Easier than it looks, this Gluten Free Marble Rye is as delicious as it is beautiful. It has a tight crumb that's perfect for sandwiches!
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I'm one quarter Irish (my grandma was Irish) and although I didn't really grow up eating a lot of Irish foods, I've always loved corned beef. And when I think of corned beef, my mind immediately goes to a corned beef sandwich. Then when I think of a corned beef sandwich, it automatically goes to rye bread. And when I think of rye bread, the one sandwich I think of most is a Reuben. See how my mind works?
It's like those books my kids used to love when they were little -- "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" where I'm the mouse and the cookie is corned beef! If you give Kim some corned beef, she's gonna wanna make a sandwich out of it, hahaha! To make a long story short, I wanted a Reuben so I made some gluten free marble rye.
I had never made marble rye before, let alone gluten free marble rye. But I did make gluten free "mock" rye bread because, as you know, rye flour also contains gluten so we can't have it. And rye bread is, naturally, made with rye flour. So I had to make something that tasted like rye, or at least what our minds think of when we think of rye. And that starts with caraway seeds. Let's look at the rest of the ingredients you'll need, too.
Ingredients Needed for Marble Rye
- Kim's gluten free bread flour blend -- at this point, do you even need to ask if you can use a store bought blend? You already know what the answer will be, but if you're new here, a store bought blend just won't cut it. You won't get the same results. I wish that were the case and it would be so much easier on not just you, but me as well. The truth is, I hate making my own flour blends, haha! But I just suck it up and do it because I know I'll get the best results.
- Granulated sugar -- there's only a couple of tablespoons in this dough, so it's not a sweet dough at all. Just needs to be there to help feed the yeast and tenderize the dough.
- Kosher salt
- Yeast -- I always use this instant yeast (affiliate link). If all you have access to is active dry yeast, here's an article on how to substitute that in recipes calling for rapid rise or instant yeast.
- Milk -- Whole milk is what I use
- Butter
- Caraway seeds
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Molasses
How to Get The Flavor of Rye Without Rye Flour
Since I've already made a German style mock "rye" bread, I already found the best way to get the flavor of rye without the flour. The trick is to use caraway seeds, but to grind them in a spice grinder (affiliate link) into a fine powder. This powder gives us the taste of rye, or at least what we're used to tasting when we taste rye (caraway) without adding loads of seeds. But if you're a seeded rye lover, you can still add a tablespoon or two of seeds to the dough without overwhelming it with too many.
Flavoring and Shaping (It's Easier Than You Think!)
I never thought I'd be cutting into my first gluten free marble rye and seeing a perfect swirl of light and dark bread. I somehow thought it wouldn't work because it was just too darn easy to shape! You may have heard me mention Peter Reinhart before, but in case you don't know who he is, he's a very famous bread baker. He's written several cookbooks and also taught a few classes on Craftsy, all of which I've read and "attended" just to soak up any and all knowledge that I can about bread baking. He shows several techniques for shaping, but I prefer the swirl so that's what I chose to do.
Make the Dark Rye
Before shaping, we need to separate the dough and add a few things to make a dark rye. To start, scoop out roughly ⅔ of the dough and place it on a well-floured surface. Leave the other ⅓ of the dough in the bowl and add the molasses and cocoa powder and mix well. It sounds strange to add cocoa powder to savory bread, but trust me. This will NOT make the bread taste at all like chocolate. It's just for coloring.
Shape the Loaf
Remove this from the mixer onto your well-floured counter and briefly knead just to make it into a smooth mass. Do the same for the lighter dough. Flatten them out slightly and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap. Put it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. This will allow you to shape the bread without too much sticking, as this is a naturally sticky dough.
Remove the dough from the freezer and place each piece on a well-floured surface. Roll or pat the light dough into a rectangle about ½ to ¾-inch thick and wide enough to fit into an 8 by 4-inch loaf pan. Then roll or pat the dark dough into ¼ to ½-inch thick and place it on top of the other dough. Press to adhere (you don't have to worry about it not adhering because this is a stickier dough). Roll up, just like you would cinnamon rolls! Place the loaf into a greased 8 ½ by 4-inch loaf pan and cover with plastic wrap to rise a second time. Slash and bake and you've got yourself a superb loaf of gluten free marble rye bread that will go toe-to-toe with any gluten filled rye bread out there!
There's nothing standing between you and that deli sandwich you've been wanting for so long. With this Perfect Gluten Free Marble Rye, grab your corned beef or pastrami and get to it!
Perfect Gluten Free Marble Rye
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Fabulous Gluten Free Italian Bread dough
- 2 tablespoon ground caraway seeds
- 1 tablespoon whole caraway seeds, if desired
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions
- Add ground caraway seeds (and whole, if using) to the dry ingredients from the dough recipe. Mix the dough as instructed in the recipe directions and allow to bulk ferment until doubled in size, an hour or two. Refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, remove ⅔ of the dough and place it onto a well-floured counter. To the other ⅓, add the molasses and cocoa powder and mix completely. Dump this dough onto a well-floured counter. Knead each piece of dough until smooth and place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and freeze for 15-20 minutes. This will make the dough less sticky and easier to shape.
- Remove the dough from the freezer and roll or pat the light dough on a well-floured surface into a ½ to ¾-inch thick rectangle wide enough to fit into an 8½ by 4-inch loaf pan. Roll or pat the dark dough into a ¼ to ½-inch thick rectangle that's a little less wide. Place it on top of the light dough and press all around to adhere, using a rolling pin if need be.
- Roll up dough as tightly as possible, just like you would for cinnamon rolls. Place the loaf into a greased 8½ by 4-inch loaf pan, seam side down. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free area and proof until nearly doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 450° F and place a shallow pan on the bottom rack.
- Using a lame or sharp knife, slash the top of the dough in 5-6 places to about ½-inch deep. Place the loaf in the oven and pour 1 cup of very hot tap water into the shallow pan. Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce temperature to 400° F. Bake for another 30-35 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted into the center registers 200° F. If the bread is getting too dark on top, cover loosely with foil halfway through baking.
- Remove from oven and cool in pan 10 minutes. Turn out of pan and cool completely before slicing. Bread will keep at room temperature, well wrapped, for a few days. For longer storage, cut into slices and flash freeze on a baking sheet about one hour, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in a ziptop bag or sealed container. Frozen slices will last in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Technique adapted from Peter Reinhart's "Artisan Bread Making" on Craftsy.com
Gail says
My friend is gluten free I am not. I have been searching for tasty GF products but nothing hit the spot until I needed a rye bread for ruben sandwiches. Made a regular marble rye for those that could eat it and then made your bread flour blend marble rye. TAH DAH! Love, love, love your recipe. even my die hard gluten people loved it. I have since tried all your flour blends, they are marvelous. As far as cost of ingredients, well worth the money as it is as close to "regular" bread products as GF can get. You are a marvel and I thank you! I also made your brownies three ways- Amazing!
Kim says
Awe, so glad you're having great success with my recipes!!!!
Meredith says
Can this dough be made upto 6 days in advance like how the Italian dough states?
Ann Aten says
Hi.
I wanted to know if this can be made into a round artisan loaf and if so, how.would you. do that?
Ann
Kim says
Yes! Check my mock rye bread recipe. It's not marbled, but it's just as good as this one!
Earlene says
I had my doubts the whole time I was making this because the dough was so wet! It was like rolling layers of jello, and once rolled, I had a bit of a crisis getting it into the pan. I ended up rolling it onto some parchment, putting the pan on top and flipping it over. It hung up on the sides and deflated as it plunked into the pan…. I pushed the dough into the pan with a spatula and let it rise. But wow! Once baked it looked just like yours! As an afterthought, I should have frozen the loaf to get it in the pan. Thanks for this beautiful recipe.
Kim says
Yay!!!! So glad you enjoyed it 😊
Ana Nogueira says
I am so excited for this bread!! I made it into a party loaf for my annual st Patty's day leprechaun party (everything is served mini sized) and it looks AMAZING! I'm having a mini Sammy now and OMG ITS AMAZING!!! Hoping to freeze the rest. I'm new to being gluten free in an attempt to reduce inflammation and it's working. I'm also a much better baker with your recipes! Even my gluten loving bread addicted partner agrees I bake amazing breads now better than when I baked gluten breads! So happy thank you!!! Would it freeze ok as a whole loaf to use in the near future when I can thaw the whole thing then slice it?
Jennifer Eaton says
Amazing…we can have rye bread again. My patty melt go to.
Suzanne Scheib says
Kim your recipes have changed my life! I have been baking gluten free for 30 years, and my husband says that nothing I have ever made compares to the pizza, rolls, and breads I make now that I am using your recipes. What a blessing you are- thanks for all of the work you put in to learn how to perfect these recipes!
Kim says
Awe, thank you so much, Suzanne! I truly appreciate your support in my blog and love being able to share my recipes with anyone who wants them 🥰
Emily says
We made this today and it is amazing! Followed the recipe exactly except we forgot to score the bread but it still turned out well, just a little misshapen. We made it into Reubens and they were so good! The bread doesn't disintegrate like most GF sandwich bread which is amazing. The only giveaway that it's GF is that it's not quite as "bendy" as glutinous bread, but that doesn't affect the taste or texture at all. We're excited to make more of your recipes!
Isobelle says
Hi Kim,
Made this recipe and it came out beautifully! I'm glad you mentioned that some people had back luck with pea protein. I too find it hit or miss and made sure to use the whey isolate for this recipe.
The bread had a lovely swirl, crunchy outside, and soft inside. My pan was slightly larger than what you suggest but that will be remedied by the next time I make this.
If this was just a mock-rye and not a mock-marbled rye, would you still need to do the proof, overnight proof, and then proof once in the bread pan? Or, could you just do a proof in the bread pan and then bake?
Thanks so much for the wonderful recipes!!
Kim says
It will still require two proof times, plus the overnight stay in the fridge (or at least six hours). The only bread on my site that doesn't require two proofs is the English muffin bread. 🥰
Isobelle says
Thanks so much, Kim! I was trying to avoid the Kneading since it adds an undetermined amount of flour to the bread . I'm a science and baking geek 🙂
Again, appreciate your continued experiments to perfect the foods we all miss!!
Jennifer Martin says
Hi Kim,
I wanted to thank you so much for your recipes! I discovered your website about 6 months ago after realizing that gluten has been the cause of a horrible skin rash that I have been dealing with for years. Your recipes have been life changing! I can't even list all of the ones I've tried, but off the top of my head the Focaccia Bread and the Pretzel bites are to die for! I can't wait to try this marble rye. Looks amazing! I actually tried a gluten free herbed popover recipe from another site and they flopped. I decided to try again using your flour recipe and they were PERFECT!!! I read from one of your much earlier posts that you might be trying to master Bao Buns. I'm hoping that's still on your radar as they are my weakness and I miss them more than anything. It used to be pizza until I made your awesome Pan Pizza! YUM! My husband, who is not gluten free, is also thrilled that I found you :-). THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!
Kim says
Awe, I'm so glad you've been finding success with my recipes and flour blends!! And yes, bao buns are still on my long list of things to tackle 😍
Mary says
That is the best looking loaf of bread I’ve ever seen! Can’t wait to try it!
Kim says
Thanks so much, Mary!!