This No-Knead Rye Bread is easy and delicious. Simply combine the ingredients the day before and let time do its magic. And because this bread is baked in a hot dutch oven it develops the most delicious crust. Recipe yields 1 loaf or about 12 slices.
I’m growing quite the collections of no-knead bread recipes and I’m not mad about it.
Bread making is so fun and therapeutic.
Last week, lower Michigan was getting a winter storm and I picked the best day to bake bread. While it was heavily snowing, piling up on roads and the deck rails, my house was smelling like Subway. #bestsmellever
Keep in mind, making no-knead bread does take some planning, it’s extremely easy and it usually comes out looking like something from a bakery. Thanks to your dutch oven. In the past, I’ve made round boules… with this bread, I like a more oblong loaf and I even got creative and scored a design in the top.
Bread. My bff, soulmate and favorite carb of all. I love you.
To Make This No-Knead Rye Bread You Will Need:
- unbleached bread flour
- dark rye flour
- caraway seed
- kosher salt
- active dry yeast
- water
- olive oil
Into a mixing bowl, measure and add 2-1/4 cups bread flour, 3/4 cup dark rye flour, 2 teaspoons caraway seed, 1-1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast.
Whisk to combine.
Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to 1-1/4 cup water.
Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the olive oil and water.
With a wooden spoon, stir to combine.
Lastly, shape the dough into a ball.
Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place on your counter top for 18 to 24 hours.
24 hours later the dough will have risen and look bubbly. Flour your fingertips (the dough will be sticky!) and press the air out of the dough.
Using a rubber spatula, scrape the dough, tipping it as you go, out onto a generously (all purpose or bread flour is fine) floured surface. Keeping it in an oblong loaf shape.
Dust the top of the loaf with rye flour.
Cover the loaf and allow to rise, for the second time, for 1 hour.
Preheating Your Dutch Oven:
When the dough is halfway through the second rise, place a 6.75 quart (preferably oval) dutch oven (with lid) onto the bottom rack of your oven. Preheat your oven (and pot) to 475℉ (or 245℃) for the remaining 30 minutes of the second rise.
With a sharp paring knife, score the top of the bread. This is completely optional, I just like how it looks. 🙂
Sprinkle with caraway seed.
Carefully lift the loaf and gently place it into the hot pot. Be careful not to burn yourself.
Cover and bake for 30 minutes, rotating the pot half way through baking.
After the 3o minutes are up, uncover and bake for 10 to 12 more minutes.
Or until deeply golden brown. To ensure the bread is fully cooked, the internal temperature should be around 205-210°.
Allow the loaf to cool significantly before slicing.
Using a bread knife, slice 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick slices.
Delicious earthy bread with a thick chewy crust. And the caraway adds that special touch.
Nothing beats a warm-from-the-oven loaf, sliced thick and smeared with salted butter. Nothing.
Enjoy! And if you give this No-Knead Rye Bread recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
No-Knead Rye Bread
Ingredients
- 2¼ cups unbleached bread flour
- 3/4 cup dark rye flour
- 1 tablespoon caraway seeds, plus more for sprinkling over top before baking
- 1¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1¼ cup cool water
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
THE DAY BEFORE:
- In a large bowl combine, both flours, caraway seeds, salt and yeast. Whisk to combine.
- Measure the water and add the olive oil to it.
- With a wooden spoon, make a well in the flour and pour in the water and oil. Stir until the dough comes to gether. It should be tacky to the touch.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place on your counter for 18 to 24 hours.
THE DAY OF:
- Once that time has passed, use floured finger tips to press the air out of the dough. It will be sticky!
- Use a rubber spatula to scrape and roll the dough out of the bowl onto a (clean) generously (use all-pourpose or bread flour) floured surface. Dust the dop of the bread dough with a few spoonfuls of the dark rye flour. Cover with a clean kitchen or tea towel and let rise for 1 hour.
- When halfway through the second rise. Pace a 6.75 quart (preferably oval) dutch oven, with lid, onto the bottom rack of your (cold) oven. Preheat your oven (and pot) to 475℉ (or 245℃) for the remaining 30 minutes of the second rise.
- Once the second is done, use a knife (or razor blade) to score the top. This is completely optional and only done for aesthetics.
- Sprinkle with a few pinches of caraway seed (optional).
- Use pot holders to remove the pot from your oven. Uncover the pot and carefully transfer the dough to the hot dutch oven. You should hear a subtle sizzle sound.
- Cover and bake for 30 mintues, rotating the pot 180° half way through baking.
- Uncover and continue to bake until deeply golden in color.
- To ensure the bread is fully cooked, the internal temperature should be around 205-210°.
- Allow the loaf to cool significantly before slicing.
Buy the Cookbook: Simply Scratch : 120 Wholesome Homemade Recipes Made Easy Now available on Amazon »
THANK YOU in advance for your support!
Thank you for this recipe! Baked it as a round loaf in my medium Dutch oven and turned out perfectly.
I’m so glad, Jackie! Thank you for taking the time to make this recipe and leave a review!
can I bake this rye bread using unbleached all purpose flour??? NOT unbleached bread flour? please let me know.
I found it totally impossible to transfer into the Dutch oven — is there some nuance to “carefully”? Could I have done the second rise on parchment and just put the parchment into the Dutch oven?
I turned it out onto parchment for the second rise. Easy to transfer into pot. It turned out beautiful. Love this recipe!
That’s great to hear, Corinna!
Can I use parchment paper under the loaf to transfer bread into the dutch oven, & instead of greasing inside of dutch oven? Thank you. Can’t wait to try this. Would it affect the taste of bread if I omitted the caraway seeds? I just can’t stand them!
Hi, I use parchment paper with just about all my breads now. I is so much easier to get it into the dutch oven and if you are using a pizza stone it is easier to transfer it on to that also. I am not a baker, I bake a loaf every 2 weeks or so but I have never greased the inside of my dutch oven when I bake bread. I don’t think you have to.
I followed the instructions carefully. My loaf looks just like the pictures and the inside is delicious. However, my crust is so hard. Any suggestions for next time to have a chewier crust?
I’m so glad Maryann! Hmm, perhaps try misting the top periodically with water from a spray bottle? I’m curious to know if this helps solve the issue.
Spraying with water will make it even more crispy. In order to get a softer crust, you must add oil, eggs, milk, etc to the recipe. So, probably not possible with THIS recipe.
TO SOFTEN the crust of ANY bread, simply brush the baked bread, hot from the oven with butter or olive oil. You don’t need much. And you don’t need fancy brushes, use a bit of waxed or parchment paper to distribute the fat/oil. I’m not a trained baker, but I have a 100 year old grandmother who taught me how to bake bread and frankly she knows as much as many a baker having baked her own bread for a family of 8 most of her life.
To make the crust softer first brush the top (right out of the oven) with melted butter. Then place on a rack and cover the bread and rack with a metal bowl. Let it stand like that for at least an hour. Will soften the crust.
Great tip!
I like to rub it all over with butter when it comes out of the oven. Makes it softer
I was making a no-knead wheat bread from a recipe I have used for years when I realized that I had mixed rye flour in the white flour salt and yeast instead of wheat, so I did a search for an easy rye recipe that would incorporate what I had already used and be truly EASY. Your recipe did the trick. The only thing I had to add was the caraway seeds and olive oil. The bread turned out well. I cant wait to make the bread again using your recipe proportions.
Can’t wait to try this! I picked up some rye flour from a local CSA earlier this week. There’s no mention about the temperature of the water. Does it need to be warm?
Sorry for the delay Christine! Nope, maybe not ice cold though. 🙂
This is Jim Lahey’s recipe. Why don’t you state that?
Hi Maureen! I can guarantee this is not his recipe. In fact, I had to google him because I had no idea who Jim Lahey was. But I did do a little internet sleuthing and although I couldn’t find his exact recipe, I did find a few recipes from bloggers who adapted theirs from his. What i found was besides ingredients (it’s bread so common ones such as flour, yeast and water etc.) the recipes aren’t anything alike. I’ve been blogging for just over 10 years and if I ever adapt a recipe or am inspired by a recipe, I give credit. It’s a rule most of us food bloggers live by. Glad we could clear this up! Thanks for stopping by!
Hi, can I bake this on the pan in the oven instead?
Hi Kate! Unfortunately without testing it, I can’t say for sure.
Hi….please provide the weight of flour, either in grams or ounces. Thank you.
Exactly what I would like as well–grams. US cups are bigger than Canadian cups (1 US = 1.04 CDN) as grams are soooo much easier to work with. Leahy’s recipes are all in grams FWIW.
I am wondering if you tried the recipe and baked it as a regular loaf.
Hello, the bread flour is 280g and the rye flour is 95g (375g total) 🙂
I just made this Rye Bread in a loaf pan with another loaf pan turned over and clipped to the top (Poor Man’s Dutch Oven) as taught to me by Steve Gamelin my favorite baker of NO Knead Bread on YouTube. Your recipe was FABULOUS. by the way, here’s an old bakery trick, add 2 Tablespoons of pickle juice from your favorite pickle brand. That adds a certain traditional taste…..Thanks.
I see you didn’t answer the question regarding using AP flour. Is this okay or do I need to get bread flour?
Thanks for your recipe looks great. Will be making this week.
Hi Ruthann! Bread flour has higher protein content than all-purpose flour, which is why it’s listed (and all-purpose is not suggested as a possible substitution) for this recipe. I have not tested this bread recipe with all-purpose flour so I cannot say if it will work or not. Enjoy!
If you want to use AP flour it’s ok. Just add 1T to 1.5T of wheat gluten to 2 1/4 cup (less the amount of AP flour you remove) of AP flour. Presto–bread flour.
SO: with 2 1/4 C AP flour (instead of bread flour), remove 1T (or 1.5T) of that AP flour and add 1T (or 1.5T) gluten.
End result will still be 2 1/4 C flour. You need the extra gluten to help the breads rise as rye flour doesn’t have as much gluten as wheat flour and therefore won’t rise as much as you might like.
Thank you so much for the recipe! I used fennel seeds instead of caraway seeds and it turned out amazing!
Hi Jo!
Is olive oil a must??
Hi Angela! Great question! I haven’t tested this recipe without it. However, because the olive oil adds moisture and flavor, I would say yes it is a must.
I don’t have a Douch oven pan, can I bake it in Corning wear dish pan ??? The you. I’m making right now . In proofing stage now.
That is a good question. Can it be baked even in a bread pan? Is it necessary to cover it in the oven?
Hi Meg! Someone mentioned that they used a 8×8 pan tented with foil. I haven’t tried it myself, so I’m unsure if the results are different. However it has work for others with a different no knead bread recipe.
Hi Carmin! Someone mentioned that they used a 8×8 pan tented with foil. I haven’t tried it myself, so I’m unsure if the results are different. However it has work for others with a different no knead bread recipe.
Just made this, such a good recipe thank you!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Doris! Thank you for taking the time to make this recipe and leave a comment. I appreciate it!
Can I increase the amount of rye flour to 1 cup and decrease the bread flour to 2 cups? I want to have a stronger rye flavor.
Without testing it, I can’t say for certain it will turn out. Sorry!
Ria, did you try this? I’m trying to make this for a diabetic and need to limit the white flour.
I have a brand-new enameled cast iron dutch oven 🙂 that is oven safe up to 400 degrees. I am not quite ready to try out the pre-heating to 475 degrees. Will the recipe work if I just put the bread in the 400 degrees pre-heated oven? Thanks for your help!
Fantastic! I used all purpose flour and regular rye flour because that was what I had. I sprinkled corn meal in the bottom of the (round) pot just before adding the bread.
Crusty, brown, too yummy!
nobody who bakes bread will let it cool completely before cutting a piece or two because that ia the reason that you made this bread, to eat it warm with butter.
Tested and Trusted Recipe! Thank you for sharing the amazing and simple recipe. Easy to follow for artisan bread beginner like me. Today I baked the loaf and am gonna have for tomorrow breakfast with curry. Nyumm! Love the texture and it smells so good when come out from the oven. This recipe is a keeper! I wish I could show the picture to you.
Can you give the ingredient amounts by weight in grams or ounces, please? I always weigh as it is more precise, easier, & gives perfect results.
Have you ever substituted beer for some or all of the water? Thanks
I just came across your recipe and was wondering if I could still bake it without a dutch oven. Unfortunately, I do not possess one and have no interest in purchasing one, as I already have too many appliances for my personal taste. Initially, I was thinking I could use my Lodge skillet, but unfortunately, lack a lid. Other options I have are a pizza stone, casserole dishes, possibly a loaf pan, and an Instant Pot. I’d love any suggestions you could provide. Thanks!!
Hi Denise! Someone mentioned that they used a 8×8 pan tented with foil. I haven’t tried it myself, so I’m unsure if the results are different. However it has work for others with a different no knead bread recipe. I hope this helps!
could you please give the ingredients in grams or ounces, please?
Hi Mars, I thought I replied to this already, but noticing that you’ve reached out twice, I now realize I did not – my apologies! When I tested this recipe, it was with cups so I do not have precise measurements using grams or ounces. The next time I make this bread on my free time I will try to convert it but I can’t tell you when that will be because testing recipes takes time and I have a recipe schedule I follow. In the meantime, Google offers a plethora of conversion charts and websites you could try. 🙂
Great recipe! I’ve made it a few times now, and blogged about it:
https://clubbelleepoch.substack.com/p/2-secrets-for-heavenly-bread
Just made this bread and it’s great! I’m not sure if it’s my oven or cold apartment with high humidity but my breads always come out a little “wet” on the inside so I baked it an additional 20 minutes uncovered but with some foil and then an additional 5 minutes for colour. It wasn’t the worst that I’ve experienced but there was still a slight wetness that I can live with. If anyone know what I can try to fix this I’d love to hear. I do have an oven thermometer and everything went according to the recipe with 18 hours of poofing.
I have had the same problem, looked it up and was advised that steam was trapped in the loaf during baking! Hope this info helps. Also with rye let cool for at least 2hrs before cutting!
I did 2 cups bread flour 1 cup rye flour and I added the pickle juice per one of the comments. It came out the best rye bread I’ve ever had. I made a round loaf in a round Dutch oven. I always use parchment paper when baking saves on cleanup. I’m not sure why you have to leave it for 18-24 hours because there is a recipe on a website “Jenny can cook” she does a no knead white bread and she only has it stand for three hours and it comes out marvelous.
I completely agree Robin. I let it sit for 2 hours and it rises perfectly well and I also don’t see any benefit to letting it sit for 12 to 18 hours when it’s already risen the proper amount. And when I baked this bread it it turned out fabulous without the longer wait time!! thank you for pointing this out!!
Hi Laurie,
Love the recipe, the bread is everything a rye bread should be. I’m using an Emile Henry covered baker and achieved a uniform burnished crispy crust. What I didn’t achieve were the coveted irregular holes in the interior of the bread. I followed the recipe as written, did the overnight rise on the counter the first time for 24 hours and on try number two for 18 hours. Both were delicious, the interior texture was not at all dense but as I mentioned, it didn’t have that uneven hole structure that I covet. Any advice?
Is there a temp the water should be?
Thank you for posting this no knead recipe! I’ve been on the hunt for them
Enjoy, Kelly!
Hi, I only have mild rye flour could I use that instead of the dark rye?
Hi Sarah! I haven’t tested it, but I’m sure you could. Enjoy!
Two questions…
1) Could I add some vital wheat gluten to improve texture?
2) Can you bake this in a 9×5 loaf pan to make a sandwich loaf? What temperature and how long to bake?
Thank you!
Hi Jeff! Without testing it, I cannot say with certainty if either would work. However if you do, I’d love to know how it worked for you!
You didn’t specify if the water should be warmed
I’ve been baking bread for some decades but I’ve yet to succeed with no-knead bread, and this recipe was no exception. My yeast was fresh (I literally purchased a new jar). The only change I made was that I wasn’t able to bake it within 24 hours so I put the dough in the refrigerator after the first rise and then let it return to room temp before shaping for the second rise. Once I shaped it, however, it didn’t rise very much during the second rise. I waited much more than an hour (closer to 2) and then baked it. One slight mishap: when I opened the oven after 30 minutes to remove the cover, the lid on the dutch oven was slightly askew (must have slipped when I slid the oven rack back inside). Maybe I need a different dutch oven (I’m using Lodge cast iron)– bread is extremely dense.
Hi. I followed the recipe exactly as written. The bread looks good and tastes great but it is only about half the suze of your pictures. Any ideas why?
I made this bread in my tagine today and it turned out fantastic!!! I had to add a little bit more water, because the dough was very dry, and that made the crust not so hard and thick, like I heard from other comments. Thank you for so much for sharing this awesome recipe! My house smelled like a German bakery ❤️
I am making This for the third time it’s so delicious thank you! I ran out of olive oil so am trying coconut butter melted into it. Also added almond flour. I’ll let you know!
Can this be baked on a bread stone instead? I don’t have an oval Dutch oven.
Hi Michele! Unfortunately, I haven’t tried it so I cannot say for certain.
Bread just came out of the oven! I made a small roll version to taste while I saved the bread for a lunch event tomorrow to eat with fish stew. It’s amaaaaazing. I used all purpose flower and forgot to add the wheat gluten but it came out perfectly fine. The dough wasn’t tacky for me at all. I did proof them in round Benettons because I wanted the shape and rings on them. They were perfect! Will make again!
That’s great, Yia! Thank you for your detailed review, it’s greatly appreciated!
wondering if it’s possible to increase the amount of rye flour and decrease the white flour to lower the GI index
I don’t have an oval dutch oven. I have a 6 qt and 3 qt dutch ovens, which do you suggest would be better for this recipe. Can’t wait to try it.
Also, would it make a big difference if I used bleached bread flour? thanks
I wouldn’t think so!
Hi Pat! I think a round 6 quart would work best! Enjoy!
Wow! This loaf is going in my Top 5 Loaves Hall of Fame. Only sub was adding dried onion, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, and a pinch more yeast and water. I was delayed putting it in the oven so the first rise was 30 hours. Came out crusty and so flavorful! I’d put this against a bakery loaf any day. Thanks so much!
I made this a few weeks ago and it was THE BEST rye bread I have ever made, so easy to do too. Truly delicious and at least as good or better than what I can buy in a bakery. Thank you!
You missed something! If you don’t put parchment paper in the Dutch oven, the bread will stick and you don’t get it out! Happened to me! Never again without parchment paper
Hi Anna! A great tip, however that’s not true for everyone. I’ve haven’t had it stick once. By chance are you preheating the pan in the oven?
Hello, I don’t have a dutch oven, is there another option for baking without a dutch oven. Thank you.
so sorry, I just now read the other comments, regarding my same question, I will try tenting with tin foil. thanks
You can use Pyrex bowl. I cover with frying pan lid. Just is round instead of oblong.
FYI: baked on grill in Dutch oven with a layer of aluminum foil in the bottom of Dutch oven. Dutch oven atop pizza stone, 2 burners on high, center burner not lit. Baked at 420 – that’s as hot as it would get. Cooling now. Looks fabulous, interior temp 207.
It is just too hot here in Florida to turn on the oven. Hope this can be a help to someone else’s experiments baking.
Thanks for the recipe,
Terry B
GREAT bread! But I have a problem with reviewers who want to change things in a recipe…When a recipe is written……follow it or find another recipe! Get a life people! Geeze! If you don’t have what it takes move on! And you weigh not measure people you should know by now how to convert recipes it’s ALL over the web for goodness sakes!
Can you bake this bread in a stone instead of a Dutch oven?
Hi!
I would and do proof the yeast before adding to the flour mixture rather than just mixing it in dry. I think it distributes in the dough better. The first rise is much quicker.
Thank you for the recipe!
If my dutch oven is round, should I still form the loaf in an oval, or make it round?
This turned out pretty well but I’d make a few minor modifications.
The main thing is that I find this bread to be severely under-salted – I used closer to 2 teaspoons of kosher salt because my hand slipped while measuring it, and it still wasn’t enough. I plan to increase it to 3 teaspoons next time I make this. I use Diamond brand kosher salt.
I needed a splash of extra water to make the dough come together – no big deal. I find this varies a bit between batches of any bread recipe.
As others have noted, you can use parchment paper to prevent the loaf from sticking.
The texture I achieved on my first try with this was really nice. The crumb is moist but relatively airy for a rye bread, and the crust is thin and crispy. I let it brown pretty heavily because that’s our preference. Love the caraway seeds, too. For reference, I allowed it to rise for about 20 hours on a humid day, 75-degree day, including a few hours in a sunlit window.
Greetings from Nürnberg Germany, The best home made rye bread I’ve ever made!Made it 4 times in 9 days (twice with mixed seeds) and its perfekt. Thank you for sharing!
I just made the dough but its not really tacky at all. Is there a way to fix this?
Can this be made with only rye flour?
Wow, delicious! My sister turned me on to this recipe. I did make the recipe as stated except I baked it in a round shape in a 2 quart round Dutch oven with parchment. I had to bake 25 minutes uncovered for correct doneness (thanks for the temperature guides). The texture is tender inside. It is full of flavor. The crust is dense but tasty; a perfect compliment to the tender inside.. I did soften the crust with melted nutter after baking. This recipe is a keeper. I will be sharing this with my other no knead bread friends.
what if you do not have a dutch oven, i have plenty of cast iron skillets, no lids
I don’t have a Dutch oven. Could I bake it just on a cookie sheet or in a cast iron skillet with a lid?
Substitute black carraway,(nigella seeds) for a rye bread fantastic!
I’m looking forward to making this tomorrow. I just wondered if you ever made in on a cookie sheet with a pan of hot water in the lower part of the oven. I’ve done this with other breads and it yielded a nice crispy crust.
My bread is very flat, why is that? Tastes wonderful. I make sourdough bread all the time and never this flat.
Recipe looks easy. I have not tried it. Can you use artisan flour instead of white or bread flour?
Hi Richard, I haven’t tested it but I don’t see why not – and I’d love to know how it turns out for you!
Best Recipe ever!! Made it already several times. Love the rustic taste with the caraway seeds. Simply heavenly.