to make. It is also packed with nutrients and fiber. The best thing about rye bread is that the dough doesn’t need to be kneaded, stretched or folded. Simply mix all the ingredients together, pour into a loaf tin* and leave to rest overnight. Cooked whole rye grains ensure that the bread stays fresh and moist for a long time.
Rye bread Ingredients
- Cooked rye grains bind moisture and ensure that the bread stays fresh and moist for a long time. Whole rye grains are boiled in 10 times the amount of water to soften them.
- Wholegrain rye flour: I prefer to grind my wholemeal flours myself. Freshly ground flours have more flavor and more nutrients than supermarket flours. However, they do not keep for long and should always be used immediately after grinding. If you don’t have a grain mill* to grind your own flour, you can of course also use store-bought flour.
- Honey: Rye has a strong taste of its own. To soften the taste of pure rye bread and make it more harmonious, a little honey is often added to the dough. For vegan bread, you can also replace the honey with agave or sugar beet syrup.
- Sourdough starter: The sourdough starter does not need to be freshly fed for this recipe, but it should not have been refreshed more than a week ago.
- Sunflower seeds: You can also use pumpkin seeds instead of sunflower seeds.
- Rolled oats: I used old-fashioned rolled oats, but other seeds also make a nice crust.
Baking with sourdough – cultivating and caring for sourdough starter
You can use either wheat sourdough or rye starter for this recipe. I use a universal sourdough for all types of flour. I feed my sourdough with equal parts water and flour. If you use a different mixing ratio, you will need to adjust the amount of water in the recipe.
The sourdough does not need to be freshly fed for this recipe, but it should not have been more than a week since it was last refreshed. The longer your sourdough has not been fed, the longer the dough usually needs to rest.
If you don’t have a sourdough yet, I’ve put together some methods for growing your own starter here.
How Danish rye bread is made
Cook the rye grains and prepare the main dough
Boil the rye grains with 200 ml water in a small pan until soft and all the water has been absorbed. If any water remains, drain the grains through a sieve. Leave the cooked grains to cool completely.
Prepare the dough: In a large bowl, mix together the water, rye flour, sunflower seeds, sourdough starter, honey, salt and the cooled grains. Knead the dough thoroughly* until all the ingredients are well combined.
Shaping the rugbrød
Pour the dough into the mold: Grease a loaf tin* and pour in the dough. Smooth the surface with damp hands. Lightly moisten the surface and sprinkle with rolled oats.
Leave the dough to rest: Cover the tin with a cloth. Leave the dough to rest at room temperature overnight until it has risen considerably.
Bake the rye bread
Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 230 °C hot air using a steam tray consisting of a stainless steel oven dish* and lava stones*.
Bake the bread: Spray the surface of the dough with water. Place the loaf tin* in the hot oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 200 °C. Bake the bread for 20 minutes with steam and approx. 40 minutes without steam.
Leave the bread to cool: Take the finished rugbrød out of the oven and remove from the tin. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack* before cutting.
Frequently asked questions
How long does rye bread keep?
Rye bread contains more water than wheat bread and therefore stays fresh for longer. If it is stored correctly, it still tastes good even after four to five days. The sourdough ensures that the bread stays moist for a long time. The acid in the sourdough prevents the bread from going moldy.
Can I freeze Rugbrød?
Yes, best cut into slices. That way you can defrost it in portions in the toaster.
How is Danish rye bread stored?
I store my rye bread at room temperature. I cover it with a cotton kitchen towel to prevent the cut side from drying out. You can also store the bread in a cotton bread bag or in a bread box.
How long does the sourdough bread need to rise?
Rye bread dough often needs more time than wheat sourdough. Unlike most sourdoughs with wheat flour, I leave the doughs for my rye breads to rest at room temperature (and not in the fridge). For a simple test, dust the surface of the dough with flour or coarse meal before proofing. If they form clear cracks and the surface curves upwards, the bread is ready to bake.
Why should you only cut rye bread the next day?
Rye bread tastes best on the second day because the flavours have had enough time to fully develop. It is also important that the bread has cooled completely before slicing. Otherwise the crumb may become sticky.
Why does rye bread get sticky?
It is important that the rye bread has cooled completely before it is cut. If rye bread is cut while warm, the escaping steam makes the crumb sticky.
Why has my rugbrød become too dry?
This may be due to too short a rising time, too little water or too long a baking time.
Why does the loaf turn grey on the sides?
The greyish color is created when the tin is dusted with flour before the dough is poured in. To avoid a gray haze, I grease the tin thoroughly, but do without the additional layer of flour. If the bread cannot be removed from the tin, you can cover it with a cotton cloth immediately after baking. The moisture that forms under the cloth as it cools makes it easier to remove the bread from the tin.
What does Rugbrød go best with?
Rugbrød is the basis for smørrebrød (Danish sandwiches) and tastes particularly good with salmon, herring, cheese or avocado.
You might also like these recipes
- Whole grain rye bread with sourdough
- Fruit loaf with sourdough
- Farmer’s bread with sourdough
- Seeded bread with sourdough
Helpful tools – My recommendations
✨ The links with an star* are affiliate links. If you click on one of these links and buy something, I get a small commission and you support my work (thanks for that 🧡). This does not change the price for you. You can find more information on privacy policy here.✨
- A grain mill* for freshly ground wholemeal flour.
- A Danish Whisk* – especially if you don’t use a kitchen machine. This allows you to mix your ingredients without the whole dough sticking to the spoon.
- A kitchen scale*.
- You can use a stainless steel dough knife* to cut your dough pieces or shape your loaves.
- You can bake beautiful loaves with proofing baskets. There are round proofing baskets* and oval proofing baskets*. If you want to bake several loaves at the same time, I would recommend oval baskets. They take up less space in the fridge and oven.
- A stainless steel loaf tin*.
- A steam tray consisting of a stainless steel oven mould* and lava stones*. The tray is filled with the stones and placed on the bottom of the oven during preheating. When you put your bread in the oven, pour hot water onto the stones. This creates steam, which ensures that your bread rises well.
- A cooling rack* for bread, rolls and waffles.
- A stainless steel kettle* with different temperature settings for soaked ingredients.
- A sharp bread knife*.
- A stainless steel toaster* for slices of bread, toast and rolls.
You can find more product recommendations here.
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Recipe for Rugbrød – Danish rye bread with sourdough
Ingredients
cooked grain
- 60 g whole rye grains
- 600 g hot water
dough
- cooked grain
- 530 g whole grain rye flour
- 1 tsp. honey or a vegan alternative
- 480 g water
- 120 g Sourdough starter
- 70 g sunflower seeds
- 1½ tsp. salt
- rolled oats for the crust
Instructions
Day 1: Preparing the dough
- Boil the rye grains with 200 ml water in a small pan until soft and all the water has been absorbed. If any water remains, drain the grains through a sieve. Leave the cooked grains to cool completely.
- Prepare the dough: In a large bowl, mix together the water, rye flour, sunflower seeds, sourdough starter, honey, salt and the cooled rye grains. Knead the dough thoroughly until all the ingredients are well combined.
- Pour the dough into the mold: Grease a loaf tin and pour in the dough. Smooth the surface with damp hands. Lightly moisten the surface and sprinkle with oat flakes.
- Leave the dough to rest: Cover the tin with a cloth. Leave the dough to rest at room temperature overnight until it has risen considerably.
Day 2: Baking day
- Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 230 °C hot air using a steam tray.
- Bake the bread: Spray the surface of the dough with water. Place the loaf tin in the hot oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 200 °C. Bake the bread for 20 minutes with steam and approx. 40 minutes without steam.
- Leave the bread to cool: Take the finished bread out of the oven and remove from the tin. Leave to cool completely on a rack before cutting.
Notes
How long does rye bread keep?
Rye bread contains more water than wheat bread and therefore stays fresh for longer. If it is stored correctly, it still tastes good even after four to five days. The sourdough ensures that the bread stays moist for a long time. The acid in the sourdough prevents the bread from going moldy.Can I freeze Rugbrød?
Yes, best cut into slices. That way you can defrost it in portions in the toaster.How is Danish rye bread stored?
I store my rye bread at room temperature. I cover it with a cotton kitchen towel to prevent the cut side from drying out. You can also store the bread in a cotton bread bag or in a bread box.How long does the sourdough bread need to rise?
Rye bread dough often needs more time than wheat sourdough. Unlike most sourdoughs with wheat flour, I leave the doughs for my rye breads to rest at room temperature (and not in the fridge). For a simple test, dust the surface of the dough with flour or coarse meal before proofing. If they form clear cracks and the surface curves upwards, the bread is ready to bake.Why should you only cut rye bread the next day?
Rye bread tastes best on the second day because the flavours have had enough time to fully develop. It is also important that the bread has cooled completely before slicing. Otherwise the crumb may become sticky.Why does rye bread get sticky?
It is important that the rye bread has cooled completely before it is cut. If rye bread is cut while warm, the escaping steam makes the crumb sticky.Why has my rugbrød become too dry?
This may be due to too short a rising time, too little water or too long a baking time.Why does the loaf turn grey on the sides?
The greyish color is created when the tin is dusted with flour before the dough is poured in. To avoid a gray haze, I grease the tin thoroughly, but do without the additional layer of flour. If the bread cannot be removed from the tin, you can cover it with a cotton cloth immediately after baking. The moisture that forms under the cloth as it cools makes it easier to remove the bread from the tin.Have you tried one of my recipes?
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this food is very delicious thank you for making this delicious recipe