Whole wheat-rye buns are easy to make and have a lot of flavors. Smear, while still warm, a delicious lump of butter on top (which will melt instantly). And top that with a slice of cheese. Really delicious!
On Saturday mornings, I like to bake bread. I find it so nice to start kneading the dough with my fingers, it's relaxing to tackle the stiff dough until a smooth dough is formed. I also like to try out some new variations now and then and this week I made rye whole wheat buns.
Of course, you can also make the buns with the bread machine, in that case, follow the instructions of the device.
- You can program a bread baking machine to start the kneading and first rise when you are sleeping, you can make these buns on a Sunday morning. How delicious sounds that?
- Let the dough rest between the first and second rise. Therefore the dough will become even better and airier.
- When you brush the buns with melted butter before and after baking the top will stay soft and won't become crispy.
- Let the dough rise under a moist towel covered with plastic foil in a warm place. This way the dough will not dry.
- Yeast will work best when it's at the right temperature, make sure you use tepid water when kneading by hand or using a mixer. Otherwise, it will take longer for the yeast to start.

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📖 Recipe
RECIPE CARD
Equipment
- A conventional oven is used. When using a convection oven (with air fan) decrease the temperature with 30 °F / 20 °C
Ingredients
- 290 ml water, lukewarm
- 280 grams whole wheat flour
- 50 gram flour, + extra for dusting
- 115 gram rye flour, + extra for dusting
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 25 grams butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon yeast, instant
- 1 tablespoon oil
All my recipes are written both in Metric (gram / ml) and US Customary (cups / pounds). Here you can slect which type of amount you would like to see.
Instructions
- Mix the water with sugar and yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, there are small air bubbles generated at the surface (if that is not the case then the yeast is no longer good and you have to use a new package.)
- Mix in a bowl the whole wheat flour, plain flour, rye flour, and salt.
- Cut the butter into cubes and mix them together.
- Pour the yeast mixture slowly with the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until all the liquid is absorbed.
- Put the dough on a surface dusted with flour and continue kneading. The dough feels inflexible right now.
- Knead about 10 to 15 minutes until you have an elastic dough, form a ball.
- Grease a bowl with oil and place the dough herein.
- Turn the dough once and cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
- Allow the dough to double in about 90 minutes by volume. If necessary adjust the time so that the dough has risen enough.
- Press the air out of the dough and divide into 12 equal pieces. Make buns of these pieces and put them away under a towel for 20 minutes.
- They form into beautifully finished bread and place it on a baking tray. Cover the buns with a tea towel and let them rise for 1 hour until doubled in size again.
- After 30 minutes of rising preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius.
- Using a sharp knife cut into the top of each bun and sprinkle with some rye flour on top.
- Put the bread into the oven for 15 to 20 minutes to bake. They are ready when you pick up a bun, tap the bottom and it sounds hollow.
- Allow cooling.
Notes
- You can program a bread baking machine to start the kneading and first rise when you are sleeping, you can make these buns on a Sunday morning. How delicious sounds that?
- Let the dough rest between the first and second rise. Therefore the dough will become even better and airier.
- When you brush the buns with melted butter before and after baking the top will stay soft and won't become crispy.
- Let the dough rise under a moist towel covered with plastic foil in a warm place. This way the dough will not dry.
- Yeast will work best when it's at the right temperature, make sure you use tepid water when kneading by hand or using a mixer. Otherwise, it will take longer for the yeast to start.
Joyce G says
Made these today using the dough function on my breadmaker. (Cuisinart) Probably would have better using a more heavy duty maker. Mine was bogging down (I did end up adding about 2 tbls of water) and I stopped the machine about 5 minutes before the kneading was finished. I let it sit in the machine for the 1.5 hours, took it out and followed the rest of the directions. They are dense, but have good whole grain flavor. These would be great paired with a stew or hearty soup. Thank you for posting this!
Gloria says
Homemade bread is the best. Buns are always a warm welcome at the dinner table. I need to make these for our next family dinner. Skip the bakery, and make these at home.
Nora says
I ate the rolls with Goulash for lunch. Delicious! The whole family loved it!
DK says
Perfect buns - especially for hamburgers! I love to toast them with a bit of butter and make all kinds of burgers with them - including pulled pork and chicken sandwiches!
Elizabeth says
Perfect side dish! Always love a good bread recipe - thanks for sharing!
Welderguy43 says
We coarsely grind our own wheat so I used 200 g whole wheat and 130g white flour plus the rye flour as listed and they were delicious.