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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.

Two slices of black bread on brown paper next to the rest of the loaf.

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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).

Two slices of dense black bread on stacked grey plates on a red linen.

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.

Bowls of rye flour, bread flour, water, salt, brown sugar, and cocoa powder next to jars of molasses and espresso powder.

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.

A hand mixing rye flour and water with a large wooden spoon.

1. Mix the rye flour and water in a bowl and let it soak for 20 minutes to hydrate the rye flour.

A hand whisking flour, yeast, salt, cocoa powder, brown sugar, espresso powder, and fennel seeds in a bowl.

2. Whisk the bread flour, yeast, salt, cocoa powder, brown sugar, espresso powder, and fennel seeds.

A hand mixing dense, thick, brown bread dough in a large bowl.

3. Mix the dry ingredients, molasses, water and soaked rye flour.

A hand spreading brown bread dough into a loaf pan with a silicone spatula.

5. Spread the dough in a loaf pan, and let it proof for 1 hour.

A hand holding a towel over a mixing bowl filled with dense dark brown bread dough.

4. Let the dough rise for about 4 hours until it has doubled in size.

A baked dark brown bread loaf on a wire cooling rack.

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.