New York Deli-Style Rye Bread Recipe (2024)

Oil? Honey? Sacrilege. The best deli rye is simply bread flour, rye flour, water, sourdough starter, caraway, and salt. Nothing else. I use the Bread Bible proportions of 230 grams bread, 95 grams rye, 232 grams water, 360 grams 50% hydration sourdough, 14 grams caraway, and (here I make a change) 5 grams salt. It works every time.

I don't have a standing mixer. Is there a "by hand" version of this recipe?

Nobody cares what you call this bread. Deli, New York Deli, New York Style Deli, or just plain Simple and Easy Rye with (or without) caraway seeds. Or even better: Julia's Rye! Why fight or argue about the name...semantics! I have made this numerous times according to the instructions and it gets better every time. Love to bake it for my neighbors who know how to appreciate a good rye. You simply cannot go wrong with this one, NO MATTER WHAT YOU CALL IT.

Having been involved in the food inspection game in NYC and elsewhere for a number of years i had the opportunity to be in and out of numerous bakeries large and small, (think Levy's, Pechters both defunct and numerous neighborhood places in Brooklyn and the Bronx where "Jewish" rye was made. All used a sourdough starter and the dough was in most cases allowed to sit overnight to develop the proper sour.

Being a native Californian I'm sure I don't know from New York deli rye. But as the first rye bread I've ever baked, I enjoyed this loaf very much. It rose beautifully and makes great sandwiches. I added poppy seeds and dill seeds to the caraway. A keeper for our house.

Some of us don't have the cabinet or kitchen space for a mixer with a dough hook or don't bake that often to justify its purchase. If a baking recipe strikes my fancy how about telling me how to make this if I just use basic kitchen implements and plain own elbow grease to do the mixing.

We made this and were very happy with the outcome! We doubled the caraway seeds and used dark rye flour (that's what we had) and it came out as a lovely loaf! I don't understand in Step 5 the fussy two rimmed baking sheets with one lined with foil. Not having two equal sized sheets we improvised, but I don't get why you can't just put the loaf on a single sheet. It would be nice if recipes explained their reasoning for an unusual step like this.

I made this dough, fully expecting to be in for the night, but got a last minute invitation I couldn't pass up...so into the fridge it went. Got home really late -- no way I'm making bread now! -- so I punched it down and stuck it back in the fridge. Next morning I let it warm up to room temp, shaped it, proofed and then baked it. I ended up with a wonderful loaf, softer than expected, with great crumb, and much taller than the one in the photo above. God, I love bread.

Um, no it doesn't say it's completely different. It says that it is traditional deli rye, which is still made today and used in some delis but is likely not what you get if you buy rye bread in a supermarket or in delis that use mass produced bread. It is absolutely still made today and many people really like it so not sure where the "for good reason" comes from. People who don't care for the taste of actual rye bread, will, indeed, be disappointed with the recipe

Made this in the bread machine. Left out the optional caraway seeds but added raisins. Turned out very well making a 1.5 lb loaf in 4 hours.

I believe it keeps it from getting a hard, thick bottom from baking faster than the rest of the loaf. I use this method with roasts because I have a convection oven with the heating element at the bottom of the oven.

The headline of this recipe is crazily misleading. This is NOT "deli rye." The article states that it is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from deli rye because it includes much more rye flour --- and for sure it looks nothing like deli rye, particularly the crust. A reader who looked to this recipe to make deli rye at home would be egregiously disappointed. It seems to be an exercise in food anthropology, helping you make something that isn't made anymore, quite possibly for good reason.

Making sour rye is less messy if you make only the amount of pre-ferment necessary and mix the dough in the same bowl--no waste or mess. (Pyrex makes mixing bowls with lids.) Here is Greenstein's rye sour recipe scaled to make 2 cups: Starter--38 grams rye flour, 120 grams water, tiny pinch yeast, dash of minced onion, some crushed caraway if desired. Stage 1: 60 grams water, 113 grams rye flour. Stage 2: 60 grams water, 75 grams rye flour. Stage 3: 60 grams water, 75 grams rye flour.

I used my breadmaker and adjusted quantities appropriately. I also used some whole wheat flour to add fiber, texture and nutrition. It came out perfect and delicious.

This has become my favorite rye bread. One small modification is that I add 2 tablespoons of vital wheat gluten and 2.5 teaspoons of instant yeast. After the second rise I prefer the egg wash over the vegan cornstarch, although the starch achieves a comparable glaze. I just didn’t like the extra step to cook down the corn starch. I don’t have the patience or motivation to keep a sour dough starter, I do believe the sour dough would add the authentic tangy flavor of old school NYC Deli rye.

The controversy in the comments is amusing. I like sourdough too and love a sourdough rye. But this is a yeast risen rye bread. Both kinds of bread are good! The recipe is very forgiving. I used a bit more rye and so had to add more water when I kneaded it by hand. Didn't have caraway so I sprinkled it with Maldon and fresh rosemary and used a hearty olive oil rather than canola. Delicious!

Easy and delicious. A real keeper.I gave it some steam in the beginning and got a nice crust, otherwise followed the recipe. A few more seeds next time, but I’d stick with the basic recipe.

I baked this in a cast iron pot (with the lid on) at 425 for 40 minutes. (The pot was pre-heated in the oven so it was already scorching hot when the bread went in). The dough rests on parchment paper for final rise & dough + paper are easily maneuvered into the hot pot.Wonderful results! Excellent crust and bread texture. I skipped the cornstarch glaze, no need. The problem is the recipe only makes one loaf.

For those asking about how to make w/o a stand mixer.thoroughly mix the dry flours with a whisk. Meanwhile you have dissolved the yeast in a bit of warm (not hot) water and a pinch of the flour mixture. Once the yeast begins to froth or bubble, mix with dry ingredients by hand until 90% or more mixed. Set it in a bowl, covered in a warm spot and wait for it to rise. Then fold it by lifting the edges one at a time folding them in on themselves. Rest, repeat, rise, Bake. The longer the better.

Very pleased. Followed to a T except I cooked on a baker’s stone. Came out perfect. My go-to bread now for sure.

Moist but not sticky? after an extra 1/2 cup of flour, it was still very sticky, so I gave up, and it's rising now. Oh well! I bet it's still delicious. Home. Baked. Bread.Question: Anyone know the purpose of stacking two rimmed sheets? I don't have a matched pair to nest. Is it important to have an extra layer of metal beneath when it bakes?

Anyone know how to bake this in a steam oven?

This is one of the best breads I’ve made. It is relatively quick, easy and now a family favorite. It’s frequently a foundation for dinner under cheese, eggs, veggies or salad.

I love this recipe because its simple, tasty and works! I baked it in a cast iron pot at higher temperature to develop the crust. Loved the result.

Use the weight measurements, not the volume. Yes, this recipe's amounts don't match standard conversions for flour. I suspect NYT used packed cups. I went with standard volume to weight conversions like others suggested and the dough was a soggy, sticky mess. By the time I got it to where it needed to be, I'd probably added enough additional flour to get to the listed weights in the recipe, if not more.Took forever to fix, but eventually turned out to be a pretty decent loaf of bread.

Love this bread! Baked in a ceramic pot and it came out with good crust and excellent crumb. Will make again and again and again....

I usually make the Breadtopia sourdough rye but I needed to make a rye fairly quickly. This did the trick! Sourdough is great but sometimes, you just don't have the time. I baked it in a bread tin and it was much appreciated by all. I think if I made it again, I would let the active yeast bloom in water first.

Hi all, this is a great recipe. I used more hydration (345g of water, 75%) and no honey or sweetener. I wanted a sandwich bread so I just folded the dough four times over two hours then baked in in a loaf pan. It made a wonderful tight crumb loaf that toasts up beautifully. If I wanted a country loaf with an open crumb, I would have made a poolish preferment in the fridge overnight. But I made this in an afternoon and it's a fabulous loaf.

I made this bread but it tasted a bit too sweet. I'm wondering if I could use less honey.