Swedish Rye Bread

I’ve only made bread once before, so was nervous to try this, but I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out perfectly. Looking forward to toasting it tomorrow for skagenröra!

Hoping to make this as a duplicate for a bread my family used to love. Can anyone tell me, does the recipe call for 1 1/2 cakes of compressed fresh yeast, where the cake is 0.6 oz? So a total of 0.9 oz of yeast? The smallest I have seen is 2 oz cakes.

One of my favorite recipes that reminds me of holiday dinners at the parents and grandparents. The taste of a favorite Swedish rye bread growing up, made more hearty using coarse, stone-ground rye. I use 5-6 teaspoons of active dry yeast; rising seemed a bit slow using three teaspoons of active dry yeast (what one might substitute for the fresh yeast cakes).

So, I had a few substitutions since I only used what I had on hand. That said, turned out delicious! For a much softer, almost brioche-like texture, use all-purpose flour rather than bread flour (made both ways – as long as you’re not using it for sandwiches, we preferred it with A-P; bread flour made it firmer, better for sandwiches). I used butter instead of shortening 1 for 1 (both times) and it tasted fine. Enjoy!

Last week I went to a fish boil at the White Seagull In Fish Creek WI. The fish boil was wonderful and one of the breads on the table was Swedish Rye, made there. I absolutely loved it and based on these reviews this appears to be the same bread. I definitely will be trying it out!

Turned out perfectly! Tender and wonderful! Just like Grandma’s! Can’t wait to make it again!

Only change I made was to lessen the servings, making one loaf.

I haven’t made the bread yet I’m sure it’s great but I’ve lived in Sweden 9 years and have never been able to find molasses here. I usually get my father to bring it with him when he visits. Anyone know the secret to finding it here? because I’ve even visited American and English stores here with no luck and no one here seems to know what it is including my swedish husband and Swedish friends. We have sugar syrups but none of them taste like molasses. I have also never found corn syrup here either ??

Just like the bread we got from Betty’s pie shop in Two Harbors, Minnesota. Everyone loves it. Toasted, with peanut butter, is wonderful. I have made it many times.

This bread reminds me of the bread that my grandma use to make. I love it. I made no substitute. Thank you for the recipe

I halved the recipe, and use honey instead of molasses. Half brown sugar and half regular. Only had those ingredients. Still, the bread was very good. Thanks for the suggestion on the conversion of the yeast cake to 3 1/3 tsp yeast. I will try that next time. I used 2 1/4 tsp and the loaf was 2/3 of the size of a regular loaf (considering the 3 cups of bread flour). I only had to add some water to make the dough come together in a ball.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this bread. It is sweet and yummy. I took a loaf to work and it was a great hit. Even had a co-worker who hates rye bread give me compliment on this tasty loaf (she didn’t realize it was rye bread until I told her). It doesn’t taste like a traditional rye sandwich bread from the grocery store.

I have been searching for a real Swedish rye bread like Kavring, not like the chunky and heavy Rågbrod, but the slightly sweet bread that sings sweetly when topped with a little sill (herring) or Herrgårds öst. his recipe looks to be exactly what I was looking for.

This is wonderful bread. The recipe isn’t written as well as it could be. I had to use dry active yeast instead of fresh yeast (3 1/2 tsp) – added the rye flour first then about 5 1/2 cups of bread flour instead of the 6 cups called for. I used organic vegetable shortening (no transfat) but you could use lard or butter instead. This makes 3 large loaves and is too big and heavy for the kitchen aid to do the kneading. I made the dough and left it to rise over night. Shaped and formed the loaves and allowed it to rise for hours and hours the next day. It really is what Swedish Rye bread should taste like. Thanks – I am glad I made this.

this is awesome bread; i’ve been making this very recipe for about a decade now (about to make some more for thxgiving) and it’s a hit with everyone (well, except for an ex german boyfriend to whom rye was supposed to be dark and bitter). i do add a bit of caraway, fennel and orange zest, but just because i love that combo in rye. to all those who diss this bread as being too sweet & un-rye, well each country has their own version, and sweden’s happens to be on the light and sweeter side. having lived there for a couple of yrs, i can attest to the fact that this recipe is quite bang-on for that region of the world. and once it loses its superfreshness it makes amAzing buttery toast!

i made a large round out of this….at first i was worried that it wasn’t going to turn out because it took a long time to rise, but all good things are made for us to wait! i used whole wheat flour and made it 12 servings and threw it into my bread machine….fantastic results! loved the very slight sweetness to the crust. will make again!

Excellent result, this is a good recipe for a first try at rye. I made my usual substitutions- water for milk, white sugar as the sweetener, lard as the shortening, add caraway seeds to the dough. I use 3 rises and bake at 375 till the internal loaf is 190.

I rarely make a recipe exactly as printed. Characteristically, I made some changes to this recipe, but it was a fantastic base. I used active dry yeast instead (2 1/4 tsp for each fresh yeast cake). I also used white whole grain flour and substituted 1/2 cup whole grain oat flour for some of the wheat flour. I also added a tablespoon of wheat gluten because whole grains tend to produce less elasticity. I’ll probably increase the amount of rye flour next time and substitute agave nectar for the brown sugar (to lower the glycemic impact). This was an excellent and easy recipe.

Family loved it!! Sweet and tender.

I have not yet made this particular recipe, but I am sure it is exactly what I am looking for. Therefore, I rated it in advance. If I think differently after I make it, I will re-rate. I grew up on this bread and everyone in this part of the country (upper Michigan) is always looking for a good, sweet, rye bread. Not easy to find! Yes, it is awesome toasted and for the sandwich part??? I have found that it makes great ham sandwiches. I always try to find sweet rye bread around Christmas because it is so good with ham. I use a small amount of mustard and for some reason American sliced, processed cheese works very well and I usually don’t like that cheese much. It just goes good with this bread and ham. For those who can’t get cake yeast, use 1 1/2 packets of dry active yeast, or about 3 1/3 tsp. of dry active yeast. Just proof the yeast in the warm water before adding to dry ingredients. Thanks for the recipe.

I just browsed through the several recipes on this board for Swedish rye bread, and this particular recipe is the closest to the recipe that my Swedish mother used (from what I can recall. My wife has been making the bread for us for the past several years after being taught how by my mother. It is part of our Christmas tradition. I did note that one reviewer said the bread was “too sweet” for sandwiches–yes, but that is not the end purpose for Swedish rye. On Christmas morning, we have at my house the breakfast that I have had every Christmas of my 65 years–pork sausage with cream gravy over Swedish rye!