A Bread Expert's Tips For Combining Rye Flours For The Best Flavor And Texture In Your Loaf

With its dense crumb and tangy aftertaste, rye bread is definitely the dark sheep (quite literally) of the bread family. However, if you're an appreciator of the fiber-rich loaf made with heritage grains and caraway seeds, then we've got a way for you to get even more rye flavor out of each loaf. We spoke to Nathan Myhrvold, founder of Modernist Cuisine and co-author of "Modernist Bread at Home," to get his tips on combining different flours to produce the ultimate rye loaf.

Myhrvold encourages you to experiment with rye baking by adding wheat flour to rye flour. While this may sound like you're diluting the rye flavor and texture, it's actually the opposite. "By adding rye flour to wheat flour dough," he explains, "you'll get rye flavor with a wheat-based structure." Myhrvold has perfected his ratios when experimenting with the rye-wheat combo. "My team and I have found a roughly 30:70 rye-to-wheat ratio yields the best results in balancing crumb and big rye flavor." 

Just like there are different types of rye bread, there are different types of rye flour, which will yield — you guessed it — different results when baking rye bread. "If you use medium or dark rye flour, [the] volume will be reduced because these flours contain bran," Nathan Myhrvold explains. "The same thing will happen if you use whole wheat flour." So when experimenting with various ryes and flour combinations, be prepared to get unexpected characteristics in your final bake.

Myhrvold does, however, have a solution for those who want all the rye flavor with none of the suboptimal bread volume — using a lighter rye flour that won't compromise the lift and size of your loaves. If you're a serious baker or even a serious experimenter, Myhrvold says there's a secret ingredient you can try to add some of the volume back in your rye bread, vital wheat gluten. "By using a little bit of vital wheat gluten, you wind up with a light and fluffy texture."