100% Rye Chocolate Brownies
If you’re interested in baking more with whole grain flours, these rye chocolate brownies are a great place to start. Made with 100% whole grain rye flour, they’re intensely chocolatey, rich, and wildly fudgy. The rye brings a malty depth that makes these some of my favorite brownies to date.
As many of you know, I love baking with whole grain flours. The added flavor and depth you achieve when pushing beyond all-purpose flour is endlessly exciting to explore. I’ve been working my way through a bag of whole grain rye flour over the past couple of weeks and wanted to share a recipe for these rich, flavorful, wildly fudgy dark chocolate brownies made with 100% whole grain rye flour. For brownies like these, I’d be hard pressed to go back to all-purpose flour.
I think there’s a lingering hangover from the leaden, hippie-style baking of the 1960s and 70s. There was a lot to admire from that era (an enthusiasm for local, whole foods, home baking), but we’ve come quite a way since then. Whole grain baking today can be very nuanced, unexpected, and deeply flavorful - with a range of wonderful textures - not just the heavy, earnest sort many people still associate with whole grain baking.
Making brownies with whole grain rye flour brings depth and maltiness that rides shotgun naturally to a good-quality bittersweet dark chocolate. It’s robust enough to stand up to it. Salt counterbalances everything, and you end up with brownies that will suck you straight into the chocolate vortex. And if you’ve never baked with rye flour before, brownies are a perfect place to start. You don’t need to worry about gluten development, hydration, or any of the other variables that give rye a bit of a temperamental reputation.
Rye Brownie Variations:
A few directions you can go with this brownie base:
- With nuts: add some chopped, toasted walnuts with the flour mixture - 1 1/2 cups or so. Classic match made in chocolate heaven here.
- With dark coconut sugar: I tested a batch of these brownies using coconut sugar (it was Big Tree Farms Organic Brown Coconut Sugar), just to see how the brownies would hold up to a less refined sweetener, also lower glycemic index. At first I was skeptical because the batter was much thinner and runnier - I just wasn’t feeling it. But they baked up beautifully, and the sweetness was rounder with noticeable caramel notes. This is a long way of saying, if I happen to have the coconut sugar on hand the next time I bake these, I’d absolutely use it. That said, tthe version with dark brown sugar (cane), is excellent as well.
If I had a bakery, I’d do the coconut sugar version with 100% rye flour, and 70%+ chocolate, and not skimp on the salt. That’s my brownie.
Step by Step: How to Make Rye Chocolate Brownies
One of the great things about these brownies is that there's no need to get a big mixer out. You basically combine the chocolate and butter in a heat-proof bowl (pictured below), and stir it together until it's nice and smooth.
You combine the eggs, sugar, and vanilla in another bowl, and the flour and salt in a third.
You fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, and then sprinkle it with the flour. You can see what it should look like at this stage in the photo above.
Keep folding the ingredients together with a spatula or wooden spoon until it looks something like the above photo. And then transfer the batter into the prepared baking dish.
Here's what they should look like after baking and cooling (below). I highly recommend letting them rest for a few hours, more on that below.
Brownie Storage
Ideally, allow these to cool out on the counter and then transfer to a refrigerator overnight. You can eat them shortly after baking, but they really hit all the right notes after they’ve cooled and set. These brownies also freeze incredibly well. I like to freeze them individually on a parchment-lined baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag.
More Rye Recipes
And if these brownies make you even more rye curious, here are some other recipes to explore.
- Rye Crepes
- Swedish Rye Cookies
- How To Make a Sourdough Starter (with Rye Flour)
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100% Rye Chocolate Brownies
For these brownies, use a bittersweet chocolate in the 70% range. I tend to use the 74% Guittard Organic Bittersweet Baking Chips. And use a whole grain rye flour - sometimes labelled dark rye flour, or whole grain is on the label. I used Central Milling Rye (whole grain) here. Also, there's no need to get your mixer out for these.
- 1 tablespoon vanilla pasta or vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup / 85g dark rye flour
- 1 teaspoon / 6g fine grain sea salt
- 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 2/3 cup / 150g unsalted butter
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups / 285g firmly packed dark brown sugar or dark coconut sugar
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Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle. Butter an 8x8-inch baking dish, or equivalent, and line with parchment paper. Combine the flour and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
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Construct a double-boiler by arranging a stainless steel mixing bowl over a small pot of simmering water. Place the butter in the mixing bowl and allow to melt. Turn off the heat, and stir in the chocolate, mixing until fully smooth and melted. Water is the enemy of melted chocolate so, avoid getting water or a steam in your chocolate bowl. Set aside.
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In a large mixing bowl use a whisk to combine the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Really go at it with the whisk for a few minutes, until the sugar dissolves and declumps, and the volume increases and lightens. The chocolate mixture should be roughly room temperature by now, use a spatula to fold it into the egg mixture. Keep folding until uniform. Sprinkle the flour mixture across the top, and gently fold into that batter as well.
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Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake until the edges look dark and done, and the top looks glossy with some cracking, about 22-25 minutes. The center should offer some structured resistance, no jiggling. Cool completely on a wire rack, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. These are good straight out of the oven, cooled a bit, but transcendent if you can hold off until the next day.
Makes 16 brownies.
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How To Make a Sourdough Starter
Grab some whole grain rye flour and I’ll show you how to make a sourdough starter! A lively, vigorous natural sourdough starter is the core component in beautiful loaves of bread, sourdough pancakes, pizzas, and so much more. You can make your own starter with flour, water, the natural yeasts and bacteria in the air, and a bit of patience. Find a glass jar and let’s go!
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