Soft Rye Sourdough Sandwich Bread
1741kcal
Ingredients
The Sourdough Starter Levain (Night Before)
- 7 g Sourdough starter culture
- 35 g Water
- 35 g Bread flour
The Enriched Soft Rye Dough
- 245 g Bread flour (70%)
- 105 g Rye flour (30%)
- 217 g Water (62%)
- 70 g Active sourdough starter levain (20% - From the stage above)
- 14 g Brown sugar (4%)
- 28 g Molasses or dark honey (8%)
- 14 g Dry milk powder (4% - Optional, for an extra velvety crumb)
- 7 g Salt (2%)
- 21 g Soft unsalted butter (6% - Softened completely to room temperature)
- 0.5 g Dry yeast (Optional helper pinch used strictly to speed up the rise and balance acidity)
- Caraway seeds (Optional, added to taste at the very end of mixing for traditional flavor)
Equipment
- Stand Mixer (Fitted with a dough hook attachment)
- Standard Loaf Pan
- Plastic Wrap or a damp kitchen towel
Method
Night Before – Starter Initialization
- 10:00 PM: In a clean glass jar, add your 7g of starter culture to 35g of water and whisk together cleanly. Stir in 35g of bread flour, mix well, cover loosely, and let it sit at room temperature 74–78°F (23–26°C) overnight for 8 to 10 hours until it reaches its peak and at least triples in volume.
Day 2 – The Enriched Mechanical Mix & Bulk Rise
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the 217g of water, 70g of active peak starter, 14g of brown sugar, 28g of molasses (or dark honey), and the optional 14g of dry milk powder and 0.5g of dry yeast.
- Dump the 245g of bread flour, 105g of rye flour, and 7g of salt directly over the liquids.
- Attach your dough hook attachment. Mix the dough on low speed for 3 to 5 minutes (or if using a KitchenAid mixer, run it on speed 3 for 7 to 9 minutes) until completely unified.
- The Butter Incorporation: Add the 21g of completely softened butter. Increase your mixer speed to medium-high and knead continuously for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Note: Because rye flour doesn't develop as much strong gluten as regular white wheat flour, the dough will look notably slick and sticky when the fat first hits it. Be patient—it will steadily gather together cleanly around the hook. If you are using caraway seeds, throw them in during the final 1 minute of mixing.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough bulk ferment for 2 to 3 hours at a warm 78–84°F (26–30°C).
- Wet your hands with water and perform exactly 2 separate rounds of structural stretch-and-folds spread evenly across the proofing window. The dough should become noticeably lighter and beautifully puffy.
Clean Rolling, Final Proof, and Golden Bake
- Generously sprinkle your workspace with a fine dusting of rye flour. Gently tip the puffy dough out of the container.
- Pat the dough down slightly into a flat rectangle, then roll it tightly away from you into a uniform, high-tension cylinder matching the exact length of your baking pan.
- Place the shaped log seam-side down inside a lightly greased loaf pan.
- Cover loosely and let proof in a warm environment at 78–84°F (26–30°C) for 2 to 3 hours until the dough completely doubles in volume and crowns proudly over the rim of the pan.
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Optional step: brush the top with a quick egg wash to create an extra shiny, dark bakery crust before loading.
- Slide the pan onto the middle rack and bake at 375°F (190°C) for exactly 35 minutes until the top turns a gorgeous golden brown and the internal core temp registers 200–205°F (93–96°C). Let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing!
Nutrition
Calories1741kcalCarbohydrates326gProtein55gFat24gSaturated Fat12gPolyunsaturated Fat3gMonounsaturated Fat5gTrans Fat1gCholesterol59mgSodium604mgPotassium1463mgFiber19gSugar44gVitamin A845IUVitamin C1mgCalcium337mgIron7mg
Notes
- Why Rye Dough Stays Sticky: Rye flour contains high levels of pentosans (sticky complex carbohydrates) and lacks the gluten-forming proteins found in white wheat flour. Because of this, a 30% rye blend will naturally feel significantly more tacky and loose during mixing than standard bread flour. Do not try to "fix" this by throwing in extra flour—the 15-minute mechanical mix and subsequent stretch-and-folds will safely build the strength needed to hold its shape.
- The Aromatic Coffee Hack: For a beautiful twist that adds a rich color and a wonderful depth of aroma to your crumb, you can replace a portion of the recipe's liquid water with a healthy splash of cooled, brewed black coffee. Simply scale your total liquid weight (water + coffee splash) to hit exactly 217g to keep your hydration balance completely intact.
- Managing Pan Shapes Without a Lid: This recipe is formulated to be baked in a standard open loaf tin without a lid. If you prefer to use a specialized Pullman pan with a sliding top lid to secure perfectly square sandwich slices, increase your overall ingredient scaling by roughly 1.5x to ensure the expanding dough completely crowds and fills the square corners of a 13x4 inch pan.
- Adjusting for an Overnight Proof: If you are running short on time on Day 2, this recipe offers great flexibility. After shaping your dough log and setting it into your loaf pan during step 10, you can cover it tightly and slide it straight into your refrigerator to cold-retard overnight for 8 to 12 hours. The next morning, simply bake it straight from the fridge—just add an extra 5 minutes to your total baking time to compensate for the chilled dough.