Danish rye bread (rugbrød)
Vegetarian
Rugbrød
Denmark's everyday dark rye loaf, packed with cracked rye and seeds and soured with a rye starter and buttermilk — the dense, moist base for smørrebrød.
Danish rye bread (rugbrød) is a Danish bread from Denmark, ready in about 42 hours 40 minutes and made with sourdough starter and cracked rye. It serves 24 and is rated easy to cook.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 1 h 20 min
- Rest
- 5 h
- Total
- 42 h 40 min
- Serves
- 24
- Level
- Easy
- Calories
- 123
Includes a 12–16 hour sour and soaker made the night before, and 24 hours' resting before slicing.
Method
Step 1
Night before: mix the sour ingredients into a paste. Separately, combine the cracked rye (opens in a new tab), sunflower seeds (opens in a new tab) and flaxseed (opens in a new tab) with the water. Cover both and leave at room temperature for 12–16 hours.
- 6 min
Step 2
Combine the sour, the soaker, the remaining rye flour (opens in a new tab), buttermilk (opens in a new tab), salt and molasses (opens in a new tab). Stir hard with a spatula (opens in a new tab) for 5 minutes to a thick, porridge-like mass.
Step 3
Scrape into a greased or lined 1 kg (2 lb) loaf tin (opens in a new tab), smooth with a wet spatula (opens in a new tab) and scatter with pumpkin seeds (opens in a new tab). Prick a few times with a fork. Cover and proof 2–3 hours until it reaches just below the rim and small holes appear on top.
How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels Step 4
Bake at 180 °C (fan 160 °C) for 70–80 minutes until the crust is dark and firm and the centre reads 98 °C.
- 80 min
- 180°C · fan 160 °C
- Oven (opens in a new tab)
- Food thermometer (opens in a new tab)
Step 5
Turn out onto a rack and cool, then wrap in a tea towel and rest for 24 hours before slicing thinly.
About this dish
- Origin
- Denmark · Well documentedAlso popular in Norway, SwedenMore food from Denmark
- Dish
- Breakfast · Lunch · Breads & flatbreads
- Cooking method
- Oven-baked, Fermented
- Taste
- sour, nutty, earthy
- Diet
- Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients · Low-carbWithout the optional extras: No added sugarWith the listed swaps: Vegan, Plant-based, Ovo-vegetarian, Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Whole-food focused · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · DASH-style - Good for
- Make-ahead · Freezer-friendly · Everyday
- Cook more with
- Sourdough starter · Cracked rye · Rye flour · Sunflower seeds · Flaxseed · Buttermilk
- Techniques
- Baking · Fermentation
Allergens
- Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom buttermilk
- Contains: Wheatfrom rye flour, sourdough starter, cracked rye
- Contains: Glutenfrom rye flour, sourdough starter, cracked rye
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
123 kcal per serving
Estimated1 serving ≈ 54 g · recipe makes 24
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 13%
- Carbohydrate 65%
- Fat 22%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 123 kcal | 226 kcal |
| Protein | 4.1 g | 7.6 g |
| Carbohydrate | 21 g | 38.9 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 17 g | 31.3 g |
| Sugars | 0.8 g | 1.6 g |
| Added sugars | 0 g | 0 g |
| Fibre | 4.1 g | 7.6 g |
| Fat | 3.1 g | 5.7 g |
| Saturated fat | 0.3 g | 0.6 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 1 mg |
| Sodium | 241 mg | 444 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 0.6 g | 1.1 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 157 mg
- Calcium
- 26 mg
- Iron
- 1 mg
- Magnesium
- 40 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 1 µg
- Vitamin C
- 0 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 20 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- Optional ingredients are not included: molasses, pumpkin seeds.
- Sourdough starter: Modelled as a 100%-hydration starter: equal weights of flour and water, so half of white flour's values per gram.
- Cracked rye: Whole rye grain data used for cracked rye (rye chops / kibbled rye), which is the same grain broken into pieces.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Tips
- Keep back 30 g of the finished dough in a jar in the fridge as next week's starter — the classic Danish way.
Common mistakes
- Cutting too soon — rugbrød is sticky until fully rested.
Serve with
- Smørrebrød topped with pickled herring, egg and shrimp, liver pâté or cheese.
Storage
- Keeps a week wrapped at room temperature; freeze in slices.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
Baker’s notes
Customise in Bread & BakeryTimeline and readiness cues
Mix and knead · about 20 min
Mix, rest 30 minutes (autolyse), then add salt. Strengthen with sets of stretch-and-folds instead of long kneading.
First rise (bulk) · about 14 h
Risen 50–75%, domed and bubbly at the edges, wobbles when the bowl is shaken. Warmer kitchens are faster.
Final proof · about 2 h 30 min
Slow, partial spring-back from a floured poke. Cold-proofed dough can go straight from the fridge into the oven.
Bake · about 1 h 20 min at 180 °C
Deep golden; bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 93–96 °C inside (enriched breads 88–90 °C).
Cool · about 24 h
Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.
- Start to finish: about 42 h 10 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.
The dough
| Ingredient | Role | Weight | Baker’s % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rye flour | Flour | 400 g | 65% |
| Cracked rye | Flour | 200 g | 32.5% |
| Water | Water | 400 g | 65% |
| Buttermilk | Other liquid | 206 g | 33.5% |
| Sunflower seeds | Other | 80 g | 13% |
| Flaxseed | Other | 50 g | 8.1% |
| Sourdough starter | Starter | 30 g | 4.9% |
| Salt | Salt | 14 g | 2.3% |
- Total flour
- 615 g
- Hydration
- 67.5%
- With milk, eggs…
- 97.6%
- Wholegrain
- 97.6%
Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”. The starter’s own flour and water are included once in the totals.
- Wet dough (over 75%) — sticky; use wet hands and folds instead of kneading. Ciabatta, focaccia and open sourdough.
- Milk, eggs and other liquids add about 30 points of extra water, so it handles like a 98% dough.
- Salt 2.3% — normal for bread.
- 97.6% wholegrain — absorbs more water and gives a denser, nuttier loaf.
- 2.4% of the flour comes from the starter (30 g at 100% hydration: 15 g flour + 15 g water, already included above).
If something goes wrong
Dense, heavy loaf
Likely causes
- Under-kneaded (weak gluten)
- Under-proofed
- Old or dead yeast/starter
- Too much wholegrain flour without extra water
What to do
- Knead to the windowpane stage
- Proof by the poke test, not the clock
- Test yeast in warm water with sugar; feed the starter and use it at its peak
- Add 5–10% more water for wholegrain flours and give them a rest
Gummy or wet crumb
Likely causes
- Under-baked
- Sliced while hot
- Hydration too high for the flour
What to do
- Bake to 93–96 °C inside (cakes: clean skewer)
- Cool completely on a rack before slicing
- Reduce water by 3–5% or use a stronger flour
Spreads flat / no oven spring
Likely causes
- Over-proofed
- Weak shaping (no surface tension)
- Oven not hot enough
- Too much water for the flour
What to do
- Shorten the proof; bake when the poke springs back slowly
- Shape tightly so the skin is taut
- Preheat fully (30+ minutes; with a stone or Dutch oven, 45)
- Lower hydration or use bread flour
Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Crust too hard or thick
Likely causes
- Baked too long at too low a temperature
- No steam at the start
What to do
- Bake hotter for a shorter time
- Add steam for the first 15 minutes (tray of boiling water, or a covered Dutch oven)
- Cool under a tea towel for a softer crust
Too sour
Likely causes
- Long, cool fermentation
- Starter used after its peak
- High proportion of wholegrain or rye in the starter
What to do
- Ferment warmer (24–26 °C) and shorter
- Use the starter at its peak
- Feed the starter with white flour, at a higher ratio (1:5:5)
Dough didn't rise
Likely causes
- Dead yeast (expired or killed by hot liquid)
- Kitchen too cold
- Salt in direct contact with fresh yeast
- Starter not active
What to do
- Liquid should be lukewarm (no hotter than 40 °C)
- Proof somewhere warm (an oven with just the light on)
- Mix the salt into the flour, not onto the yeast
- Feed the starter until it doubles in 4–8 hours
Over-proofed (sour smell, collapses when scored)
Likely causes
- Too warm
- Too much yeast
- Left too long
What to do
- Knock back, reshape and proof again briefly (yeast doughs)
- Use less yeast or a cooler proof
- Set a timer and check early with the poke test
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