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. For more great recipes, please visit Bread Dad’s main Bread Machine Recipes section. 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 – 5 grams
- 3/4 Teaspoon – Caraway Seeds (optional but traditional rye bread contains caraway seeds) – 4 milliliters
- 1 Teaspoon – Salt – 5 milliliters
- 1 Teaspoon – Bread Machine Yeast – 5 milliliters
Servings – Roughly 12 slices
- Equipment used for this recipe – Measuring cup & spoons, flexible spatula, oven mitts, cooling rack… and of course, a bread machine!
Close-up of Rye Flour
Instructions – Bread Machine Rye Bread Recipe – 1.5 lb Bread Loaf
- 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, 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.
- If you want to print out this recipe, please scroll down the page to our recipe widget “box”. You will find a “print recipe” button located right under the product image photo in this box. Click on that button in order to print out the basic recipe instructions.
- If you want a “lighter” rye bread, you should use light or white rye flour (versus medium, dark or whole rye flour).
- If you don’t have bread flour, you can use all-purpose flour as a substitute. However, the rye bread made with all-purpose flour & rye flour will be a little less airy (more dense) than a rye bread made bread flour & rye flour.
- Please keep the 50/50 split between rye flour and the 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.
- 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 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).
- 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”.
- Use FRESH ingredients for the best results. For example, if you use months old stale rye flour, your bread will not taste great!
- 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”.
- 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.
- 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 measurement 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.
- If you start substituting ingredients (i.e. different types of flour), 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 the 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.
- 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.
- Visit Bread Dad’s sections on Bread Machine Recipes and Homemade Bread Recipes for more easy bread ideas.
If you liked this recipe, please leave a comment below and give us a 5 star rating. Beginning bakers learn a lot from your baking comments, tips & recipe variations.
Reference Sources
- Wikipedia, Bread Machine
- Wikipedia, Caraway
- Wikipedia, Molasses
- Wikipedia, Rye
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 type of breads, especially rye bread. These seeds often have a distinctive taste which is described by Wikipedia as “a pungent, anise-like flavor”.
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. Visit Bread Dad (BreadDad.com) for more easy bread machine recipes.
Servings: 12 Slices
Calories: 143kcal
Ingredients
- 1 1/8 Cups Warm Water (lukewarm)
- 2 Tablespoon Butter (softened)
- 1 1/2 Cups Bread Flour
- 1 1/2 Cups Rye Flour
- 2 Tablespoons Molasses
- 3 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder
- 3/4 Teaspoon Caraway Seeds (optional but traditional rye bread contains caraway seeds)
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Bread Machine Yeast
Instructions
- Your bread machine should be unplugged. Remove the bread pan from the bread machine (so when you add the ingredients, they can not accidently 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, 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.
Notes
This is a Bread Dad recipe and may not be copied or reproduced. This recipe is copyright protected under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Legal Disclaimer
The nutritional information is provided using recipe tools such as WP Recipe Maker. These figures should only be considered as an estimate. They should not be construed as a guarantee of accuracy given visitors may use different serving sizes, ingredients, etc. See our legal disclaimer for additional nutrition disclosures.
Nutrition
Serving: 1Slice | Calories: 143kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 215mg | Potassium: 134mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 59IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg
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