German Rye Bread

I'm very sorry, but this recipe has nearly nothing in common with a german rye bread. For the traditional german bread you need nothing but flour, water and salt.

If you're looking for a great rye bread, this is not it. However, if you're looking for a wonderful molasses bread, try this. I felt the abundance of molasses and the absence of caraway detracted from any rye flavor that was meant to be.The rye flavor was definitely missing. This recipe will produce a heavy dense tasty loaf of molasses bread. I was disappointed because I was looking for a flavorful rye.NOTE TO SCRUFFY: Just halve this recipe and you can do it in your bread machine. Its better if you take the loaf out of the machine after the second rise and shape it into a round. Bake at 375 degrees for 33-35 minutes.

Would be interested in knowing if this could be done in a Bread Machine?

The bread was easy to make and smelled good while baking; however I wish the recipe would have included what kind of molasses to use. I've never used molasses in anything before. I used Blackstrap (because I had it sitting on the shelf) and it produced a very dark loaf with a dull appearance and somewhat bitter taste. The inside texture is nice, but it was a bit too moist at the prescribed bake time. I'm a novice at bread making, but I'm going to try this recipe again with light or medium mollasses, and/or corn syrup. I'll also work on the outside appearance to get a sheen on it. We'll see what happens. I did try this recipe again using light corn syrup. The result was a slightly sweeter taste and much lighter color as shown in the picture. I sprayed a heavy mist of water onto the loaf from the beginning of the bake cycle to about half way through to abtain a sheen on the crust. Additionally, I extended the bake time about 10 minutes to improve the internal texture.

It has a nice color, and it smells really good when it's baking. It was also fairly easy to make, as homemade bread goes. I would definitely try it again sometime.

Yum! There's something so comforting knowing that you've just made your own bread. My yeast may not have been fresh, as my dough didn't rise, however, it didn't seem to affect the taste at all. I added about a quarter cup of honey to the dough along with some caraway seeds. Before baking, I brushed the tops of the bread with egg white and sprinkled on more caraway. This was wonderful Holly and thanks!

My first rye bread. Turned out great and is the best rye I ever had. Made 2 medium sized round loaves.

Very nice rye loaf. You will get a workout when kneading this bread, but that's part of the fun, isn't it? I put caraway seeds on top, but I wish I had mixed them into the dough. I recommend letting this rise 3 hours on the first rise and at least two hours in the bread pan.

This bread is truely fab! - I add caraway seed to the mix for that added touch of rye - I also add a little more rye flour for a denser bread.

This is probably the best rye bread recipe I've tried. Very "European" in taste and texture, the molasses gives it just the right touch. I WILL be making this bread again!

very nice bread, but it is missing caraway, I added 1 tsp and it turned out great.

yum! This bread was sweeter than expected, but I am happy with my results!! MY loaves are much darker in color than the recipe photo provided making me think that the flavor may be due to me using a dark molasses. yum!

What a good bread! Based upon the suggestions, I did reduce the molasses to 1/4 cup. I used dark, and I could taste the bite.. it was yummy, but more would have been excessive. I let the dough rise for 2 hours, punched it down, and then let it rise for another 2 hours. Then, I rolled the dough out and filled it with homemade thousand island dressing, corned beef, sauerkraut and swiss cheese. I braided the dough over the stuffing and baked it for 45 minutes.. it turned out fantastic. Lots of flavor, the whole thing was a hit with my entire family!

Not good. I wanted bread, not candy. As I was pouring the molasses I thought "this seems like a lot", but I had never made rye bread before. Well, I will try again, but certainly not with this recipe.

I tried this in my bread machine and all I can say is "WOW!" I bake it on Basic setting and lessen the time by 17 minutes. Portion selection were for 12 servings. I will defnitely suggest this recipe.

Too much molasses. Perhaps it's a typo?

This is fabulous. Great for those who don' care for the version with caraway.

The texture of this bread is nice, soft and moist. I substituted some of the rye flour with whole wheat flour because I wanted a lighter loaf. But my bread is way darker than the photo posted by MARBALET. Also, the molasses taste is very strong, and I used 1/3 cup. I think next time I'll use dark corn syrup or maybe just a tablespoon or so of molasses. My dough doubled very quickly, and so did the shaped loaves, way less than the 1 1/2 hours listed. Will make this again, with a couple of changes.

I bake bread all the time, and after two tries at this recipe, it still didn't work out for me. The dough was sticky and dense. It wasn't like the rye I'm used to at all.

I cute this recipe in half and made two bread bowls out of it for a dip I made. These were wonderful bread bowls and I will make it again!

I did not care for this.

Very Simple and very delicious. I made several using the exact measurements and ingredients. However I did try 3 diferent grades of Molasses for a slightly differend flavor and I found it best baked for 30 minutes giving greatest texture.

I halved this recipe & mixed it in my bread maker. After kneading & shaping I put it on a cookie sheet to raise. I think it turned out kind of flat & dense. Next time I will put it in a bread pan. The flavor was great, but the texture was a little off. My fault, I am sure.

Sorry to say that this recipe didn't work for me at all.

Made a wonderful Rye bread & was perfect for rubins. We used dark rye flower so the loaf was darker. Will do again!

No rye taste whatsoever, even with all that rye flour, completely overwhelmed by the molasses. Heavy dense sweet loaves, this is definitely not sandwich bread.

I guess I was expecting more of a black savory rye bread. The molasses imparts a sweetness that I didn't expect or like. The bread was VERY heavy and almost too moist inside - even after cooking an additional ten minutes.

I served this bread with the Cucumber Sandwiches on this sight---was a really big hit! The dough is very, very stiff, and I found it hard to knead. It also takes a lot longer to rise, so be patient. I baked this bread in my Pampered Chef mini loaf pan, and the loves turned out beautifully! If you are baking just a round loaf, make sure you bake it long enough; mine wasn't done in the center. This sweet, dark brown bread would be great with a bratwurst, mustard, and saurkraut!

I agree with some of the other reviewers that the molasses flavour is quite strong, really overpowers anything else. It also makes the bread quite dark, not at all how it appears in the picture. A decent result but not to my liking, I will be trying a different recipe next time.

Maybe it was the molasses. The loaf was dark, heavy, and bitter. On my first attempt it wouldn't rise. So I doubled the yeast for the second attempt. That helped but it wasn't nearly risen enough. I baked it anyhow just to test the flavor. It was not to my liking. I'll be looking for another rye recipe.

Great recipe, very good rye bread. My family loved the molasses flavor, but it made 2 small loafs. My intention was to make bread for sandwiches. I would combine it into one large loaf next time. It was a little sweet for me. Maybe I'll cut back on the molasses a little next time as well.

Came out great. I added Caraway seeds. Brushed an egg before baking and sprinkled everything bagel seasoning, fennel and Caraway seeds. I baked at 375 but lowered to 350 to bake longer without fear of burning. I'd probably cut molasses down to one tablespoon at most. I don't care for the recipes that have you add cocoa powder, coffee, and molasses. That tastes like mud. It's like mixing any old colors on the color wheel. This would be best with a fried egg for breakfast rather than corned beef. I've been baking bread for decades, but not always successfully. So, when it comes out edibly, I'm delighted.

This is very similar to my family's recipe, passed down for generations. My great aunt made it without molasses, my grandmother with. Both used potato water to pre-start the yeast. We make this every year for the family Christmas gathering.

didn't rise at all.