Easy Danish Rye Bread Recipe (Rugbrød)

Imagine a homemade bread that is filled with nutrients but still has so much flavor your mouth will thank you. With this danish rye bread also, known as rugbrød, you will have all that and more.

Danish rye bread is very easy to make and goes well with both sweet and salty foods. This rustic and nourishing bread is perfect with homemade jam, for sandwiches, or paired with soups.

What Is Rugbrød?

Rugbrød is Denmark’s iconic bread, with a very dark and very dense crumb. It is rich in fiber and nutrients while being low in fat and sugar. It is the base used for smorrebrod sandwiches which Danes are very fond of, and for good reason.

While there are many rugbrød recipes, they usually have just rye and various seeds as ingredients. I decided on a more organic version and included dried fruits in addition to seeds. Not only does it bring more flavor – but additional health benefits.

Although the time needed for dough rising and baking is quite long, this bread can be prepared very quickly with a kitchen robot or in the bowl of a bread maker.

For this Danish rye bread recipe I used molasses because I had only this at hand but any other natural sweetener will be perfect: honey, maple syrup, etc. there is always an alternative solution in our kitchens if you want to stick to natural products, at least I do.

This bread with its dense, heavy structure and thick crust can be kept easily for more than 5 days packed in dishcloth or paper.

To celebrate the Constitution Day, which is  a national Danish holiday, I went to get this bread recipe make it at home. I love homemade rye bread and all kinds of other homemade stuff. It is a very complete tasting, soft(if not let to dry out) and very, very pleasant bread. We ate it with a dungeness crab, but we could have eaten it with a lot of other things. Thanks to my friend for taking me out of my comfort zone from time to time and to Florence who holds this nice blog for this beautiful recipe very well explained.

Enjoy as you like. It is very accommodating, healthy food and it’s delicious!

I am not purely vegan (and hence our name) but I sincerely admire the imagination deployed and I love to be inspired by vegan recipes that push me to renew and diversify.

Danish Rye Bread Recipe (Rugbrød)

As noted above, this recipe will not take too much time. The waiting will take longer than the actual preparation of the dough. I recommend allowing approximately 3 hours for total completion of this recipe.

So if you want to use it for a specific time, be sure to leave a buffer! The ingredients below should be enough for 2 small loaves.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups rye flour (recommend T130)
• 2/3 cups wheat flour (recommend T150)
• 1 tablespoon molasses or honey
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup walnut kernels
• 1/4 cup hazelnuts
• 2 tablespoons optional wheat bran (can be replaced with small oat flakes)
• 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
• 2 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1.5 tablespoons dry active yeast

Preparation

Just a few steps to having one of the best breads you have ever had!

Step 1

Mix the yeast with 1/2 glass of warm water

Step 2

Mix the flours, salt and wheat bran in a bowl and add the rehydrated yeast and knead while slowly adding water.

Step 3

Add molasses and seeds and continue kneading for at least 5 minutes. Add the nuts and hazelnuts coarsely cut into pieces and continue the kneading for another 5 good minutes.

Step 4

Coat 2 bread pans and fill them halfway. Let the dough rise for a good hour either in the oven at 300 degrees or in a place sheltered from drafts

On the floor of the oven lay a ramekin filled with water. Bake your breads in a cold oven and turn on the (no rotating heat) at 175 degrees. Cook for 1h30 and turn off the oven, leaving your breads for another 20 minutes.

Take your breads out of the oven and let them cool down a little before demoulding them on a grill.

This delicious Danish bread or Rugbrod can keep for approximately 2 weeks if saved in a dark place and in a air tight container.