German rye sourdough (Roggenmischbrot)
Vegetarian
Roggenmischbrot
A dark-crusted German loaf of 70% rye and 30% wheat, raised with a rye sourdough and flavoured with caraway — moist, tangy and dense in the best way.
German rye sourdough (Roggenmischbrot) is a German bread from Germany, ready in about 39 hours 20 minutes and made with sourdough starter and rye flour. It serves 18 and is rated intermediate to cook.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 1 h
- Rest
- 2 h
- Total
- 39 h 20 min
- Serves
- 18
- Level
- Intermediate
- Calories
- 101
Includes a 12–16 hour rye sour made the night before and resting the loaf for 12–24 hours before slicing.
Ingredients
Rye sour (Sauerteig)
Dough
Method
Step 1
Night before: stir the sour rye flour (opens in a new tab), warm water and starter into a thick paste. Cover and leave 12–16 hours at about 24–26 °C until domed, cracked and pleasantly sour-smelling.
- 3 min
Step 2
Add the dough rye, wheat flour, warm water, salt and caraway (opens in a new tab) to the sour. Mix on low (or with a stiff spatula) for 6–8 minutes into a sticky, clay-like paste. Rye dough does not develop gluten like wheat, so there is no windowpane — just mix until even.
Step 3
Cover and rest 30 minutes (a short bulk is typical for rye).
Step 4
With wet hands, shape into a smooth oval or round on a floured worktop and roll it in rye flour (opens in a new tab). Put it smooth-side down in a floured banneton. Proof 60–75 minutes at about 26 °C, until it has grown by about a third and fine cracks start to appear on the floured surface — that's your cue rather than a poke test. Once the loaf is in the banneton, put a baking tray or stone in the oven (opens in a new tab) with a roasting tin on the shelf below and preheat to 250 °C (fan 230 °C) for about 45 minutes.
- 5 min
- 250°C · fan 230 °C; preheat with the tray and steam tin inside for about 45 minutes
- Proofing basket (banneton) (opens in a new tab)
- Oven (opens in a new tab)
- Baking tray / sheet (opens in a new tab)
- Roasting pan (opens in a new tab)
Rye needs a very hot start so the crust sets before the loaf can spread.
How it looks · Photo: locrifa on Pexels Step 5
Turn the loaf onto parchment (no scoring needed; the cracks open naturally, or dock it with a skewer). Slide onto the hot tray, add boiling water to the roasting tin and bake 10 minutes. Remove the water, vent the oven (opens in a new tab) door briefly, then bake at 210 °C (fan 190 °C) for 45–50 minutes until dark and the core reads 98 °C.
- 60 min
- 250°C · fan 230 °C for 10 minutes, then 210 °C (fan 190 °C)
- Oven (opens in a new tab)
- Baking tray / sheet (opens in a new tab)
- Roasting pan (opens in a new tab)
- Food thermometer (opens in a new tab)
Food safety: Pour water for steam carefully and stand back — the burst of steam can scald hands and face. Don't pour water onto a glass oven door.
Step 6
Cool on a rack, then wrap in a cloth and leave at least 12 and ideally 24 hours before cutting. Rye crumb needs time to set and the flavour improves.
About this dish
- Origin
- Germany · Well documentedRye-wheat sourdough breads are everyday bread throughout Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with many regional names.Also popular in Austria, Switzerland, PolandMore food from Germany
- Dish
- Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner · Breads & flatbreads
- Cooking method
- Oven-baked, Fermented
- Taste
- sour, earthy, aromatic / warmly spiced
- Diet
- Vegan · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carbWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · Low-fat · DASH-style - Good for
- Make-ahead · Freezer-friendly
- Cook more with
- Sourdough starter · Rye flour · Bread flour · Caraway seeds
- Techniques
- Roasting · Baking · Boiling · Fermentation
Allergens
- Contains: Wheatfrom rye flour, sourdough starter, bread flour
- Contains: Glutenfrom rye flour, sourdough starter, bread flour
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
101 kcal per serving
Estimated1 serving ≈ 44 g · recipe makes 18
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 13%
- Carbohydrate 83%
- Fat 4%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 101 kcal | 226 kcal |
| Protein | 3.2 g | 7.2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 21.2 g | 47.8 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 18.6 g | 42 g |
| Sugars | 0.2 g | 0.5 g |
| Added sugars | 0 g | 0 g |
| Fibre | 2.6 g | 5.8 g |
| Fat | 0.5 g | 1 g |
| Saturated fat | 0.1 g | 0.1 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 238 mg | 535 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 0.6 g | 1.3 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 84 mg
- Calcium
- 10 mg
- Iron
- 0.9 mg
- Magnesium
- 15 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 0 µg
- Vitamin C
- 0 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 32 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- Sourdough starter: Modelled as a 100%-hydration starter: equal weights of flour and water, so half of white flour's values per gram.
- “—” 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
- Wet hands and a wet scraper are the only way to handle rye paste — flour just gums up.
Common mistakes
- Cutting on the day of baking: the crumb will be sticky and seem raw even when it is done.
Serve with
- Thinly sliced with butter and chives, cold cuts, mustard, cheese or smoked fish (Abendbrot).
Storage
- Keeps a week wrapped in linen or a bread box. Freezes well sliced.
Reheating
- Toast lightly.
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 30 min
Risen 50–75%, domed and bubbly at the edges, wobbles when the bowl is shaken. Warmer kitchens are faster.
Final proof · about 1 h 10 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 at 250 °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 41 h. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.
The dough
| Ingredient | Role | Weight | Baker’s % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rye flour | Flour | 350 g | 68.6% |
| Bread flour | Flour | 150 g | 29.4% |
| Water | Water | 400 g | 78.4% |
| Sourdough starter | Starter | 20 g | 3.9% |
| Salt | Salt | 11 g | 2.2% |
| Caraway seeds | Other | 3 g | 0.6% |
- Total flour
- 510 g
- Hydration
- 80.4%
- With milk, eggs…
- 80.4%
- Wholegrain
- 68.6%
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.
- Salt 2.2% — normal for bread.
- 68.6% wholegrain — absorbs more water and gives a denser, nuttier loaf.
- 2% of the flour comes from the starter (20 g at 100% hydration: 10 g flour + 10 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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