Light Rye Bread Recipe
This light rye bread recipe is one of the first rye bread recipes that I made. The bread is filled with the flavor of caraway. The texture is firm and a little springy. It’s great for sandwiches!
Note that this light rye bread recipe was most recently tested with a Zojirushi BB-PAC20. (Learn more about what bread machines I own and recommend.) I’ve made this bread at sea level and at an elevation of 3,700 feet. It worked out fine at both locations. If you live at a higher elevation check out my tips for making bread at higher altitudes.
Featured Comment:
It’s not dry but not doughy and I love that I can cut it into thick or thin slices. Great taste that doesn’t over power. I can see many, many great sandwiches in the future. ~ Heather
Every year The Man of the House (TMOTH) and I make corned beef and cabbage for Saint Patrick’s Day. The next day TMOTH makes sandwiches using the leftover corned beef.
As I grew in my bread-making abilities, I realized that I could make rye bread to go with the leftovers. That’s how I came to try this recipe.
I wasn’t familiar with rye bread, so I started making light rye bread initially. This loaf is filled with the flavor of caraway. The texture is firm, but a little springy too. It’s great for sandwiches!
We’ve now gone all-in with our love of rye bread. Check out my entire collection of rye bread recipes.
White Rye Flour or Light Rye Flour
In the past, I made this bread using “light rye flour”. However, when I made it most recently, I could only find white rye flour.
What’s the difference?
According to King Arthur flour, white rye flour and light rye flour are the same thing.
White rye flour, as the name implies, is the lightest version of rye flour. It’s also sometimes referred to as “light rye.”
However, The Rye Baker says that they’re different grades of rye flour. They state that white rye flour has a slightly lower ash and protein content than light rye flour.
I’ve made this recipe with both types of flour and it’s worked fine. My opinion is that either one will work fine and that they can be used interchangeably.
Vital Wheat Gluten
Note that this recipe calls for vital wheat gluten.
Gluten is a type of protein found in flour. It adds strength to the flour and allows the bread to rise.
While vital wheat gluten looks like flour, it’s not. Instead, it’s basically powdered gluten. It helps the bread rise.
In the past, I found vital wheat gluten in the Bob’s Red Mill area of my grocery store. Now it’s more difficult to find. Recently I’ve ordered vital wheat gluten online from Amazon.
How to Make Light Rye Bread
This makes a two pound loaf of bread. Use the basic or white setting of your bread machine with medium crust.
Follow the instructions that came with your bread machine in terms of which ingredients to put in the bread machine first. With my Zo, I add the liquid first. (Learn more about what bread machines I own and recommend.)
Check on the dough after five or ten minutes of kneading.
Pop the top of the bread machine and see how the dough is doing.
It should be a smooth, round ball. If it’s too dry add liquid a teaspoon at a time until it looks right. If it looks too wet, add flour a tablespoon at a time until it looks right.
Use the basic/white setting of your bread machine.
Here’s how this light rye bread looked coming out of the machine.
Light Rye Bread Recipe
Again, this makes a two pound loaf of bread. Use the basic or white setting of your bread machine with medium crust.
1 1/2 Cups water
2 1/2 Cups bread flour
1 1/2 Cups light rye flour (white rye flour is fine too)
3 Tablespoons brown sugar, packed
2 Tablespoons caraway seeds
1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons vital wheat gluten
2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
See below for metric measurements, as well as nutrition information, for this bread machine recipe for light rye bread.
Light Rye Bread Recipe
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (354.88 ml) water
- 2 1/2 cups (312.5 g) bread flour
- 1 1/2 cup (153 g) light rye flour (white rye flour is fine too)
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar packed
- 2 Tablespoons caraway Seeds
- 1 Tablespoon vital wheat gluten
- 2 teaspoons vital wheat gluten
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
Instructions
- This makes a two-pound loaf of bread. Use the basic or white setting with medium crust.
- Follow the instructions that came with your bread machine in terms of which ingredients to put in the machine first. With my bread machine, as with many others, you add the liquid first.
- Make sure you check on the dough after five or ten minutes of kneading. Open the bread machine and look at the dough. It should be a smooth, round ball. If it’s too dry add liquid a teaspoon at a time until it looks right. If it looks too wet, add flour a tablespoon at a time until it looks right.
Notes
Nutrition
All information presented within this site is intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on breadmachinediva.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. I try to provide accurate information to the best of my ability; however these figures should still be considered estimates.
If I choose to only make the dough in the machine and then bake in my oven for a more crispy glazed crust, is there a final proof before baking, or any other adjustments to the recipe?
Great question! Here’s a page on how to use the dough cycle and then bake your bread in the oven.
Why are there two separate lines for vital wheat gluten in the recipe? Is one of them supposed to be something else?
Thanks
Great question! The software I use to make the recipe cards can’t deal with “1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons vital wheat gluten.” So I have to split it into two lines.
Just bought a bread maker. Some things turn out good, some don’t. I made your Light Rye Bread and cut it down to a 1 pound loaf (I’m the only one eating this bread, and I don’t like waste or freezing). I LOVE THIS BREAD!!! It worked out perfectly. It’s not dry but not doughy and I love that I can cut it into thick or thin slices. Great taste that doesn’t over power. I can see many, many great sandwiches in the future.
I will definitely be trying more of your recipes.
The measurements by weight on both flours is off. A cup of flour weighs 120g according to the info on the bags.
Measuring flour isn’t as straightforward as you’d think. Different brands of flour weigh different amounts. Since there’s no way to know specifically what brand of flour people are using, my software gives average flour weights. The important thing is to look at the dough a few minutes after kneading starts to see if any adjustments are needed.
Could I use bread machine yeast instead of the active dry yeast called for in your Light Rye bread recipe ?
You bet, but you’d need to use a different amount of yeast. Here’s an article on different types of yeast for your bread machine that includes the conversion between active dry yeast and bread machine yeast.
Thank you Jimmi! I’ve been converting all my recipes to weights, so I appreciate when it is already done and saves me the time! You have the same weights that I had written down in my copy of his recipe, and it came out fantastic. However, it’s important that people realize that weighing things like flour isn’t just converting 1 cup to 8 ounces. And different things like sugar weighs different than other dry ingredients. I have charts that I use to look up the weights of ingredients. But the one chart is 16 pages, but very through, lol! Anything that you could use in baking is on it. I also weigh liquids, and I just found a chart that lists things like teaspoons etc.
Thanks for your comment!
What happens if I leave the vital gluten out?
The bread won’t rise as well.
Going to try all your rye bread recipes. Question on this one though…..one TABLESPOON of yeast?! Is that right? Your other rye recipes use 1-2 teaspoons for the same size loaf. Thanks!!
One tablespoon worked for me. 🙂
We really like the recipe the gluten makes a big difference in the bread.I don’t care for caraway seed so I didn’t add it. I also prefer to use the dough setting and bake the bread in the oven. I will make it into two loaves I found it was a very large loaf. We prefer smaller slices that fit in the toaster.
Not that I know of.
This is a great recipe. I have been unable to find light rye flour so have used dark rye flour 3 times now. I love the results! As does my husband! I look forward to trying it with light rye flour in the future. I wonder if you recommend white or French setting for this bread. I also wonder if you have a recipe for cracked wheat bread? Thanks for your response.
Thanks for asking about the setting. I use the basic or white setting. I’ve added that information to the recipe.
I do not have a recipe for cracked wheat bread. Sorry!
Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!
Thank you for the recipe, I finally got a good rye bread, because of you!
🙂
You’re so welcome. Glad you enjoyed the bread.