This bread, you guys. It is so good. Okay, that’s the post! Enjoy!
Okay, I jest. So, why do you want to make sourdough potato rye bread? It is incredibly flavorful, thanks to the caraway seeds, rye flour, and molasses. The texture is awesome- kind of chewy, very moist (ew, moist). It’s also quite simple to make, for such an impressively tasty loaf. I am absolutely bringing this bread to Thanksgiving and you just may want to do the same.
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Tools & Equipment for Sourdough Potato Rye Bread
- Mixing bowl
- Kitchen scale
- Measuring cups & spoons
- Fork
- Cake pan or baking sheet
Ingredients for Sourdough Potato Rye Bread
- 50g ripe sourdough starter
- 100g + 20g (1 cup + 1/5 cup) rye flour, separated
- 100g + 120 g (1/4 cup & 3 Tbsp + 1/2 cup) filtered water, separated
- 200 g (1 cup) mashed potatoes: I usually use cold leftover ones-just make sure it’s plain potato!
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 tsp caraway seeds
- 50 g (3 Tbsp) molasses
- 300 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- For the glaze:
- 1/2 Tbsp water
- 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar
The Process: Sourdough Potato Rye Bread
Make Your Levain: 7 pm
Make sure your sourdough starter is ripe before you begin! If you use an under-ripe starter, the recipe will still work, fermentation will just take longer.
In a small/medium bowl, mix together 50g ripe sourdough starter, 100g rye flour, and 100g water. Cover lightly and place on the counter to ferment for 12 hours.
Mix The Dough: 7 am
After 12 hours, assess your levain for readiness. It should be risen, bubbly with a “cracked” appearance on top, with a sour aroma. If it’s not ready, check it again in 30-60 more minutes.
Place your mashed potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Use a fork to make sure they are mashed very smooth (now is the time to get the lumps out! It will get harder to accomplish this later).
Add the remaining rye flour, salt and caraway seeds and mix thoroughly with a fork. Add the remaining water, molasses and the entire ripe levain to the bowl and mix thoroughly with a spatula. You should have a runny, smooth mixture.
Lastly, add the all-purpose flour and mix until well combined. You will have a somewhat sticky dough, but it should cling together and should no longer be runny.
Lightly cover the dough and leave on the counter in a warm place for bulk fermentation.
Bulk Fermentation: 7:30-11:30 am
Set a timer for 30 minutes. When it goes off, use wet hands to perform a set of stretch and folds. Repeat twice more at 30 minute intervals.
Leave the dough to sit for 2 hours 30 minutes more, for a total of 4 hours in bulk fermentation.
Shape Dough & Proof: 11:30 am-2:30 pm
At the end of bulk fermentation, assess for readiness: the dough should be visibly risen and puffy, with bubbles present. If it has not risen, leave and check again in 30 minutes.
Lightly grease a baking sheet or a 10 inch cake pan. I prefer the cake pan for this loaf, I just like the shape it gives! Set aside.
Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface. Use your hands and a bowl scraper to shape the dough into a round. Place it, pinched side down, on your prepared pan. This is sticky dough and you might find it helpful to very lightly oil your hands, or wet them.
If you need a visual guide on shaping, check out this one.
Lightly cover your dough and leave it on your counter in a warm place to proof for 2.5-3 hours, until quite puffy and risen.
Bake: 2:30-3:00 pm
Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 375 and bake for 15 more minutes.
When done, the dough should be browned, and sound hollow when tapped. It will feel pretty dense. Or if you’re a numbers person, check for an internal temperature of 204 degrees.
Toward the end of the baking time, whisk together water and sugar. When you remove the loaf from the oven, brush the glaze over the top of the loaf, before removing it to a cooling rack. I really recommend NOT skipping the glaze! It doesn’t add an overpowering or cloying sweetness- somehow the tiny bit of sweet sets off the flavors of the loaf really well!
Allow to cool completely (about 2 hours) before slicing. This keeps in a tightly sealed bag at room temp for about 2-3 days, or it freezes well!
How Should I Serve Sourdough Potato Rye Bread?
It’s hard to beat this bread sliced, with a generous pat of butter.
It also gets along VERY well with all manner of soups and stews, or as a side for hearty roast or meatloaf meal.
Try it alongside these recipes:
Sourdough Potato Rye Bread
Words fail me on this one...this is just super tasty bread. The texture is phenomenal. Take my word for it and give it a try!
Ingredients
- 50g ripe sourdough starter
- 100g + 20g (1 cup + 1/5 cup) rye flour, separated
- 100g + 120 g (1/4 cup & 3 Tbsp + 1/2 cup) filtered water, separated
- 200 g (1 cup) mashed potatoes
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 tsp caraway seeds
- 50 g (3 Tbsp) molasses
- 300 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- For the glaze:
- 1/2 Tbsp water
- 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar
Instructions
- Make the levain: mix together 50g ripe sourdough starter, 100g rye flour, and 100g water. Cover lightly and place on the counter to ferment for 12 hours.
- After 12 hours, check your levain for readiness. It should be bubbly throughout and have risen, and have a mild sour smell. If these signs are not present, check again in 30 minutes. There will probably only be a handful of bubbles on the surface, but the bottom and sides should be very bubbly.
- Place your mashed potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Use a fork to make sure they are mashed very smooth. Add the rye flour, salt and caraway seeds and mix thoroughly with a fork.
- Add the water, molasses and the entire ripe levain to the bowl and mix thoroughly with a spatula. You should have a runny, smooth mixture.
- Lastly, add the all-purpose flour and mix until well combined. You will have a somewhat sticky dough, but it should cling together and should no longer be runny.
- Lightly cover and leave on the counter in a warm place for bulk fermentation.
- Set a timer for 30 minutes, and when it goes off perform a set of stretch and folds. Repeat twice more at 30 minute intervals.
- Leave the dough to sit for the remainder of bulk fermentation: 2 hours and 30 minutes more, for a total of 4 hours.
- At the end of bulk fermentation, assess for readiness: the dough should be visibly risen and puffy, with bubbles present. If it has not risen, leave and check again in 30 minutes.
- Lightly grease a baking sheet or a 10 inch cake pan ( my preference) and set aside.
- Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface. Use your hands and a bowl scraper to shape the dough into a round. Place it, pinched side down, on your prepared pan. This is sticky dough and you might find it helpful to very lightly oil your hands, or wet them.
- Lightly cover your dough and leave it on your counter in a warm place to proof for 2.5-3 hours, until quite puffy and risen.
- Toward the end of your proofing time, preheat the oven to 425 degrees Farenheit.
- Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 375 and bake for 15 more minutes.
- When done, the dough should be browned, and sound hollow when tapped. It will feel pretty dense.
- Toward the end of the baking time, whisk together water and sugar. When you remove the loaf from the oven, brush the glaze over the top of the loaf, before removing it to a cooling rack.
- Allow to cool completely before slicing.
- This keeps in a tightly sealed bag at room temp for about 2-3 days, or it freezes well!
Pin for later:
What Should I Make Next?
If you haven’t yet, try Sourdough Rye
Or branch out to Rye Scones!
Did you make this recipe? Let me know how it went in the comments! Or, if you share on Instagram, tag me @sisuhomemaker.
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