Simplified Wheat Rye Bread – Zjednodušený pšenično-žitný chléb
This is a super simple world class no-knead bread that literally anybody can make. You don’t even need a pastry board! I wanted to take my traditional Wheat Rye Bread recipe and make it as simple as possible.
Kitchen Essentials:
Dry yeast: https://amzn.to/3P3AOee
Rye Flour: https://amzn.to/4cQRqQj
Lodge 5 Quart Cast Iron Pot: https://amzn.to/4sY9nBo
5.5 QT Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven Pot: https://amzn.to/4rAVtnl
Caraway seeds: https://amzn.to/47Aa5g9
Dough scraper: https://amzn.to/4sNw2jy
5 Pieces Bowl Covers Reusable: https://amzn.to/4byVWAM
Disposable 100 Bowl Covers Bread Proofing – Extra Large Plastic Wrap: https://amzn.to/47VFUQb
Silicone Oven Mitts Heat Resistant: https://amzn.to/4lBpeTV
Cooling rack: https://amzn.to/4qOTKvL
Antique Butter Bell Crock: https://amzn.to/4rrVWs3
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Tips:
- I use a shower cap to cover my bowl with the dough inside. This allows the dough to ferment very well and I can reuse the shower cap. Some moisture could build up inside of the cap from condensation so make sure to let the cap dry after each use to prevent mold.
- You will need a pot with a lid that can handle 500 °F. For example, a pot with plastic handles should be avoided. I like to use a cast iron pot 5 quarts (4,7 l) for this recipe. You will also need high temperature oven mitts that can handle 500 °F.
- Note: This is an important difference between this simplified recipe and the regular Rye Bread recipe. Instead of cast iron, you can use another type of pot, but it should be preheated. Putting the dough into a non-preheated pot would cause the bread to stick. If your pot cannot handle 500 °F (260 °C), you can bake it at 450 °F (230 °C) for 50 minutes with the lid and about 15 minutes without the lid or until beautifully brown.
- The dough needs to rise for 6 – 12 hours. 6 hours only if your home is warm. The best is to let it rise overnight and bake it fresh in the morning.
- You can add any seeds of your choice.
- If you make my Farmer’s Cheese you can use the leftover whey in this bread instead of water. Whey is healthy, packed with protein and this is a good way to not waste it.
Makes: 1 loaf
Prep: 5 minutes
Rest: 6 – 12 hours
Preheating the Oven: 15 minutes
Bake: 500 °F (260 °C) 40 minutes with
lid, 10 minutes without the lid
Ingredients:
4 cups (560 g) all purpose flour
2 cups (280 g) rye flour
3 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons caraway seeds
3 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 cups (710 ml) water or whey
Directions:
- Into a large bowl add 4 cups all purpose flour, 2 cups rye flour, 3 tsp salt, 3 tsp caraway seeds, and 3 tsp yeast. Mix together with a wooden spoon.
- Add 3 cups water and mix until you have no dry flour and all is mixed together. The spoon will have a lot of dough on it, so make sure to scrape it all off.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a shower cap and let ferment in a warm place for 6 – 12 hours.
- If using a cast iron pot, place the empty pot along with its lid beside it into the oven to preheat together. (Make sure there is plenty of space in the oven above the pot to accommodate the pot when the lid is on later.)
- Preheat the oven to 500 °F. (The oven will be super hot so be careful!)
- Using high temperature oven mitts, pull the pot out of the oven and place it on top of your stove. Take off the oven mitts, hold the bowl above the pot and use a plastic dough scraper to scrape the dough out of the bowl so it falls into the cast iron pot. You can carefully reposition the bread with a metal spatula if you need to. Put the oven mitts back on, take the heated lid that is in the oven and cover the pot. Then put it all back into the oven and bake for 40 minutes.
- Using oven mitts, remove the lid and bake the bread for about 10 more minutes or until beautifully brown.
- Using the oven mitts, take the pot out of the oven and place onto the stove.
- While still wearing the oven mitts, lift one side of the pot while the other side remains resting on the stove. Keep tilting until the bread wants to fall out. Catch it with your free hand and carefully place the bread onto a cooling rack.
- Wait at least half an hour for the bread to cool off before slicing it. The best is to use a large serrated knife. (You can slice it sooner, the inside just might curl up, but it doesn’t affect the taste.)
- Wrap any remaining bread in a clean kitchen towel and store on the counter for up to two days. While wrapped in the towel I also like to cover the open cut side of the bread with plastic wrap so that part doesn’t dry up. If you don’t eat it all within two days, store the bread in a plastic bag on the counter or in a freezer rated sealable bag in the freezer.
Help! I’ve made this twice now and couldnt get it out of the dutch oven in one piece either time! Broke off pieces to nibble on and LOVE the flavor. Just can’t get it out as a loaf!! Whay should I do???
Did you preheat the pot? It can’t be put into non preheated pot otherwise it will stick. I explained this all in my video.
Thanks for replying! Yes, I did pre heat the dutch oven both times and both times I couldn’t get it out. I seem to be the only one with this problem. I’ll keep trying as I think this is a wonderful bread!!!
That is strange. :( Did you try my regular Rye Bread recipe? That one works even with non-preheated pot.
Dobre den, my friend – my guess is that your cast iron pot is not properly seasoned. Please do this : heat your pot over the stove until slightly smoking. Carefully put in 2 T. of vegetable oil and use a paper towel to oil the inside. Continue to let get very hot. It will smoke some. Then turn off the stove and let sit. When cool, wipe out any remaining oil. Repeat this process 3 times. Then you should have no problem.
Měj se dobře! (be well)
I baked this wonderful bread tonight in our 8 qt cast iron dutch oven. It was the perfect size! I did notice that the bottom of the bread was very hard (perhaps 1/8 in thick). Even the bread knife we had was having a hard time cutting through the bottom crust. I was wondering if perhaps I cooked it a little too long? I followed the cooking temperature and time as stated (500 for 40 min then lid off for 10 min). Also, I added 1 tsp of sugar to the recipe for fear the yeast need it to activate. I noticed you did not use sugar in this recipe.
There is no need for sugar. Oftentimes I also have thicker bottom crust. Try to place the oven rack and bread on it as high as possible but still be able to have the lid on.
Delame tento vyborny chleb uz asi rok bez jakykoliv problemu.
Zkusil jsem tento zjednoduseny recept a bohuzel 3 cups je malo. Musim dat 5 jinak je testo pri michani tuhe a suche.
Kde delam chybu ?
Ona každá mouka saje jinak. A jste v USA?
Dobry den.
Bydlim v Kanade.
Zapomel jsem uvest ze se jedna o cups of water.
Ano pochopila jsem. Zda se ze vaše mouka saje více vody. Tudíž je potřeba přidat vodu. I když se mi zda teda hodně o dva cups.
A ten obyčejný je v pohodě?
Priznam se ze i u toho obycejneho musim pridat vice vody (asi 3/4 cup). Jinak se mi testo drobi a nema konzistenci jako ten Vas.
Ale jinak moc dekuji , protoze Vas recept je vynikajici. Jen mi trvalo asi 25 let nez jsem konecne nasel ten spravny recept.
Holt jsem musel pockat az na Vas. Tak to nekdy chodi. Byt na spravnem miste ve spravny cas.
Tak to určitě tou jinou moukou. Tak to mě těší ze jste našel a ze jsem mohla pomoci. Bez chleba to proste nejde.
How do you treat your cast iron pans ?
Thank you
I made a short video on this topic http://44444.czechcookbook.com/rye-bread-helpful-tips-chleba-uzitecne-rady/
When I lived in Praha 6, I used to go to Albert store and buy the bread everyday. Is this the same kind of bread that they sell there? It was the bread that was the most popular in the store. It was delicious and now that I am back in the states, I would love to be able to make the bread that we ate everyday that we lived there.
Yes it is very similar. Homemade bread is better in my opinion. ;) This is more old fashioned.
The bread is slightly wet. Should I bake it longer in lower temperature?
I enjoyed watching your rye bread video as well as the tips. I recently got an oblong ceramic coated Dutch oven that is good up to 500 F. I was planning to use it for bread baking. I didn’t know that it should not be pre-heated empty. So thanks for the heads up. Right now I am baking rye bread based on a Czech recipe for dalamanky. The amount of the dough is just right for one loaf of bread. I had to tweak the recipe a bit, but now I am getting consistent results every time. I bake it on a baking sheet over a tray of steaming water to get a crisp crust. I also brush the loaf with egg white, which gives the crust a shiny finish. Lately I started adding chopped walnuts to the dough. I have lived in Canada for over 50 years now, but I still love what you call the “real bread”. I would like to be notified of any of your new Czech recipes via email, if that is possible. Stay safe. Be well.
Dalamanky are delicious. :) Nothing can compare to the “real bread” :) I tried to subscribe you to my email list, but it looks like you are already subscribed so you should be getting my emails. :) Stay safe and healthy Jane!
I don’t bake, but my mother, who is now almost 80 always had, and she often said that the flour bought in Canada and the US always make all her baking taste different and have a different texture than when she backed using the same recipe at home.
Have you found that or heard similar tales? I wonder what the difference in flour is, and if nowadays one can find the same flour here in the States as back home? Or perhaps it could be the passage of time that has changed the basic products that were once in use, I guess.
She always complained about how her Vanočka turned out most, but I didn’t care. I ate every piece that I could sneak. :)
Hm I never had problems with flour in USA. All was turning out great for me. :)
I made this bread on Saturday and was unable to keep up with the rise as it was so hot so I popped it in my fridge! And made it on Sunday! It was absolutely phenomenal! I can’t stop nibbling on it! I I don’t have caraway at this time but I made a bread spice of cracked Cumin, fennel seed and coriander seed. The fragrance was intoxicating! The bread has a slight licorice hint and is so addictive! With some thinly sliced ham and fresh tomato and EVOO and a punch of Maldon salt and fresh ground pepper! Just stellar. Or Canadian Prairie Flour is hard and so the dough wasn’t as sticky as we are warmed! But it might have been sitting in a bread form over night with a cotton liner and Bob’s Red Mill rice flour. But the loaves were absolutely delicious! And the d as lives are just as fragrant and fresh today on Monday. I sent a loaf off to friends and they were over the moon! Thanks for this recipe. It would be fun to make it from sourdough. !
How amazing! Sounds delicious :) I actually use my rye leaven with only 1/4 tsp of dry yeast. Even 1/8 tsp will do it. The only difference is that I put my leaven into the water to measure and mix with water.
I love this bread! But I can’t have it much since I have wheat intolerance. I can have rye though. I wonder if you have recommendations or if you’ve tried it yourself to increase the rye flour content in the recipe? Thank you!
Yes I think I did 3 rye and 1 all purpose. It is more dense, but still good.
Thank you!!!
Zdravim do Brna. Zkousela jsem dnes poprve a v novem Cast Iron Dutch Oven a povedlo se na vybornou. Chlebicek je krupavy, nedroli se, proste bozi. Do puntiku jsem dodrzela davkovani I postup, vcetne Vasich tipu. Testo kynulo pres noc, cca 11 hodin a povedlo se. Dekuji moc Czech CookBook.
To je super! Moc zdravim. :)