Bread Machine – Rye Bread

Here is a great recipe for bread machine rye bread. This bread is used for classic sandwiches such as the Reuben Sandwich, Ham & Cheese on Rye, etc. Rye bread is a modestly dark bread made with ingredients such as rye flour, molasses and cocoa powder. It has a unique flavor (which can be described as “earthy”) and is nice change from the white bread used for many sandwiches.

This rye bread recipe is made completely in the bread machine. Unlike some other bread machine recipes, it is not baked in the oven. Our recipe is generally simpler & easier to make (versus bread machine recipes that make rye dough and then rely on an oven to bake the loaf).

Bread Machine Rye Bread

According to Wikipedia, rye grain “is used for flour, bread, beer, crisp bread, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder”. Examples of rye bread sandwiches include Reuben sandwiches, pastrami sandwiches, ham & cheese on rye sandwiches, etc. Given the earthy taste of rye bread, many people like to use sandwich condiments such as mustard in order to complement the bread’s natural flavor.

Key Ingredient – Rye Flour

Since this rye bread recipe is done in a bread machine, it is easy to make. It should take you only 5-10 minutes to prepare and then you let the bread machine do the rest of the work. You will also find a printable and “pin-able” rye bread recipe at the bottom of the page.

Ingredients – Bread Machine Rye Bread Recipe – 1.5 lb Bread Loaf

• 1 1/8 Cups – Water (lukewarm) – 259 milliliters – 1 1/8 cups is equivalent to 1 cup and 2 tablespoons
• 2 Tablespoons – Unsalted Butter (softened) – 28 grams
• 1 1/2 Cups – Bread Flour – 180 grams
• 1 1/2 Cups – Rye Flour – 180 grams
• 2 Tablespoons – Molasses – 30 milliliters
• 3 Tablespoons – Light Brown Sugar (packed) – 39 grams
• 1 Tablespoon – Cocoa Powder Natural Unsweetened – 5 grams
• 3/4 Teaspoon – Caraway Seeds (optional but traditional rye bread contains caraway seeds) – 2 grams
• 1 Teaspoon – Salt – 6 grams
• 1  Teaspoon – Bread Machine Yeast (Instant Yeast) – 3 grams

Ingredients – Bread Machine Rye Bread Recipe – 2 lb Bread Loaf

• 1 1/2 Cups – Water (lukewarm) – 345 milliliters
• 3 Tablespoons – Unsalted Butter (softened) – 43 grams
• 2 Cups – Bread Flour – 240 grams
• 2 Cups – Rye Flour – 240 grams
• 2 Tablespoons – Molasses – 30 milliliters
• 4 Tablespoons – Light Brown Sugar (packed) – 52 grams
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons – Cocoa Powder Natural Unsweetened – 7.5 grams
• 1 Teaspoon – Caraway Seeds (optional but traditional rye bread contains caraway seeds) – 3 grams
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons – Salt – 9 grams
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons – Bread Machine Yeast (Instant Yeast) – 4.5 grams

Servings – Roughly 12 slices

Equipment Needed – Measuring cup & spoons, silicone spatula, oven mitts, cooling rack and a bread machine.

**Missing equipment? Visit Bread Dad’s bread tools section**

Close-up of Rye Flour

Instructions – Bread Machine Rye Bread Recipe – 1.5 lb or 2 lb Bread Loaf

• Settings – 1.5 lb or 2 lb, light color & basic (not the whole wheat setting)
• Your bread machine should be unplugged. Remove the bread pan from the bread machine (so when you add the ingredients, they can not accidentally spill into the machine).
• Pour the water into the bread pan and then add the other ingredients. Place the bread machine yeast in last and the yeast should not touch the liquid (until the bread machine is turned on and the ingredients start to be mixed together by the bread machine). Put bread pan with ingredients back into unplugged bread machine.
• Plug in bread machine. Enter the bread machine settings (1.5 lb or 2 lb, light color & “basic” bread setting) and then press the “Start” button on your bread machine.
• When the bread machine has finished baking the bread, unplug the bread machine. Remove the bread and place it on a cooling rack. Use oven mitts when removing the bread machine container (bread loaf pan) as it will be very hot!
• Remove the bread from the bread loaf pan and place the bread on a cooling rack. Let the bread cool down on the cooling rack for at least 30-60 minutes.
• After removing the bread, don’t forget to remove the mixing paddle if it is stuck in the bread. Use oven mitts as the mixing paddle will be very hot coming out of the bread machine. Or wait until the bread is completely cooled and then remove the mixing paddle.
• In our bread machine, the overall mixing & baking takes about 2:53 hours for a 1.5 pound bread. However, some machines can differ and you don’t want to be away from home when the bread machine “finished” alarm goes off! Your bread machine should show you the total time required after you have entered the settings into the machine.
• Before using any bread machine, you should read the manufacturer’s instructions in order to use your bread machine effectively and safely.
• Please read the tips section below for extra information on how to make this recipe successfully.

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Tips – Bread Machine Rye Bread Recipe

• The tips below are designed to help bread machine “novices” and those who haven’t touched their bread machine in years.
• Click on our “print recipe” link if you want to print out this recipe. It includes all of the recipe’s ingredients and instructions. However, the recipe print function does not include our tips section. Please read the tips section in order to avoid common recipe problems.
• This bread is a dark rye bread which is good for sandwiches, etc. It is not a light rye bread (i.e. NY deli-style rye bread) and it is not a coarse pumpernickel-style rye bread. If you would like to learn more about the difference between light rye bread, dark rye bread and pumpernickel, you might like to read this TheKitchn article.
• This recipe is part of our series on easy Bread Machine Recipes.

• For this recipe, you should use the “basic” bread setting and NOT the whole wheat setting. The whole wheat setting is only used for some bread machine recipes that utilize 100% whole wheat flour, 100% rye flour, etc. (& no bread flour) and thus need longer rising times.
• Use FRESH rye flour. An open package of rye flour can spoil quickly in a pantry. Many people like to store their rye flour in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer for longer storage.
• Optional – Traditional rye breads use caraway seeds as an ingredient. If you really like the flavor/aroma of caraway seeds, you can boost the caraway seeds to 1 1/2 teaspoons in the 1.5 lb bread (versus the 3/4 teaspoon called for in the recipe) and 2 teaspoons in the 2 lb bread (versus the 1 teaspoon called for in the recipe). My thanks to Troy for pointing out that some people prefer more caraway seeds in their rye bread.
• If you don’t have bread flour, you can use all-purpose flour as a substitute. However, rye bread made with all-purpose flour & rye flour will be less airy (more dense) than a rye bread made with bread flour & rye flour.
• Please keep the 50/50 split between the rye flour and bread flour. Rye flour has a much lower ability to “rise” versus bread flour (because rye flour has much less gluten than bread flour). If you increase the ratio of rye flour then the bread will be much more dense.

• This recipe is NOT for 1 lb capacity bread machines. Please check the capacity of your bread machine before making this recipe. This recipe helps you to create a 1.5 lb or 2 lb bread loaf. If you have a small bread machine (i.e. a bread machine that has only a capacity for 1 lb breads), you will be unable to make this recipe. The loaf will be too large for your machine and could overflow the bread pan (and the top is likely to collapse). An example of a bread machine with only a 1 lb capacity is the Zojirushi Home Bakery Mini Breadmaker (model BB-HAC10).
• For bread machines with a loaf capacity greater than 1 lb, you should consider making the 1.5 lb version first. Some bread machines with a supposed 2lb loaf capacity are smaller than advertised. See how the 1.5 lb version works in your bread machine before attempting the 2 lb version.
• Do not confuse the 1.5 lb and 2 lb ingredient lists (i.e. transpose the numbers accidentally). Shamefaced… I have done this before!
• Also enter the correct setting (i.e. 1.5 lb or 2 lb) for the amount of ingredients added. A 2 lb loaf takes longer to bake than a 1.5 lb loaf. On my machine, the 1.5 lb “basic bread” setting takes 2:53 hours and the 2 lb “basic bread” setting takes 3 hours.

• This recipe uses bread machine yeast (instant yeast) and NOT active dry yeast.
• Many bakers like to make an indent in the top of the flour in order to hold the bread machine yeast in place (looks sort of like a small flour volcano with a yeast crater). This is done to prevent the yeast from falling into the liquid ingredients (and activating prematurely) or coming into contact with the salt until the bread machine is turned on.
• The salt should be placed in an area that is separate from the bread yeast (they should not be mixed together until the bread machine starts the mixing cycle). For example, add the salt on one of the sides of the bread pan (away from the yeast in the center).

• In my opinion, homemade rye bread is much tastier than most packaged supermarket rye breads. In addition, since you are adding the ingredients, you know what is going into your homemade bread (versus packaged breads that might contain undesirable chemicals & preservatives).
• Use FRESH ingredients for the best results. For example, if you use months old stale bread flour, your bread will not taste great! Even things like molasses can spoil. Try to store ingredients (such as flour and sugar) in airtight containers in order to avoid exposure to moisture (in the air), dust, pests, etc.
• For this rye bread machine recipe, I would suggest that you use “regular” molasses and not “blackstrap” molasses. According to Wikipedia, “Blackstrap molasses is significantly more bitter than ‘regular’ molasses”.
• This recipe calls for the use of natural cocoa powder (and not hot chocolate powder). For the best results, you should stick to natural unsweetened cocoa powder (which is used mainly for baking).
• According to Wikipedia, “Rye flour is high in gliadin but low in glutenin. It therefore has a lower gluten content than wheat flour. It also contains a higher proportion of soluble fiber”.

• Kitchen humidity can impact a recipe. A winter kitchen tends to be drier due to your heating system drying out the air. In contrast, a kitchen in the summer can be much more humid. This change in humidity impacts baking as flour can soak up humidity from the air. Therefore, you might have to add 1-2 teaspoons of liquid in the winter if the dough is looking too dry. Or you might have to add 1-2 teaspoons of flour in the summer if the dough is looking too wet. If your kitchen is very dry or humid, you might have to add even a little more (but start with 1 teaspoon at a time until you achieve the right consistency). Of course, excessive kitchen humidity or dryness can impact a recipe at any time during the year (not just in the summer & winter)!
• If want to learn how to make bread machine bread without the mixing paddle hole on the bottom, please visit Bread Dad’s White Bread Recipe Instant Yeast page. It will show you how to create dough in your bread machine and how to finish the bread in your oven. You can use this information to make rye bread without the mixing paddle hole.

• Having trouble with bread collapses & misshapen bread tops? Make sure to read Bread Dad’s article on Bread Machine Bread Collapses. It has reasons and solutions to potential bread collapses. It covers reasons such as too much liquid was added, too much yeast was added, too much humidity in the kitchen, kitchen temperature impact, etc.
• If your bread comes out too dense, it is likely due to one of the following reasons; You are using old or stale yeast (so it doesn’t grow as well as expected), using a cold refrigerator temperature liquid (which slows yeast growth), baking in a cold winter temperature kitchen (yeast likes kitchen temps of 75-80 degree F), placing salt on top of or next to the yeast (salt kills yeast so it must be placed away from the yeast in the bread pan), etc. For more reasons, you should visit Bread Dad’s Why Is My Bread Machine Bread So Dense? page.

• If you start substituting ingredients (i.e. using different types of flour not called for in the recipe), you are experimenting and should not expect similar results to the recipe shown above. Experimenting can be fun. However, you should expect some successes but more potential disappointments when you start to experiment with recipes. For example, if you substitute whole wheat flour for bread flour, you will probably experience a problem (as whole wheat flour doesn’t rise nearly as well as bread flour). Moreover, whole wheat flour has a totally different flavor.
• If you have a problem with a bread machine recipe, please make sure that you are following the recipe exactly (i.e. using the correct bread machine settings), you are using the correct amount of an ingredient (i.e. don’t eyeball the measurements versus using a measuring cup or accidentally add a teaspoon when a tablespoon is called for), you are using the correct ingredients (i.e. bread machine yeast versus regular yeast or bread flour versus all purpose flour), etc. Please don’t “wing” things with recipes.
• Be aware that some bread recipes may differ slightly between different types of bread machines. Therefore, please read your bread machine manufacturer’s instructions for basic bread recipes (i.e. white bread or whole wheat bread) as these are more likely to work on your individual bread machine.
• If you haven’t used your bread machine in a long time, please buy some NEW bread machine yeast before making your bread. Old yeast can die or lose its potency and this will lead to bread that does not rise properly. Bread machine yeast may not be viable if it has been sitting in your pantry for years.

• My recipes are based on US ingredient measurements (i.e. US cups & tablespoons). However, as a courtesy to our European visitors, I have also included some very ROUGH European equivalents (i.e. grams & milliliters). Since I rarely use European measurements when baking, please let me know in the comment section below if any of the European ingredient measurements need to be changed (i.e. for XYZ ingredient, milliliters are more commonly used versus the grams information listed in the recipe).
• Always wear oven mitts/gloves when dealing with a bread machine. The bread pan and the rest of the bread machine can get very hot during the baking process. This means that the bread pan and bread machine is likely to be very hot when you attempt to remove a baked good from the bread machine and/or bread pan.
• For more easy bread ideas, please visit Bread Dad’s sections on Bread Machine Recipes and Homemade Bread Recipes.
• If you enjoyed this recipe, we would love to see a picture of your masterpiece! Please post a photo of it on Instagram and tag it with @breaddadrecipes

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Rye Bread Machine Recipe – Questions

What are the caraway seeds used in bread machine rye breads?

Caraway seeds are used as a spice in many types of bread, especially rye bread. These seeds often have a distinctive taste which is described by Wikipedia as “a pungent, anise-like flavor”.

What is rye?

Rye is a grain and it is related to wheat and barley. Rye is used for used to make rye flour, rye bread, some types of beer, rye whiskey, as an animal fodder, etc. Rye is grown primarily in Europe but it is also grown in other countries such as Russia, China, the United States and Canada.

Reference Sources

• Wikipedia, Bread Machine
• Wikipedia, Caraway
• Wikipedia, Molasses
• Wikipedia, Rye

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