My time in Russia taught me to savor dark rye bread with a tangy flavor. The ratios and process used to create this bread were mysteries, because subsidies made the mass-produced loaves so affordable that I knew no one who baked the rye bread at home and had a recipe to share. It simply tasted of basic ingredients and some type of sourdough culture. When I returned to America and started baking with sourdough, I began my own experiments to create the loaf I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon.

I initially tried an all-rye loaf and baked several flat, hard bread discs before I settled on the most effective combination of flours: white, whole wheat, and rye. I feed my 100% hydration starter white wheat flour, and including a bit more in the dough gives it much needed elasticity. Instead of the extra ingredients often found in rye breads, like instant coffee, cocoa powder, caraway, and corn syrup, I let the rye flour and wild yeast provide all of the flavor. The loaf tastes distinctly different from my all-wheat Sourdough Cabin Bread, but the overall ratios, process, and timing remain nearly identical.

Learn more about mixing flours and get the complete recipe for Sourdough Rye Bread in my column. Learn how to get free sourdough starter and join in the last few days of my 9th Annual Sourdough Month here.

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Twice as Tasty

I began by baking rye bread as freeform loaves, but the brown bread I ate in Russia was baked in loaf pans. Once I added a couple of Pullman pans to my kitchen, I discovered I could create square-edged loaves as easily as boules. Learn more about covered Pullman and other loaf pans in this article I wrote for Allrecipes.

With my minimal kneading technique, the time rye-heavy dough spends fermenting has a big impact. When I leave the shaped dough in the fridge for just an hour, it bakes with a drier, denser crumb that cuts easily into ultrathin slices. The longer the dough slowly ferments in the fridge, the more it develops the spongy, sour interior I remember eating in my St. Petersburg kitchen.

So as we wrap up the 9th Annual Sourdough Month, I encourage you to experiment with my sourdough recipes to find the textures and flavors that most appeal to you. I’d love to see your comments on the blog posts and your creations on social media. In the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing recipes that pair well with sourdough, and you’ll find many others in the recipe index that I hope will encourage you to keep baking sourdough all year.

Need starter? Join the Sharing fermented starters Facebook group to request sourdough starter, scoby, kefir grains, and more, any time of year. If you are not a Facebook user, request some of my personal sourdough starter using this form by January 31, 2026, or schedule an in-person sourdough workshop.