Rye bread. There are so many variations. Pumpernickel, rugbrød, all-rye, flatbreads. Jewish rye has many variations: Russian, Polish, and Scandinavian. In Sweden, their preferred rye bread is sweet rye bread with spices. This is my recipe for sourdough limpa bread.
I love rye flour; it has a fantastic taste when baked. Even rye cookies are awesome. My favorite sourdough bread has 20% whole-grain rye flour, and the most perfect 100% rye bread is my danish rye bread.
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The dough in this sourdough limpa bread recipe
Vitals
| Total weight | 1385 grams |
| Pre-fermented flour | 8.8% |
| Hydration | 67.2% |
| Yield | One large loaf |
The dough composition
The flour in this limpa bread is 100% sifted rye flour, called light rye flour in the states.
I developed this bread with enriched dough. It contains both butter, milk, and syrup. The salt content is a bit above 2%, which brings out the taste of the rye flour.
The inoculation is shy of 20%, which should give the bread a fermentation time of around 5-6 hours if you have an active sourdough starter.
The dough’s hydration is around 67%, and while that seems pretty low, for a 100% rye bread, that is pretty fluid, sticky stuff. That is why you bake this bread in a pan.
| Weight | Ingredient | Baker's Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 620g | light rye flour | 100% |
| 430g | skim milk (0.5%) | 69.4% |
| 50g | butter, salted | 8.1% |
| 145g | light syrup | 23.4% |
| 120g | sourdough starter (100% hydration) | 19.4% |
| 13g | salt | 2.1% |
| 2g | cardamom | 0.3% |
| 2g | ginger, powdered | 0.3% |
| 1g | cloves, ground | 0.2% |
| 2g | bitter orange peel, powdered | 0.3% |
If you want to play around with the formula, change the quantity, the hydration, or other vital stats, you can do so here in my Bread Calculator.
The conclusion of this sourdough limpa bread recipe
While this bread is a 100% rye bread, some key factors set it apart:
- The bread is not sour but a tad sweet. That’s both due to the sifted rye and the added syrup.
- The crumb is wonderfully soft and full of small holes. Quite unlike the usual dense crumb, you get from rye.
- The crust is dark and super caramelized. Not crunchy like everyday rye bread.
Sourdough limpa is a beautiful bread. It’s perfect with a homemade jam or jelly.
This bread pairs great with a generous layer of butter, which we call “teeth butter” in Denmark because you can see teeth marks after you take a bit. I love it with cheese.
It’s great bread; make it one of your staples.
Please share this recipe for sourdough limpa bread on social media
This is my recipe for sourdough limpa bread. If you like the recipe please consider sharing it with like-minded bread lovers on social media.
If you make it and post it on Instagram, please tag me as@foodgeek.dkso I can see it. That would make me very happy.
Sourdough Limpa Bread
Course: All
Cuisine: Swedish
Keyword: limpa, rye bread, sourdough
Course: All
Cuisine: Swedish
Keyword: limpa, rye bread, sourdough
Servings: 1 limpa bread
Calories: 3319kcal
Author: Sune Trudslev
Nutrition Facts
Sourdough Limpa Bread
Amount Per Serving (1 limpa bread)
Calories 3319Calories from Fat 585
% Daily Value*
Fat 65g100%
Saturated Fat 35g219%
Sodium 5687mg247%
Carbohydrates 626g209%
Fiber 75g313%
Sugar 140g156%
Protein 85g170%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe makes delicious Swedish rye bread with syrup and wonderful spices. It's a delight.
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Equipment
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Ingredients
- 620 g light or white rye flour sifted rye flour
- 430 g milk
- 50 g butter
- 145 g corn syrup golden syrup/light syrup
- 120 g sourdough starter
- 13 g fine salt
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon bitter orange peel
Instructions
Mix the dough
To a bowl add: 620g sifted rye flour, 13g salt, ½ tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp cardamom, 1 tsp ginger, 1 tbsp ground bitter orange peel.
Alternatively, use the zest of an entire orange.
Mix it up so that everything is well dispersed.
Pour 50g melted butter into 430g milk.
Pour it into the flour mixture.
Then add 145g corn syrup or golden syrup.
And lastly add 120g sourdough starter. Grown to its peak.
Mix until the dough is thoiroughly mixed.
Fermentation
Put the dough in a pan sprayed with nonstick spray and let it proof until it’s grown by 50%.
Put it somewhere warm and keep an eye on it. It took my dough about 5 hours, but you should monitor the growth instead of using a set time.
Bake
When the dough is ready, turn on your oven to 190°C/375°F.
When the oven is hot, add the pan to the oven.
Bake for about 90 minutes or until a probe thermometer shows 99°C/210°F when put into the centre of the dough.
If you'd like a darker crust, you can remove the bread from the pan about 1 hour into baking.
You should take the bread out of the oven when it's done to your liking.
Put it on a wire rack to cool.
