Seeded Rye Sandwich Bread

Recipe by King Arthur Test Kitchen
52 Reviews 4.3 out of 5 stars

This light-colored, light-textured loaf is ideal for sandwiches. It's fine-grained, holds together very nicely when sliced, and is chewy without being tough. For the seeds in this recipe, we've used either caraway, or our Five-Seed Baking Blend (a mixture of caraway, sesame, poppy, flax and fennel seeds); both are delicious, the caraway giving a more traditional flavor, the blend something we consider a bit more interesting.

Prep
20 mins
Bake
35 mins
Total
3 hrs 25 mins
Yield
1 loaf
Seeded Rye Sandwich Bread

Instructions

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  1. Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess.

  2. If you're making this bread in a bread machine, place all of the ingredients into the machine, program for Basic or White Bread, and press Start.

  3. To make bread using the traditional method, whisk together the instant yeast, flours, milk powder, salt, sugar, seeds and rye flavor in a large mixing bowl.

  4. Add the water and butter, and mix until well-blended.

  5. Knead the dough, either by machine or by hand, for about 10 minutes, or until it's smooth and supple. If you're kneading the dough by hand, we recommend doing so on a lightly greased counter (spray your work surface lightly with vegetable spray), rather than a floured surface; when working on a floured surface, you run the risk of adding too much flour to the dough, which will result in a tough, dry loaf. Place the dough in a large, lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise till doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

  6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled surface, and shape it into an oval. Place the dough in a lightly greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan, tent it with lightly greased plastic wrap, and set it aside till doubled in bulk and risen 1 to 1 1/2 inches over the lip of the pan, about 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

  7. Bake the bread in a preheated 375°F oven for 35 minutes, or until it's golden brown and tests done (the interior of the loaf will read 190°F on an instant-read thermometer). Remove the bread from the oven, remove it from the pan, and cool completely on a rack.

Tips from our Bakers

  • Deli Rye Flavor, a pungent combination of rye flour, acetic and lactic acids, and natural flavors, gives your light and dark rye breads that elusive taste of real bakery rye bread. If your rye breads are good but not great; if they're lacking that certain something, Deli Rye Flavor could be the answer. We've found that 1 teaspoon rye flavor added to a rye bread recipe containing 3 cups of flour will give a mild rye flavor; increase the amount from there until you arrive at the exact flavor you like, trying up to 1 tablespoon per 3 cups of flour. This rye flavor is also wonderful in crackers, Scandinavian flatbreads, and any other bread or flatbread that relies on rye flour as a main ingredient.

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