The Easiest Way To Upgrade A Rye Bread Recipe According To A Pro

Rye bread is a flavorful, dense type of bread; delicious as toast, the best for a Reuben, possibly the bread you need for a roast beef sandwich. Its nutty, earthy, and slightly sour flavor stands out in comparison to white bread, which, let's face it, is relatively bland. 

But even a classic homemade rye loaf can be made tastier. To learn about upgrading rye, we consulted Nathan Myhrvold, founder of Modernist Cuisine and lead author of the "Modernist Cuisine" cookbook series. The renowned food scientist (and former chief technology officer of Microsoft) spent years researching the history, techniques, and science of bread making around the world, and as such, he has a notion idea for how to easily upgrade a rye recipe: Consider some additions that match the flavor profile of the bread.

"In our Vollkornbrot master recipe," he says, "a combination of rye berries, cracked rye soaker, and sunflower seeds are bound together with a bit of dough." Myhrvold's final product is a loaf that is enjoyably dense and "brick-like," with seeds and rye berries included in each slice.

Vollkornbrot is a dense, whole grain German brown bread made with dark rye flour. As for its inclusions, rye berries are whole rye kernels with the inedible hull removed, while a cracked rye soaker typically involves soaking cracked rye berries in water for several hours to soften the grain before adding it to the dough. However, if you're looking to upgrade your own rye recipe with some inclusions on the sweeter side, Myhrvold has more suggestions.

The grainy, earthy flavor of rye bread is well-suited for the addition of various nuts, seeds, berries, and bits of dark chocolate. For a sweeter variation, Nathan Myhrvold suggests using inclusions such as "dried or candied fruit, toasted nuts, and even chocolate chunks and cocoa powder." Dried cherries, apricots, figs, cranberries, and raisins are tasty fruit options, while toasted walnuts and hazelnuts work well for extra crunchiness. 

Dark chocolate has an slightly bitter flavor that pairs well with rye and adds a desert-like quality to the bread. Cocoa powder (100% unsweetened cacao) is also often incorporated into rye bread recipes to give the loaf a darker color and a richer, somewhat more bitter, flavor. If using a light rye flour (that produces a lighter color bread), consider adding cocoa powder to darken the color and enrich the taste. (This step also happens to be how most American-made pumpernickel bread gets its signature color.) You can also try adding molasses to your recipe to sweeten the flavor and balance the bitterness. 

Overall, when it comes to baking rye bread, the easiest way to upgrade your recipe is to think of easy additions that complement the flavor of this unique loaf. Work these ingredients into the dough and you'll pull out a uniquely flavorful and exciting loaf at the end of your bake.