Rye from Seed to Bread

I sowed then transplanted 31 clumps of rye in October 2021, harvested the ears in August, then did all the rest in this video, finishing with the rye bread you see at the end.

For 2023 harvest I am sowing some of this grain at the end of September. Two to three seeds per module in CD 60 trays, to transplant around the middle of October.

I grew up on a farm where we had tractors and combine harvesters, and it felt effortless to grow tons of food.

This process is a perspective on the work needed to grow a loaf of bread, by hand. It makes me grateful for machines! And my mill is an electric Smap F100, whereas if you grind by hand, which I have done, it takes around 20 minutes to have enough flour for one loaf of bread.

On the other hand this is a wonderful way to connect strongly with how our food grows and is processed. If you try it, you will savour every mouthful of the bread you produce!

Sorry we edited out part of the bread making, I felt the video was getting too long. I add one tablespoon approx of starter and 1 level tbsp oil per 900g loaf.

00:00 Introduction
00:24 The harvested grain, and I explain the growing process from seed, harvest help from Heidi Theaker
01:31 Some info on the rye plant
02:28 Removing grains from ears, with demonstration
03:52 Info on the yield
05:18 Winnowing, and I demonstrate an unusual method!
10:24 Milling, with demonstration
16:05 Mixing and baking *The adding oil step was unintentionally edited out* (Charles' fault!)
18:20 A word on (not) adding salt
19:41 The taste test!
21:32 The conclusion

There is a recipe for my bread in the new cookbook we are publishing in early November this year.

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[lucyb]

My mother grew her own rye but she did it mainly for the straw which she carefully harvested, dried and used to make rye straw baskets, coiled baskets bound with oak splints. She taught me how to make them too. Thanks for the pleasant memories you triggered with this video. I make a similar bread to which I add various seeds.

[valeriavine]

Love to see more videos on growing different grains. It's an area that most home gardeners don't have much experience of.

[floofymonsta_za]

My mom and I, loved this video. You should do more videos where you cook/bake with some of the food that comes from your garden.

[TaylorinShirewood]

One of your best videos yet Charles! Very silly but heart-warming seeing your son and you try different ways of processing the rye

[barkershill]

Wheat and rye are, as far as I am aware, normally Autumn sown . And by early spring are a mass of green leaves several inches high . Apparently, in the old days, sheep were turned out to graze on this in the early spring when there wasn’t much else around . By a combination of grazing it and treading on it they would induce the plants to perform something called “tillering”, which meant that they produced multiple seed heads instead of just one, and thereby increased the grain yield

[jacharakis]

No dig produce, no knead bread - love the simplicity of it all!

[henrymann]

This was great! Please make more of these garden to kitchen videos!! ❤❤

[tanju]

All this time and I only just saw this video. Its amazing! I am definitely growing rye this year. I am giving up a third of my tiny, quarter allotment and going for this. Thanks again Charles.

[thenodiggardener]

Even if the taste of the bread was no different in comparison to the one from the grain you usually have, which is obviously already superior to anything a supermarket loaf is going to give you, I should still think that the level of satisfaction from having grown, harvested, cleaned, and milled it yourself is just immense anyway. I bag tomatoes up for the freezer, and they are not anywhere near as difficult to process, but I still feel better than knowing I can just opening a tin from the supermarket. Also, those seeds are now naturalised to your land, so super interesting to see a comparison from next year with this year's figures!

[settingFreedomFires]

My wife bakes rye bread occasionally, and this video is the reason I decided to grow some for her this winter

[robertevans]

Next time try a pillow case and a length of heavy rubber hose to release the grain. And pouring the grain from bucket to bucket with a box fan blowing on high can also help remove the chaff. 👍

[squange]

You are a marvel Charles. I’m so glad I found this video. We’ve been buying organic spelt and rye flour from the South Island for years, and have paid far too much in shipping costs. I might try growing rye which will halve those costs. I like the way rye plants grow upright and don’t take up too much space. Thank you for the very informative and useful videos. I’m following some of them for sowing seed, and love the way you plant from little plugs straight into the ground rather than transplanting into bigger pots and finally into the ground. As I write this, my little greenhouse is being set up, so can’t wait to potter around in there.

[paulboyter]

A fan would be handy with no wind, it’s worked for me many times. Great video as usual 🙏🏼

[petercole]

No surprise that the "No Dig" master makes "No Knead" bread! Great video Charles. I wish I could taste that bread.

[pamelaadams]

Your determination and effort put into separating the grain is legendary!

[eybtfsn]

Seeing you cook or bake with what you grow is fun video option.

[carlagarrett]

to see the efforts needed to grow one loaf of bread, makes you really appreciate how much its worth.

[Qopzeep]

Charles likes everything with a 'no' in it. No-dig, no-knead, no-nonsense...

[thebrum]

Great to see the end to end process and final product. A video that has helped my children understand the creation of beautiful bread. Thanks for sharing.

[SANWMA]

That was fun watching the whole process and getting to join you in the kitchen. Thank you! I hope to give this a go next year!😅