{"slug":"easy-overnight-danish-rye-bread","collection":"michael","is_recipe":true,"visibility":"public","title":"Easy Overnight Danish Rye Bread (Rugbrød)","description":"Foolproof overnight Danish rye bread made with instant yeast — no sourdough starter required. Dense, seedy, and perfect for smørrebrød.","body_md":"\nMakes one 13-inch loaf, approximately 26 slices. Total time includes 9½ hours of overnight rest.\n\n## Special Equipment\n\n- Stand mixer with paddle attachment\n- Pullman pan with lid (33 x 10cm / 13 x 4 inches)\n\n## Ingredients\n\n### For the Soaker\n\n- 375g (13¼oz) 7-grain hot cereal mix (such as Bob's Red Mill 7 Grain Cereal), or rye chops — see Notes\n- 142g (5oz) raw sunflower seeds\n- 152g (5½oz) raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)\n- 71g (2½oz) flax seeds\n- 613ml (2½ cups) cold water\n\n### For the Dough\n\n- 248g (8¾oz) dark rye flour, plus more for dusting the pan and loaf\n- 295g (10½oz) bread flour\n- 1 tsp instant dried yeast\n- 353ml (1½ cups) cold water\n- 4 tsp salt\n- 80g (¼ cup) molasses\n- Butter, for greasing the pan\n\n## Instructions\n\n### The Night Before\n\n1. **Make the soaker:** Combine the cereal mix, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, and cold water in a medium bowl. Stir to combine, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit at room temperature overnight, 8 to 12 hours.\n\n2. **Make the dough:** In a separate bowl, combine both flours, the yeast, and the cold water. Stir to combine as best you can — the mixture will be very thick — then knead briefly with your hands until you have a cohesive mass. The dough will feel thick and clay-like. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature overnight, 8 to 12 hours.\n\n### Baking Day\n\n3. **Prepare the pan:** Grease a 13 x 4-inch Pullman pan and lid generously with butter, then dust with rye flour, including the inside of the lid. Set aside.\n\n4. **Mix:** Combine the soaker, the flour mixture, salt, and molasses in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low for 2 to 3 minutes until thoroughly combined, scraping down the sides as needed. Increase to medium and mix for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. The mixture will be quite sticky.\n\n5. **Shape and rise:** Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sift a thin layer of rye flour over the surface. Slide the lid on and let rise at room temperature for 1½ to 3 hours, until the dough is about 1.5cm (½ inch) from the top of the pan. Rise time depends on your dough temperature and kitchen warmth.\n\n6. **First bake (covered):** Preheat the oven to 450°F. Bake with the lid on for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 400°F and continue to bake, covered, for another 15 minutes.\n\n7. **Second bake (uncovered):** Remove the pan from the oven and carefully slide off the lid. Reduce heat to 325°F and bake uncovered for 45 minutes more.\n\n8. **Final bake:** Turn the loaf out onto a metal cooling rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Return the bare loaf to the oven and bake for a final 10 minutes to firm up the crust.\n\n9. **Cool:** Remove from the oven and cool completely before slicing, at least 3 hours. For the best texture, let the fully cooled loaf sit overnight at room temperature, loosely wrapped in foil, before slicing. The bread improves significantly after a day.\n\n## Notes\n\n- **Rye chops:** Rugbrød is traditionally made with rye chops — uniformly cut pieces of rye grain, available from King Arthur Flour. Because they can be difficult to find, a whole-grain hot cereal mix such as Bob's Red Mill 7 Grain Cereal makes an excellent substitute, containing a variety of coarsely milled whole grains including rye.\n\n## Storage\n\nKeeps at room temperature for 3 to 5 days, loosely wrapped in foil. Slice before freezing for longer storage.\n\n*Source: Kristi*\n","draft":false,"servings":"26","prep_time":"15 minutes","cook_time":"1 hour 30 minutes","total_time":"11 hours 15 minutes","source_name":"Kristi","created_at":"2026-03-23T05:00:00Z","categories":["Bread"],"tags":["Bread","Danish","Nordic","Overnight","Rye Bread","Scandinavian","Seeds","Vegetarian","Whole-Grain"],"methods":["Baked"],"themes":["Nordic","Vegetarian"],"ingredients":[{"section":"For the Soaker","items":["- 375g (13¼oz) 7-grain hot cereal mix (such as Bob's Red Mill 7 Grain Cereal), or rye chops — see Notes","- 142g (5oz) raw sunflower seeds","- 152g (5½oz) raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)","- 71g (2½oz) flax seeds","- 613ml (2½ cups) cold water"],"parsed":[{"raw":"- 375g (13¼oz) 7-grain hot cereal mix (such as Bob's Red Mill 7 Grain Cereal), or rye chops — see Notes","qty":375,"unit":"g","item":"7-grain hot cereal mix, or rye chops — see Notes"},{"raw":"- 142g (5oz) raw sunflower seeds","qty":142,"unit":"g","item":"raw sunflower seeds"},{"raw":"- 152g (5½oz) raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)","qty":152,"unit":"g","item":"raw pumpkin seeds"},{"raw":"- 71g (2½oz) flax seeds","qty":71,"unit":"g","item":"flax seeds"},{"raw":"- 613ml (2½ cups) cold water","qty":613,"unit":"ml","item":"cold water"}]},{"section":"For the Dough","items":["- 248g (8¾oz) dark rye flour, plus more for dusting the pan and loaf","- 295g (10½oz) bread flour","- 1 tsp instant dried yeast","- 353ml (1½ cups) cold water","- 4 tsp salt","- 80g (¼ cup) molasses","- Butter, for greasing the pan"],"parsed":[{"raw":"- 248g (8¾oz) dark rye flour, plus more for dusting the pan and loaf","qty":248,"unit":"g","item":"dark rye flour","prep":"plus more for dusting the pan and loaf"},{"raw":"- 295g (10½oz) bread flour","qty":295,"unit":"g","item":"bread flour"},{"raw":"- 1 tsp instant dried yeast","qty":1,"unit":"tsp","item":"instant dried yeast"},{"raw":"- 353ml (1½ cups) cold water","qty":353,"unit":"ml","item":"cold water"},{"raw":"- 4 tsp salt","qty":4,"unit":"tsp","item":"salt"},{"raw":"- 80g (¼ cup) molasses","qty":80,"unit":"g","item":"molasses"},{"raw":"- Butter, for greasing the pan","item":"Butter","prep":"for greasing the pan"}]}],"servings_int":26,"qc":{"status":"passed","last_checked_at":"2026-07-30T01:57:22.275141Z","checked_by":"claude-code","standard_version":"2026-07-29","findings_count":0,"stale":false}}