Don’t know what to do with all that corned beef leftover from St. Patrick’s Day? Bake this gluten free mock rye bread and make a reuben! It has all the flavor and none of the gluten 🙂
You have no idea how long I had been craving a Reuben! Or maybe you DO know how long because you’ve been craving one as long as I have? Well, this bread is gonna cure that craving. It’ll give you all the feels of real rye bread without the rye. So you can enjoy that wonderful Reuben or deli sandwich once again!!
Making Gluten Free Mock Rye Bread
I originally made this bread in the summer of last year and I loved it. But me being me, it wasn’t absolutely perfect so I couldn’t leave well enough alone. I’m really glad I didn’t, though, because this newer version is SO much better. And softer!!
Here’s the wonderful thing about this dough. If you’ve made any of my breads before, you’ve probably already made a version of this dough before. And it’s SO simple!
The dough for this bread begins with the same dough that’s used for my Fabulous Gluten Free Italian Bread. It has become one of my favorite doughs ever and I’ve used it for so many different things. I’m notorious for creating several variations of breads from one dough, and I’m not about to stop any time soon.
Making Bread That Tastes Like Rye
Since we can’t have rye flour, I needed to come up with something that would make the rye bread at least taste like rye bread. I knew that caraway seeds are in seeded rye bread and that the taste of caraway, although not the true taste of rye, is something we all would associate with rye bread.
But seeds sprinkled throughout the dough would only give it a slight flavor, so I wanted to amp up that caraway flavor. I did that by putting some of the caraway seeds in a coffee/spice grinder and creating a caraway powder. That was added to the dough as it was mixing, along with the seeds.
In addition to the caraway powder and seeds, most dark rye breads or dark breads are made with cocoa powder. Who knew? Cocoa powder doesn’t make the bread sweet at all (it’s unsweetened). It just gives that slight dark color to the bread. You can leave it out, but to me it makes the bread that much more believably rye.
Just two tablespoons are added to the dough to obtain the color I’ve created, but feel free to leave it out for a light rye, or add a few more tablespoons if you want a true dark rye (this loaf is more like a German rye). If you do add more than two tablespoons, add that same amount more in milk.
Shaping the Dough
Shaping this dough into a large torpedo like shape is pretty simple. The dough is very sticky, but with a little extra gluten free bench flour (flour sprinkled liberally on the counter), it can be kneaded gently and briefly into a cohesive mass.
You can divide the dough into two and make two small loaves or make one very large loaf. I chose to make a smaller loaf and put the rest of the dough in the fridge for another day. See notes below for more info on keeping dough/bread.
Gently shape the dough into a torpedo (oval) like shape with your fingers. See my step-by-step video here on how I make my gluten free Italian bread for how to shape this bread as well. Of note, because of the cocoa powder in this dough, it is a slightly stiffer dough than the Italian bread.
Place on a piece of parchment on a baking sheet or pizza peel. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to proof (rise) in a warm, draft-free area until visibly larger in size but not doubled, approximately 1 hour (although this could take longer depending on the temperature of your space).
Baking Gluten Free Mock Rye Bread
Just like almost any loaf of gluten free bread I make, baking this rye bread is no different. Setting up a mock commercial oven and using steam for oven spring (rise) is so normal to most of us now, right?
On the middle rack of your oven, place a baking steel or baking stone. On the bottom rack, place a shallow pan, such as a broiler pan. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Once the oven has been preheated, slide the shaped loaf onto a baking steel or stone (a pizza peel or paddle is perfect for this job), parchment and all. Immediately pour one cup of very hot tap water into the shallow pan and close the oven door.
Bake for 30-35 minutes for a smaller loaf or 35-40 minutes for a larger loaf, or until hollow sounding when tapped.
Remove the bread from the oven (using the same pizza peel) and place it on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before slicing. The crust will soften as it cools. Look at how soft this bread is ⬇⬇⬇ Eeeek!!!!
The Reuben
I think my favorite sandwich ever has to be a Reuben. Any time they can make a sandwich gluten free by subbing the bread, I always look to see if they have a Reuben on the menu.
If you don’t know what a Reuben is, it’s a sandwich made with rye bread and is loaded with corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and Russian dressing. It’s usually grilled, but not always. I will eat it any way you give it to me and love every bite!
Slice leftover corned beef super thin. The best way to do this is to freeze it slightly so it’ll be easier to cut very thin. Slather both pieces of your gluten free mock Rye bread with Russian dressing. If you can’t find Russian dressing, you can make it from this recipe here (or substitute Thousand Island).
Pile the thinly sliced corned beef high, followed by a good amount of sauerkraut. The sauerkraut makes the Reuben, but if you really don’t like it you can still have a great sandwich. It just won’t be a true Reuben.
Finally, add a slice of Swiss cheese and top it all with the other slice of bread. Butter the outside of the bread and grill in a skillet or panini press (or leave it as is). Serve with a dill pickle spear.
What are you waiting for? Break out that leftover corned beef, bake a loaf (or two) of gluten free mock rye bread, and make a Reuben!!
Gluten Free Mock Rye Bread & Reuben Sandwich
Ingredients
- 3 cups plus 3 tbsp (453 g) Kim's gluten free bread flour blend***
- 2 tbsp plus 1 tsp (29 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp rapid rise yeast
- 2¼ cups milk
- 4 tbsp butter, melted
- 2 tbsp caraway powder (caraway seeds ground fine in coffee/spice grinder)
- 1 tbsp caraway seeds, if desired
- 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
THE REUBEN SANDWICH
- 2 slices gluten free mock rye bread
- 1-2 tsp Russian dressing
- shaved or thinly sliced corned beef
- 1 slice Swiss cheese
- 1-2 tbsp sauerkraut
- softened butter for spreading on bread slices
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the bread flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and spices/seeds. Using the dough hook, turn the mixer on low and slowly pour in the milk and melted butter. Increase speed to medium high and knead for 5 minutes.
- Remove the dough hook and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in a warm, draft-free area to proof (rise) for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight (the longer the dough is chilled, the easier it is to work with). Dough can be left in the refrigerator for up to one week.
- On baking day, remove the dough from the refrigerator and dump onto a heavily flour surface. Knead gently until somewhat smooth. The dough is very sticky and loose, so use a bench scraper to help. Cut it in half with the bench scraper if you want to make two smaller loaves. You can also place half of the dough back in the fridge to bake fresh bread on another day.
- Shape the dough into a torpedo shape and place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet or pizza peel (paddle). Cover with plastic wrap and place it in a warm, draft-free area to rise. It won't rise to double in size, just noticeably larger and puffy.
- While the dough is rising, place a baking steel or baking stone on the middle rack of your oven and a shallow pan on the bottom rack. Preheat the oven to 450°.
- When dough has fully risen, use the pizza peel (paddle) or the baking sheet and slide the dough onto the baking steel (or stone), parchment and all. Immediately pour one cup of very hot tap water into the shallow pan and close oven door. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped and is nicely risen. For a larger loaf (using all of the dough) add 5-10 minutes to the baking time. If the top is getting too dark before bread is done baking, cover lightly with aluminum foil.
- Remove the bread from the oven and place on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before slicing.
TO MAKE THE REUBEN:
- Spread two pieces of gluten free mock rye bread with Russian dressing (or Thousand Island). Top one slice with corned beef followed by sauerkraut and Swiss cheese. Place other piece of bread on top and spread with softened butter.
- Place buttered-sided down in skillet over medium-low heat. Spread other slice of bread with softened butter. Griddle sandwich until browned on one side and then flip over to brown the other side and allow cheese to melt slightly.
- Remove from skillet and serve immediately.
Notes
- To freeze, slice bread and place slices on parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Flash freeze until each slice is solid. Wrap slices in plastic wrap and place in large ziptop bag and freeze for 2-3 months. Remove individual slices and wrap in plastic wrap or place in small baggie to thaw. Frozen bread may be toasted from frozen, however.
Gluten Free Mock Rye Bread was originally posted on July 30, 2019 and has been updated with new pictures and a slightly revised recipe.
Been craving rye bread for 15 years! You are a gluten free genius ! Made it yesterday for SPD and it came out amazing. It was a very wet dough, almost looked like pudding. Got a great first rise- to the top of the bowl! A little hard to shape but followed your expert advice. My bread even looked like your pic! Everyone enjoyed it at dinner. Thank you Kim💚
Yay!!! So glad you liked it😊
This bread came out fantastic! The dough was SUPER wet and nearly impossible to work with, but by working on my non-stick rolling mat and using my plastic dough scraper I managed to shape it into something approximating a loaf on the parchment. I did only do half the dough–I’ll bake up the rest in a couple days so we’ll see how that goes. My loaf looked a little lumpy but puffed up nicely in the oven, and the center was soft and wonderful. The crust was not too thick, just added a nice chew. Truly a delicious treat! Thanks so much for the recipe.
I think you’re a genius! I haven’t been having trouble getting the mock Ryebread to turn out. I’m using the sourdough starter that your recipe. How much milk do I add? It seems like I’m adding too much.
You’re too kind, Donna 🥰
Typically, if you’re replacing with the sourdough starter, you’d replace the yeast with 140 grams of starter. Then you’d drop the flour amount in the recipe down by 70 grams and the liquid amount also down by 70 grams. That should be 383 grams of flour and 470 grams/milliliters of milk. If that still seems to be too much, you could try by dropping it down another 70 grams.
I don’t see any mention for high altitude does it make a difference in the outcome of the breads in your recipes
I live at sea level so my recipes aren’t normally developed for high altitude. However, here is an article that shows you how to convert recipes to high altitude baking: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking#:~:text=Changes%20at%20high%20altitude&text=Decrease%20by%205%2D8%20minutes,means%20products%20are%20done%20sooner.&text=Increase%20by%201%20to%202,for%20each%20additional%201%2C000%20feet.
Wondering why you didn’t use eggs in this recipe? Can I add them and if I did, any suggestions? I’m also making this in a bread machine.
Because I adapted my Italian bread and it was already perfect without the eggs. I would not suggest adding eggs because it will alter the recipe too much, and without testing it I have no idea how it’s going to change. I don’t have a bread machine myself, so I can’t say with certainty how this will work in a breach machine, but I know others have had success using one with some other breads of mine.
What brings the color to imitate the Rye?
Cocoa powder, molasses, and ground caraway seeds 🙂
I don’t see molasses listed as an ingredient in the recipe. Should it be?
I don’t put molasses in mine, but do use unsweetened cocoa powder, as well as caraway “powder”. If you’d like to add molasses, you could try subbing the sugar with molasses. At that small amount, it shouldn’t affect the texture as much (although you may need to use a little less milk (2 tbsp would be a good start).
Hope this helps 🙂
It does, thank you! I wasn’t sure since you mentioned molasses in the comments, but that makes sense. I am excited to try your recipe today for my 79-year-old mother who was recently diagnosed with Celiac disease. Rye bread has been a staple for her all these years.
I’d love to try this recipe, but I don’t have a baking steel or pizza stone. Are there any other options?? Love your recipes!!!!
Thanks, Deborah! You can use an overturned cookie sheet (or flat cookie sheet) to bake your bread on. Or you could also bake it in a Dutch oven with a lid. If you go the Dutch oven route, read my post on sourdough bread for how to use it: https://www.letthemeatgfcake.com/gluten-free-artisan-sourdough-bread/
This was my first time making your rye bread. I made it with sourdough. I replaced the yeast with sourdough starter as in you sourdough recipe. I decreased the water only a little bit as my starter is pretty dry. I added 1 tbsp psyllium husk because I think it gives some stretch to the dough. It is amazing.
Awesome, Pat! I haven’t gotten around to redoing this recipe with psyllium husk, but I’m glad to know it works great! Once I discovered it, I think I’ll end using it in most of my breads as I also really like the stretch it gives.
I am vegan. Do you think it would work to substitute soy milk for the milk?
I think so, Sindall 🙂
I have made this twice now, and it proofs wonderfully until I put it in the fridge. I lose all rise that it had and it is back to the original size. I kneed it and shape it and it barely rises even after a long time. The first time was only about half an inch. This time it’s about 2 inches. Is the fridge step necessary?
My dough always deflates at least 1-2 inches in the bowl when I put it in the fridge. It’s so hard to work with if it hasn’t been refrigerated. You can try, but I wouldn’t suggest it. Knead it, shape it, and let it rise until slightly larger and puffy (as the instructions say, it won’t even come close to doubling in size). Where it’s going to get most of its rise is in the oven. Make sure to add the hot water to the pan. That step is VERY crucial to getting it to rise in the oven (oven spring).
What can be substituted for the powder milk and whey isolate protein powders.
Hi, Michelle! I’ve heard from several readers who said they substituted pea protein for the whey protein isolate and had great results! As for the dry milk powder, try coconut milk powder. Here is a link: https://amzn.to/2KDChUQ
Hope this helps 😊
I made this bread yesterday and am pleased with the texture and sturdiness of it. It is not crumbly and I believe would hold up to a sandwich very nicely. I baked the whole batch in a 9″ x 5″ ceramic pan at 400 degrees for about 50 min. (internal temp. was 197). It didn’t raise as much as I would have liked but still was acceptable. I have a few questions about the written recipe. Should the milk be warmed? Also, I’m assuming that you add the spices with the dry ingredients? Thanks.
Hi, Susan! I’m so glad you were able to make the bread. I don’t know what it is, but I just can’t seem to get gf bread to rise very high when in a pan, so I choose to just make a freeform loaf, which rises up pretty nice and tall and is perfect for sandwiches. I’m so glad you caught that about the spices. I never added them into the instructions, so I just changed that and I do add them with the dry ingredients. And I personally don’t warm the milk. I used to always warm my milk, but found if I use fast acting (bread machine yeast), warming the liquid isn’t necessary.
Thanks, Susan 🙂
Hello;
Thank yo for this recipe. I’ve been making mock rye bread for years now. To take it over the top, along with the caraway (or fennel) and cocoa, try adding a tsp of dried orange peel. One can buy ground caraway or fennel online. It is easier to work with. Hope this is helpful.
Great idea! Thanks!!
Thanks for the recipe!:) I’m excited to try this variation. I’ll report back when I have baked a loaf.
I hope you like it, Susan! I loved it and have already made several Reubens 🙂