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Heidi's Rye (Bakery Style)

Prep 45m Cook 40m Total 85m hard
breadbakingryeseeds

Method

  1. 1
    Night before: build the poolish. Whisk the yeast into the water until milky, then stir in the flour until no dry bits remain. Cover loosely and ferment at cool room temperature until bubbly and domed. ⏱ 600m
    94 g
    all-purpose flour
    20.0 %
    94 g
    water
    20.0 %
    0.40 g
    active dry yeast
    0.1 %
  2. 2
    Any time on Day 1 or a few hours before mixing: pour the boiling water over the seeds. Cover and let steep, then drain very well and cool. ⏱ 45m
    60 g
    mixed seeds
    12.8 %
    94 g
    water
    20.0 %
    Note: drain thoroughly — residual soaker water stalls the crumb and makes it gummy
  3. 3
    Autolyse: combine the final-dough flours with the autolyse water in a bowl. Mix to a shaggy, uniform hydrate — no dry patches, no salt, no yeast yet. Cover. ⏱ 45m
    266 g
    all-purpose flour
    56.6 %
    110 g
    rye flour
    23.4 %
    206 g
    water
    43.8 %
  4. 4
    Dissolve the final-dough yeast in about 10 g of the holdback water. Add the ripe poolish, dissolved yeast, and brown sugar to the autolysed dough and mix just to uniform. Rest 10 minutes. ⏱ 10m
    1.1 g
    active dry yeast
    0.2 %
    206 g
    water
    43.8 %
    24 g
    dark brown sugar
    5.1 %
  5. 5
    Sprinkle on the salt and knead — or Rubaud by hand — for 2 to 3 minutes, adding the last 5–10 g of holdback water if the dough feels tight. Target supple and slightly tacky, not slack.
    7.0 g
    salt
    1.5 %
  6. 6
    Bulk ferment. Do three sets of stretch-and-folds: first at 20 minutes, second at 40–60 minutes. On the third set (~80 minutes) fold in the drained seeds and walnuts gently so the gluten does not tear. Continue until the dough is 50–75% larger and airy. ⏱ 180m
    60 g
    mixed seeds
    12.8 %
    30 g
    walnuts
    6.4 %
    Target: dough 25°C
  7. 7
    Preshape into a loose round on a lightly floured bench. Rest uncovered so the skin dries slightly. ⏱ 20m
  8. 8
    Final shape for tight surface tension. Place seam-up in a floured banneton, cover, and move to the fridge.
    Note: seam-up in the banneton gives a cleaner flip and a bolder score at the oven
  9. 9
    Cold proof in the fridge. The long chill tightens the shape and deepens flavor. ⏱ 600m
  10. 10
    Preheat the oven with the Dutch oven and lid inside. Do not rush this — a fully saturated cast iron is what buys you oven spring. ⏱ 60m
    Target: oven 250°C
  11. 11
    Turn the cold dough out onto parchment, seam down. Score one long slash at about a 30° angle for a bold ear.
  12. 12
    Lower the dough into the ripping-hot Dutch oven on its parchment. Lid on — the trapped steam does the glazing work. ⏱ 20m
    Target: oven 250°C
  13. 13
    Remove the lid, drop the oven temperature, and finish until the crust is deep mahogany and the internal reads on target. ⏱ 22m
    Target: oven 220°C, internal 97°C
  14. 14
    Move to a rack and cool completely before slicing — rye sets slowly and a warm slice gums up. ⏱ 60m
    Note: patience buys you crumb structure

Three-day recipe tuned for a boutique-bakery crust and crumb — still Heidi's pantry (active dry yeast, rye, seeds, brown sugar), just with the technique dialled up. Night 1: build a poolish and soak the seeds. Day 2: autolyse, mix, bulk, shape, then cold-proof overnight. Day 3: bake from fridge-cold in a preheated Dutch oven. Rough active time: ~5 min on night 1, ~45 min on mix day, ~15 min on bake day, plus ~40 min in the oven.

Formula summary: 77% AP flour / 23% rye at 68% hydration, 12.8% seeds (hot-soaked and drained so they stop robbing moisture from the crumb), 5.1% brown sugar, 1.5% salt, 0.3% total yeast split between poolish and final dough. Exact per-ingredient percentages are on the **Formula** tab.

**Same-day alternative.** Skip the cold proof: bump the poolish yeast to ¼ tsp (~0.8 g) and the final-dough yeast to ~¾ tsp (~2.3 g) — about 3 g total. After shaping, proof 45–75 min at room temperature, then bake. Slightly less complex but still excellent.

**Ingredient tweaks that stay in the spirit.** Swap 10 g of the brown sugar for 15 g barley malt syrup or mild molasses for deeper color and a shinier crust. Caraway (~2 g) or cracked coriander (~1.5 g) reads "rye" without shouting. For a deli-rye look, mist the shaped loaf and roll the top in extra seeds before cold-proofing. If your AP flour is soft, substitute 120 g of bread flour for structure — especially helpful with this much seed load.

**Doneness cues.** Bulk is done when the dough is 50–75% bigger, airy, and softly domed — not fully doubled. Poke test on the shaped loaf: springs back slowly and leaves a slight impression. The bake targets a deeply blistered crust that sounds hollow and an internal temperature of 96–98°C / 205–208°F. Rest at least one hour — rye needs the longer set to finish gelatinising or the crumb gums up.