This traditional no-knead Russian black bread is hearty and delicious! Made mostly with dark rye flour plus a little bread flour to add a chewy texture, it's great for everything from toast to sandwiches. The dark color comes from molasses, espresso powder, cocoa powder, and brown sugar, while fennel seeds add a punch of authentic flavor.
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Traditional Russian Black Bread from Scratch
I don't know about you, but I'm a sucker for hearty rye breads. The more dense + flavorful, the better! Which is why I love this authentic Russian black bread, made from dark rye bread, darkened with molasses, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and brown sugar.
And possibly best of all, this bread doesn't need to be kneaded! Borodinsky bread contains a lot of rye flour, and it isn't as elastic as other types of bread, so it takes a little longer to rise (around 4 hours instead of 1 or 2 hours).
Old-Fashioned No-Knead Dark Rye Bread
This Russian black bread recipe was inspired by my German black bread with sourdough, which I fell in love with while growing up in Germany. The main difference is that this Borodinsky bread contains more rye flour and just fennel seeds, while Schwarzbrot has caraway seeds and anise seeds mixed into the dough.
Hungry for more rye bread recipes? I've got loads on the blog, including my family's favorite German brown bread with sourdough, which is also baked in a loaf pan.
Ingredients Needed: dark rye flour, water, bread flour, active dry yeast, salt, unsweetened cocoa powder, brown sugar, espresso powder, fennel seeds, and molasses.
Let's Bake Russian Black Bread!
Below is the process to make this recipe. For the full step-by-step directions and ingredient quantities, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1. Mix the rye flour and water in a bowl and let it soak for 20 minutes to hydrate the rye flour.
2. Whisk the bread flour, yeast, salt, cocoa powder, brown sugar, espresso powder, and fennel seeds.
3. Mix the dry ingredients, molasses, water and soaked rye flour.
5. Spread the dough in a loaf pan, and let it proof for 1 hour.
4. Let the dough rise for about 4 hours until it has doubled in size.
6. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, then cool for at least 4 hours.
Tips on Baking Authentic Hearty Bread
- Avoid Dry Bread: It's important to soak the rye flour in water before mixing the rest of the dough, to hydrate the rye flour and ensure the dough isn't too dry.
- Perfect Rise: By placing a baking dish filled with water in the oven, we're adding steam to allow the bread to rise before the crispy crust forms.
- Cool Completely: Cool the baked bread for at least 4 hours (or overnight) to prevent your slices from looking crumbly and gummy.
No-Knead Russian Black Bread without Sourdough
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups dark rye flour
- 2½ cups water
- 1 cup bread flour
- 2¼ teaspoon active dry yeast (one envelope)
- 1 Tablespoon salt (use non-iodized table salt or fine sea salt)
- 2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- ¼ cup molasses
- ½ cup warm water
Instructions
Prepare the Dough
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the rye flour and 2½ cups water. Let it sit for 20 minutes so the rye flour can hydrate.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together the bread flour, active dry yeast, salt, cocoa powder, brown sugar, espresso powder, and fennel seeds.
- Add the dry ingredients, molasses, and ½ cup warm water to the soaked rye flour. Mix it with a large spoon to combine everything until it’s a dense, sticky dough.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel, and let it rise for about 4 hours in a warm spot until it has doubled in size.
Bake the Bread
- Grease a 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan with olive oil.Spread the dough into the greased loaf pan, and use a silicone spatula to press the loaf into all edges of the pan and smooth the top. Place the whole loaf pan in a plastic bag and let it proof for 1 hour until it puffs up in size a bit. (If you cover it with plastic wrap or a towel, the dough will stick to it.)
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Fill a baking dish or baking tray with water and place it on the bottom rack of the oven. Place the loaf on a middle rack. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until the loaf has an internal temperature of around 200°F to 210°F.
- Let the loaf cool for 10 minutes, then remove the bread from the loaf pan. Let it finish cooling completely to room temperature on a cooling rack for at least 4 hours. Slice & enjoy!!
Notes
- Avoid Dry Bread: It's important to soak the rye flour in water before mixing the rest of the dough, to hydrate the rye flour and ensure the dough isn't too dry.
- Perfect Rise: I recommend letting your dough rise and proof in a warm draft-free spot, like in the oven (turned off) with the oven light on to provide a tiny bit of heat.
- Cool Completely: Cool the baked bread for at least 4 hours (or overnight) to prevent your slices from looking crumbly and gummy.
- Storing: Store your cooled bread wrapped in a paper bag or kitchen towel.
Leonard
The Russian Black Bread is absolutely delicious with great flavor from the rye and fennel seeds. I had some issues and was hoping for some insight and feedback. The dough rose a bit during the one hour fermentation in the loaf pan, but some of the dough stuck to the plastic bag. Should I have sprayed the bag with an oil spray to prevent sticking? When I baked the bread it rose up and over the edge and made it extremely difficult to remove from the loaf pan after the 10 minute rest time. The edges that rose over the pan baked into the loaf pan creating a hard crust that prevented the bread from coming out of the pan easily. Is there any way to prevent this? What did I do to cause this mess? Your insight and feedback is greatly appreciated.
Carissa Erzen
Hi Leonard, I'm so glad you enjoyed the flavor of this bread - it's one of my favorites! As for the dough sticking to the plastic bag, this dough is quite sticky so that can happen. I'd recommend brushing the top of the dough with a little oil, or tenting up the plastic bag so it's not directly touching the dough. As for the loaf baking over the edge of the pan, I'm so sorry to hear that! What size loaf pan did you use? That can happen with loaf pans that have shorter walls, unfortunately. If that does happen, I recommend using a sharp serrated knife to slice the baked bread away from the pan's edges to help release it. If the baked edges are totally covering the pan's edge, it might be worth slicing those edges of the bread off completely, so you can reach the pan's sides at a better angle to release the loaf. I hope that helps!
Leonard
Hi Carissa, Thank you for your feedback. It was my first time working with a dough that sticky, and it seriously commanded my full attention like a surgeon to have it release from the loaf pan. I used the Hocking Hook 9x5 glass loaf pan. It was my first time using it so it could have been my error.
Carissa Erzen
That's the same brand & size I've used for this loaf before - unfortunately sometimes dough has a strong-willed mind of its own!