Marbled Rye Bread

This marbled rye bread is a wonderfully flavored loaf. Plus, it's an easy recipe for experimenting with baking bread with rye flour. 

I always thought that marbled rye bread was made from two different doughs based on two different flours.. one white rye, one pumpernickel. I've since discovered that it's typically the same dough made from the same flour, with half of it dyed brown with caramel coloring. 

It's actually best to use one type of flour so that the bread comes together after shaping, rises at the same rate, and provides consistency in texture. 

If you'd like to try caramel coloring, you can usually find caramel coloring at a restaurant supply store. I've since used black cocoa powder with similar results in bagels and swirled rye, and you can't really detect the cocoa flavor. 

The color is much darker though. 

A search on "caramel color" on the internet produced a suggestion to use Gravy Master. Gravy Master? It's product that you can typically find in the gravy or sauce section of your grocery store and is used to add some color and richness to gravy. Guess what the top two ingredients are? Caramelized sugar and caramel color... and I already had it in my pantry. 

I added a tablespoon of that stuff plus a few drops of AmeriColor gel food color in brown. 

Look at how contrasty this bread turned out! 

The dough is 1/3 white rye flour and 2/3 bread flour. You can use medium rye flour, but you won't get this contrast between the light and dark. If you can't find white rye in the market, King Arthur Baking carries it. 

You make two batches of dough and then add one of the darkening ingredients to one of the doughs. 

Shaping this Rye Bread: 

You have a few options for shaping. This recipe makes two loaves of bread. I tried the a couple of techniques, including dividing the dough into four parts and kind of rolling them together and then rolling up the loaf for a thicker and more rustic look. 

For the second loaf, I divided the dough for each loaf into four parts and then rolled them them out in top of each other. 

Ingredients in This Marbled Rye:

Other than the flours and caramel color, you well need a liquid sweetener such as molasses, honey, or agave syrup. For this bread, I used agave. 

In addition, you'll need yeast, salt, and oil, shortening, or softened butter. Once you've baked the loaves, brush them with a little melted butter to soften the crust. 

You can also add some flavorings to bring out the rye flavor, including caraway seeds and onion powder. If you'd rather the bread be less "deli rye like," you can skip the add-ins. 

Working with Rye Flour:

One of the tricks to working with rye flour is to recognize when to stop kneading. If you knead the dough too long, the dough will turn super sticky and glue-like. Pay close attention to the dough. 

Adding bread flour to the dough also helps. 100% rye bread is really difficult and I've not been very successful at it, except for crackers. 

There are several kinds of rye flour, including white rye (where most of the whole grain is sifted out), medium rye, which is less sifted, and dark rye. In the case of dark rye, the flour could be all whole grain (or pumpernickes), or with just a smidge of the whole grain is sifted out. 

In other words, not all dark rye is pumpernickel, but all pumpernickle is dark rye! 

Sometimes your choices can include simply "rye flour." If you are looking for pumpernickel, be sure to check the ingredients list or with the miller. 

P.S. If you maintain a sourdough starter, adding a tablespoon of rye when you feed it is super helpful for rejuvinating it. 

This month's Bread Bakers are posting recipes using rye! 

More Rye Breads:

• Connie's Swedish Rye by Culinary Cam
• Marbled Rye Bread by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• New York Jewish Deli Rye by A Messy Kitchen
• Norwegian Crispbread aka Knekkebrød by Food Lust People Love
• Pumpernickel Rolls by Sneha's Recipe
• Swiss Onion Rye Batard by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Marbled Rye Bread

Yield: 32 slices

Author: Karen Kerr

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 45 MinInactive time: 3 HourTotal time: 4 H & 15 M

This marbled rye bread is a wonderfully flavored loaf. Plus, it's an easy recipe for experimenting with baking bread with rye flour. 

Ingredients

For the White Rye Dough

• 171 grams (6 ounces/1 1/2 cups) white rye flour
• 383 grams (13 1/2 ounces/3 cups) bread flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 3/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 tablespoon molasses, honey, or agave syrup
• 2 tablespoons shortening, vegetable oil, or softened butter
• 311 grams (11 ounces/1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons) water

For the Dark Rye Dough

• 171 grams (6 ounces/1 1/2 cups) white rye flour
• 383 grams (13 1/2 ounces/3 cups) bread flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 3/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 tablespoon molasses, honey, or agave syrup
• 2 tablespoons shortening, vegetable oil, or softened butter
• 11 ounces (1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons) water
• 311 grams (11 ounces/1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons) water
• 1 tablespoon liquid caramel coloring (or Gravy Master) plus 5 drops of brown food coloring gel.

Instructions

1. Mix all of the ingredients for the first dough in the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook on low until the dough just comes together, about 1 minute.
2. Switch the speed to medium-low and knead for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth.
3. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl or dough rising bucket, cover with plastic wrap.
4. Make the second (dark) dough, adding the caramel coloring with the water and follow the same process as with the first dough.
5. Let both doughs rise for about 90 minutes at room temperature, until doubled.
6. Divide each dough in half and then divide each into four parts. Spray two 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pans with spray oil and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
7. Cut both doughs into 4 equal pieces (eight pieces total).
8. On a surface that has been lightly rubbed with oil, flatten two light and two dark pieces into 6 inch rectangles.
9. Layer the pieces, light on the bottom, then dark, then light, then dark.
10. Flatten the pieces together with a rolling pin to press together.
11. With your hands, roll the dough layers into a loaf and place in the pan, seam side down. Repeat with the other half of the dough.
12. Place the shaped loaves into the bread pans and cover with oiled plastic wrap. Let rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until almost doubled.
13. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F while the dough rises.
14. Bake the loaves for 45 minutes, until it reaches an internal temperature of 190 degrees F.
15. Turn the loaves out onto a wire rack, brush them with melted butter, and let cool completely, one to two hours.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

147

Fat (grams)

2 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

0 g

Carbs (grams)

27 g

Fiber (grams)

2 g

Net carbs

25 g

Sugar (grams)

1 g

Protein (grams)

5 g

Cholesterol (grams)

0 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2025/03/marbled-rye-bread.html

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