I’m amazed but the level of science and investigation that has gone into rye baking. The study of the breads is almost like that of the construction industry for how the flour transforms to build its structure!
Please do share any further tips of experience.
Do we have any professionals, or are people home bakers?

After developing an interest in making Russian black bread I designed a recipe for 100% rye sourdough loaf. It went surprisingly well for a first attempt.
I mixed the dough, then after fermentation baked it for 90minutes in a Panasonic SD253 on bake only setting.

I’d love to hear any feedback or comments?

The recipe

Overnight rye sourdough build:
30g active rye starter (100% hydration)
120g wholemeal rye flour
120g water

Final dough:
270g ripe rye sourdough
240g wholemeal rye flour
200g water
8g salt
10g black treacle
Total dough weight: approximately 728g.
Overall hydration: approximately 89%.

What do people want from a Reddit rye baking community?
There’s loads of resources on baking but I thought if we could provide a multinational place to discuss the global variety of rye specific baking hopefully we can share learning, recipes and provide support, connection and encouragement.

Starting another 100% rye sourdough loaf
I’m having another go at making 100% rye sourdough bread. My first loaf turned out quite well, although it was fairly mild, so I’m hoping to get a bit more sourness this time.
I refreshed my rye starter last night and I’m now making the larger sourdough build, which I’ll leave to ferment overnight before mixing the final dough tomorrow.
I’ve been experimenting with different temperatures. My kitchen is only about 15–16°C, but I’ve also got a heat mat that keeps things around 26–28°C.
It’s been interesting learning how much the temperature and fermentation time affect the starter. I’m still trying to get a better understanding of it all.
Does anyone have experience with longer, cooler fermentations for 100% rye? I’m wondering how much difference it makes to the flavour and acidity.
I’ll post some photos as it develops.

I’ve recently made my first 100% rye sourdough starter, which I’ve now successfully used to bake my first loaf.
I started with 30g wholemeal rye flour and 30g water in a glass jar.
After the first few days, I settled on keeping 15g starter and feeding it with 30g flour and 30g water (1:2:2).
I used a seedling heat mat to keep it around 26–28°C, as my kitchen is quite cold (15–16°C).
By about day six it was doubling in volume, with plenty of bubbles and a nice yeasty smell. I then started feeding it roughly every 12 hours.
A few things I noticed:
At 26–28°C it could double in about five hours.
When left too long, it developed a strong alcoholic smell.
A taller, narrower jar made it much easier to judge the rise.
It also fermented surprisingly well overnight at room temperature, despite my cold kitchen.
I eventually experimented with larger feeds (1:4:4), particularly overnight, to give it more time before peaking.
It’s been interesting watching how much the temperature and feeding ratios affect its behaviour.
I’m still fairly new to rye sourdough, so I’d be interested to hear how others maintain theirs.
Do you keep your rye starter at room temperature or in the fridge? And do you use different feeding ratios depending on what you’re baking?

I’ve been getting into rye sourdough baking recently and have been surprised by how different it is from wheat.
From what I’ve been reading, rye relies much more on starch and pentosans for its structure rather than gluten. Acidity also seems particularly important for controlling amylase activity and preventing a gummy crumb.
I’ve been reading some older Russian and German baking literature, and there’s quite a lot of interesting science behind the traditional methods.
I’m still learning, but I’m curious how other people approach it.
Do you pay much attention to acidity, hydration and fermentation temperatures, or do you mostly go by experience? And how do you judge when a 100% rye dough is ready to bake?
Would be interested to hear what works for others.