Jewish rye bread — you can't make a decent Reuben without it, right?
The perfect loaf of Jewish rye 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 bread has that elusive something.
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 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 NYC. 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.
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.
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 the 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 minutes.
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. If you make it round or oval be sure to slash the tops. I like to gently rub a little flour onto the top. I just like how it looks.
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.
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.
Jewish Rye Bread and the Secret to Getting It Right
Print SaveIngredients
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 2 cups water 110F
- ½ cup dill pickle brine, (from a jar of your favorite dill pickles)
- ½ cup your favorite mild flavored oil, (I use peanut oil, sometimes olive oil)
- 4 to 5 cups bread flour
- 2 cups dark rye flour, , preferably stone ground organic
- ½ cup dried potato flakes
- ¼ cup dried onions, , optional
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ¼ cup caraway seed
- ¼ cup brown sugar, , tightly packed
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Instructions
- Add the water and the sugar to the yeast in the large bowl of your mixer, or a large bowl if doing this by hand.
- Let stand 5 minutes. The mixture will be bubbly.
- Add the remaining ingredients, using only 2 cups of the bread flour and reserving the rest.
- With the mixer running add the remaining flour, a half cup at a time, until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl and is firm but still slightly sticky. (Rye dough will always be sticky - it feels different than other doughs)
- Turn out on a lightly floured counter top and knead a couple of times.
- Form into a ball.
- Oil a large bowl and add the ball of dough.
- Oil the top of the dough and cover with a clean towel.
- Let rise for one hour, or until doubled.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Punch dough down and shape into 3 oval loaves.
- Place loaves on a lightly floured baking sheet.
- Sprinkle tops with bread flour - not too much.
- Slash tops with a sharp knife.
- Let rise 30 minutes.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until done.
- Let cool before slicing.
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Gail w
I would love to make this, but..I do not have any pickle juice on hand...what can i use instead.
Thank you
Marye
Water but obviously you’ll lose the flavor.
Mary
I am so delighted I found your recipe! I took a chance and used my bread machine to start the dough and finished in the oven. Perfection! This is the bread my Mom always bought at the Broadway Market in Buffalo so many decades ago to serve with her home made Borsch. Today I also served it with another one of her soups and my husband and I could not get enough. Thank You….
Linda Hensley
When I first tasted my bread I was not impressed. I don't know what I expected but it did not taste right to me. I think I thought it would have more of a dill flavor. I also had to jump through hoops to get a bottle of caraway seeds. BUT THE NEXT MORNING WOW!! I guess the flavors had to meld for me and I found this bread to be delicious. Will make again.
Gary Shepard
I AM TRYING IT, BAKING IN LOAF PANS FOR A BETTER SLICE FOR SANDWICHES ANY TIPS ON THIS ?
Marye
I've never made it as a loaf.
Rose-Marie
Amazing flavour. Cut back on the onion flakes a bit, and really love it. The Caraway seeds are the best part of the recipe. Delicious.
Marye
I am so glad you liked it!
Kuba
I will try it but cut the recipe in half, I live alone don't need three loaves.
My ususal problem with half rye and half all purpose flour is that it does not rise well.
I make Black Bread all the time the it's 3 c or so bread flour to 1 rye and it rises well
Marye
You an certainly do it that way. 🙂
William Lewis
Bread looks wonderful! Turned out lovely! I love Jewish Rye Bread. I really like bread. One of these days, I'll get me a kitchen aid. I have to knead by hand, which means I don't make bread very often. I have no patience, even though it's a virtue.
bubbieone
I bought a Bosch this year and it does a wonderful job on this bread. I make 2 batches every two weeks, which gives me 6 small loaves, and we love it.
Lynn
This was fantastic! I have been trying rye bread recipes with little success. I didn't have dark rye so for color I added 1 T. Coffee granules and abt 1 T molasses! Someone mentioned it being flat, so I put it in 2 loaf pans.
Marye Audet
Lynn! I am SOOO glad you liked it!
Deanna Rostock
I made this recipe and it was fabulous, easy to follow and a really nice flavor. The only change I made was to allow the first mixing of the dough to stand for 20 minutes and allow the gluten to develop in the rye. I then added the rest of the flour. Best results ever!! Thank you so much for this great recipe
Marye Audet
thanks for letting me know!
Lori Green
I've made this recipe a couple times and just love the flavor!. However, the loaves come out somewhat flat. Is this typical?. Anything I can do to make the bread come out a little taller?.
Marye Audet
It is kind of typical. Rye doesn't have gluten so it doesn't rise as much. You can try substituting 1/4 cup gluten flour for 1/4 cup bread flour in the recipe and see if that helps.
Lori Green
Thank you for the suggestion!. I'm still a novice bread maker. I'll try that and let you know what happens.
BTW, I LOVE, LOVE your Sweet Amish Bread Recipe. It is the best white bread I have ever made.
Marye Audet
Thank you so much~ You may like my Bread Bootcamp book. It's very helpful for bread bakers of all experiences.
Leigh Henry
Hi Marye, I would love to try this recipe, but I am confused on one part of the instructions. Do you use the "brown" sugar in the yeast or do you use cane sugar (which is not indicated in your recipe). Thanks for the response, Leigh
Marye Audet
Brown pure cane sugar. 🙂 Any sugar that doesn't say cane sugar is made from sugar beets. I feel that it is an inferior product and sugar beets are big on GMOs. Imperial Sugar, C&H Sugar, and others are labeled "pure cane sugar" whether it's powdered sugar, brown sugar, or white sugar. Hope this helps.
Shari Thorley
This is the closest I have gotten to a good old fashioned Jewish rye, with Kimmel!
We are delighted with it, We live in a very rural area, and when we go to the nearest big city, with a big Jewish population, we usually stock up with rye. NO MORE! Lets not mess with perfection!
Marye Audet
YAY! Thanks for letting me know Shari!!
Jeanine Gentry
I followed your instructions to the T. The taste was good, a bit dense, which is fine. What I was hoping for was that chewy pull to the crust, which was entirely absent. Drats! However...I'm one step closer on my search. Thank you.
Marye Audet
Try adding more gluten flour and kneading longer. Then bake with a pan of hot water in the oven. The crust is partially created by a steaming process.
Cate.
I've just read this older post ; but I thought you would still probably like to know that Jewish Rye is exactly that ... Rye . The bread you speak of with the caraway seeds is a different Jewish loaf , a Kimmel . Not the same thing , and most deli's will carry both but if you only ask for rye that's all you'll get !! HTH .
C.
Kim Beaulieu
I absolutely love rye, it's my jam. I grew up on it. I prefer it for almost everything. This is perfection. Now I want to make rye bread at 2 am..
Laura @MotherWouldKnow
Marye - Pinned to my Jewish Holiday board, though honestly, it's everyday bread. I may just have to come to Texas to try yours and see if you really got it right. I am an excellent judge of Jewish rye having eaten more of it than almost anyone I know 🙂
Kacey @ The Cookie Writer
What a wonderful post to bring back memories from your childhood! I have never made rye bread (actually not a huge fan of it,) but my husband loves it and I feel I really need to give this a try, even if it is kind of a "pain in the butt," haha. You make it look soooo good that I may actually become a rye bread lover!