Easy Danish Sourdough Rye Bread (Rugbrød) - Slow Cook or Bake
Bake in a slow cooker or oven this Easy Danish Sourdough Rye Bread (Rugbrød) is the quickest and easiest recipe for authentic Danish rye bread you'll find! Packed full of nutrients and dietary fibre seeded rugbrød is perfect for a healthy breakfast or lunch!
Servings 28 slices
Cost £2
Equipment
- 1 Measuring jug
- 1 Tablespoon
- 1 large glass mixing bowl
- 1 rubber spatula
- 900 g / 2 lb loaf tin (I use a Mermaid Hard Anodised loaf tin)
- 1 Large Silicone pastry brush
- 1 Large clear reusable food bag (I recycle cereal bags)
- 1 food bag clip
- 1 6.5 L (6.8 Q) Slow Cooker (Crockpot)
- 1 nonstick spatula
Ingredients
- 75 g sourdough starter see notes
- 420 g tepid water see notes
- 250 g dark rye flour
- 160 g strong malted bread flour see notes
- 10 g sea salt flakes
- 200 g mixed seeds sunflower, pumpkin, hemp, golden linseed
Topping
- 35 g mixed seeds sunflower, pumpkin, hemp, golden linseed
Instructions
- Generously grease a 900g/ 2lb loaf tin with butter (or oil but I find butter works best).
- Place a mixing bowl onto the scales and weigh 420 g tepid water and 75 g of sourdough starter.
- Mix the starter and water with a spatula (don’t worry about being thorough).
- Add the rye flour, strong malted bread flour, mixed seeds and salt in this order.
- Mix well with a spatula until all the flour is incorporated. It should be the consistency of wet concrete.
- Scrape the dough into the loaf tin.
- Level the surface with a wetted rubber spatula or hand to eradicate any air pockets. Aim for the sides being lower than the middle (which should be slightly raised).
- Place the loaf tin into a large clear bag, seal with a clip and leave on your counter to bulk ferment until the dough has risen by 25% and has around 10 pinprick holes. This can take between 5 and 16 hours but will depend on the room temperature and time of year. (See notes).
- Brush a little water over the top of the rye sourdough, then sprinkle with 35 g of mixed seeds.
- Place the loaf tin into the slow cooker and bake on high for 3 hours and 10 minutes (core temperature should reach 98 – 99°C). Alternatively, bake in a preheated oven on a baking tray on the lowest shelf at 175℃, 155℃ fan, 347℉, gas mark 4 for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- Once baked, allow the rye bread to cool in the tin for 10 minutes.
- Then loosen with a nonstick spatula if necessary and tip the rye bread onto a wire rack to cool.
- Once cool put the loaf into a bag to soften (it will be hard and crusty at first). Allow 12 to 24 hours to pass before slicing and eating the rye bread.
- Store the loaf in a sealed bag or beeswax wrap to maintain moisture. Alternatively slice up and freeze in a food bag. Frozen Danish rye bread makes great toast.
Video
Notes
- Starter: Feed your starter 40 g of strong white flour and 40 g of tepid water a few hours before you start. Once it has doubled in size it's ready to use.
- Tepid Water: I use a mixture of boiled water and cold tap water unless I happen to have tepid water left in the kettle. Alternatively just use cold water from the tap, it will just take a bit longer for the sourdough to prove.
- Strong Malted Bread Flour: I use Matthew’s Cotswold Crunch Strong Bread Flour. A similar flour is Dove’s Farm Organic Malthouse Bread Flour. They both contain wheat, malted wheat flakes, malted barley, and dark rye. Marriages do an Organic Strong Malted Brown Bread Flour, too, but it doesn’t contain any rye. I have not tested the Dove’s or Marriages' flours, but I’d expect them to give similar results.
- Bulk Fermentation Time: On a hot day, this has taken me 5 hours, but on a cold day, 16 hours (ie, overnight). You will get to know what timing works in your kitchen. Don’t worry if you leave the dough to ferment for too long and have multiple holes, this rye bread is very forgiving. Your loaf might have a dip in the middle, but it will still be great rye bread. You really can’t go wrong with this recipe. If you need to delay bulk fermentation, put the sourdough in the fridge overnight, then take it out in the morning to continue proving.