Jewish Rye Bread

Jewish rye — you can't make a decent Reuben without it, right?

The perfect loaf has a dense, chewy texture with a sour-ish flavor that is almost sourdough but not quite. There's an elusive something that makes it Jewish rye and not pumpernickel or some other type of rye.

Guess what? This delicious bread has that elusive something. Let's get started!

Table of Contents

• 🗝️ Key takeaways
• 🧾 Ingredients
• 🍴 Equipment
• 🥫 How to store leftovers
• Marye's Tip
• 💭 Things to know
• 👩‍🍳 FAQs
• 📚 Related recipes
• 📞 The last word
• 📖 Recipe
• ✍🏻 A note from Marye...
• A Little Jewish Rye Bread History
• Pin it!
• 💬 Comments

Save this recipe by clicking on the ❤️ heart on the right-hand side of the screen or in the recipe card.

🗝️ Key takeaways

• The flavor and deliciously chewy texture of Jewish rye bread made with a quicker and easier method.
• Slice it for sandwiches, use as the bottom for an open faced patty-melt, or toast it and eat with butter.
• Let the bread stand overnight for the best flavor and texture.

If you've never worked with rye I can tell you it is a pain in the butt to work with.

It has gluten but in such a small amount that it is difficult to get it going. Using 2 parts bread flour to 1 part rye is my answer. You get the nice chewy texture from the gluten and the flavor of the rye.

It still requires extra kneading so be prepared to knead this stuff by hand for at least 10 to 15 minutes.

🧾 Ingredients

This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.

🍴 Equipment

You'll find all this equipment and more in my bread baker's shop on Amazon!

1. heavy baking sheet
2. large mixing bowl
3. measurin cups and spoons
4. instant read thermometer
5. heavy duty stand mixer with a dough hook if you don't want to knead by hand
6. A baking stone is optional but if you like a crispy crust it's a great investment.

🥫 How to store leftovers

Homemade bread doesn't last long at room temperature and refrigerating it can make it dry.

The answer is to eat what you want on the day it is baked. For the rest of it I like to go ahead and slice it, put a piece of parchment between each slice, and then freeze it in a zipper top freezer bag or a plastic freezer container.

It will be fine for up to 3 months.

💭 Things to know

1. You can make Jewish rye bread in bread pans, shape a round loaf, or make it in the traditional oval. If you are making it for the first time try the bread pans. They give it a bit more structure.
2. If you make it round or oval be sure to slash the tops.
3. Let the dough rise in a warm spot.
4. Rye bread generally takes longer to rise that white breads. Be patient.
5. I like to gently rub a little flour onto the top. I just like how it looks.
6. You can also brush the top of the loaf with egg white blended with 1 teaspoon of water and sprinkle it with more caraway seed.
7. You can bake it in a cloche or a dutch oven for a crispier more "old world" crust.
8. When I made these Jewish rye bread loaves I misjudged on the size and they turned out really huge. In the future I'll make this recipe into three or four loaves.
9. Cool on wire racks for a nice, crispy crust all over.

👩‍🍳 FAQs

📚 Related recipes

📞 The last word

What makes Jewish rye different from other rye breads is the liberal use of caraway seed. It really is the perfect sandwich bread — unless, of course, you're having peanut butter and jelly.

Rye bread is often made with a sourdough starter but I've done away with that here to make a great recipe quicker and easier. It still has all of that rye flavor we love.

I don't know about you but I don't have time to wait three days for the sourdough to get going. When I am in the mood for rye I am in the mood for rye!

Well, the secret to the flavor of this loaf is dill pickle juice. It imparts and little sour tang that intensifies after the bread has cooled. I like to wait to cut it until the next day.

The flavor settles and really becomes so much better.

If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.

If you love this recipe please comment below and give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 Recipe

First published April 11, 2014. last updated April 16, 2024 for readability and editorial content.

✍🏻 A note from Marye...

I know y'all don't always like the stories bloggers tell so when I have one I try to put it at the very bottom so you can read or skip as you like.

A Little Jewish Rye Bread History

Jewish rye bread is not an ancient, traditional bread of the Jewish people. It is, in fact, nothing like the traditional European ryes.

Traditional rye bread was made with a sourdough starter, 100 percent rye, and baked for long hours in the cooling wood-fired ovens. It allowed the bakers to get the most out of their ovens - the bread cooked overnight in the residual heat from the day's work.

About the time that there were a lot of immigrants to America gas and coal ovens were becoming more available to the bakeries. These ovens could cook the bread fast at an even temperature.

The rye that baked so beautifully in the European wood fired ovens did not fare so well in the quick cooking gas ovens so the bakers started adding part white flour to the rye and it became known as Jewish rye.

A Little Marye History

There were a couple of years when I was a kid that my dad worked in New York City. He took the train in everyday, got off at Times Square where his offices were (I think) and went to his office in the top of a very tall building.

I know this because my dad believed in take your daughter to work day long before it was popular. He would randomly give me the day off from school to ride the train with him and make the walk from the train station to his office.

Just before we got to his office we always stopped at this deli to have a bagel slathered with a thick swirl of cream cheese.

After the bagel it was a few more steps to the office building and through the doors with a smile to the doorman.

My dad seemed to know everyone from the deli guy to the doorman by their first name and they always called me "Miss" which made me feel very sophisticated and grown up.

When it was time for lunch we nearly always went back to the deli. He'd order us the same thing — corned beef or pastrami, peppery and spicy and salty, piled high on thick slabs of Jewish rye bread that had been warmed and then finished with a schmear of grainy mustard.

Paper thin slices of Swiss cheese were draped languidly over the meat in the most tantalizing way. They were thin enough to see through but added that burst of sharp flavor that you need with a rich deli meat like pastrami.

A pickle and a handful of potato chips finished up the plate. Two, black cherry Doctor Brown's sodas were pulled from a tub of ice. They were so cold that the first sip was full of slushy bits.

There were times we went to fancy restaurants. My dad was a food adventurer, but my favorite times were at that little deli.

This Jewish rye bread is very similar to what I remember. It always takes me back there.