This is a serious loaf — dense, dark, and full of deep caraway-kissed flavor that gets better every single day it sits. Dark rye honors a rich European tradition, and this recipe deepens it with molasses and espresso. Slice it thin with good butter and smoked salmon. You'll feel like you earned it.
In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast caraway seeds 2–3 minutes until fragrant. Watch them — they go from perfect to burnt quickly. Remove from heat and let cool.
Combine bread flour, dark rye flour, and whole wheat flour. Add 350g water, molasses, and espresso powder. Mix until combined. Rye dough will be sticky, heavy, and will never smooth out like a wheat dough — this is completely normal. Rest covered 45–60 minutes.
Add starter, salt dissolved in remaining 25g water, and toasted caraway seeds. Mix by squeezing dough through fingers for 3–4 minutes. Do not expect this to feel like bread dough. It will feel more like very thick batter. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
Perform 3 sets of coil folds (wet hands, lift center of dough, let ends fold under) every 30 minutes. Rye has very little gluten development compared to wheat — the folds help organize structure, but the dough will remain soft and sticky throughout.
After folds, bulk ferment at 75°F for 3–5 hours until dough has risen about 60% and the surface looks domed and bubbly. Do not expect the same dramatic rise you see with wheat doughs. Rye ferments differently.
Wet your hands thoroughly — do not use flour. Turn dough onto a lightly wet surface. Using a bench scraper and wet hands, shape into a rough oval or round. The dough will be sticky; work quickly. Do not fight it.
Dust a banneton VERY generously with rice flour — more than you think you need. Place shaped dough seam-side up. Cover and refrigerate 8–12 hours. Rye sticks to everything, so be generous.
Preheat Dutch oven in a 475°F oven for 1 full hour. Flip dough onto parchment and score with shallow slashes — rye does not bloom dramatically, so deep scoring is not necessary. Bake covered 25 minutes at 475°F. Remove lid, reduce to 425°F, bake 25 more minutes until very dark brown. Now for the hardest part: wrap in a clean kitchen towel and rest on a wire rack 12–24 hours before slicing. The crumb needs time to set and the flavors deepen dramatically overnight. This loaf is worth every bit of patience.
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