When you visit O&H Danish Bakery, you’re bound to see a selection of Danish rye bread or Rugbrød.  What exactly are these dark, delicious loaves?  Rye is the grain of a common weed that, at one time, was typically found hidden within fields of wheat.  Because of its tolerance for the cold, rye quickly became a popular cereal crop.  Darker and heavier than most flours, rye produces dense bread with rich, earthy flavors.  These breads originate all the way back to the Viking Age, where they would grow their own barley, rye and wheat and make what would be a heavy rye bread.

Is Danish Rye Bread Healthy?

While a range of healthy breads such as whole grain, sourdough, and sprouted have grabbed headlines, Danish rye bread is an often-overlooked oldie, but a goodie.  This Scandinavian staple is a rich source of vitamins and minerals, such as potassium, magnesium, and antioxidants, giving it a similar nutrition profile to other whole-grain bread.  

However, rye bread has something else going for it, too - as it’s high in fiber.  This high fiber content makes rye bread good for your heart and capable of helping lower blood pressure and cholesterol.  Because it takes longer to digest than refined carbs, it’s good for your gut health and helps you feel fuller longer, contributing to healthy weight management.  These same benefits are also found in other high-fiber items such as beans, oats, and chia seeds.

What’s the Difference Between Rye Bread and Pumpernickel?

If you like pumpernickel bread, you’re likely to enjoy rye, too - but they aren’t the same thing.  The difference between these two types of bread can be a source of confusion for bakers and consumers alike because they are used interchangeably in many places.  However, rye and pumpernickel are two distinct breads.  Rye bread may come in one of three different types: light, dark, and marbled.

Light rye bread is made without the outer seed coat, bran, and germ, while dark rye is made with a different grind of rye flour.  This darker bread is made from flour milled from the endosperm of the rye berry, the part that contains the most pigments.  This flour is also typically ground more coarsely.  Marbled rye is simply a mix of these two types of rye bread dough rolled together and baked into a uniform loaf.

Pumpernickel bread is a particular kind of rye bread made from a special type of flour.  Pumpernickel flour is made from coarsely-ground rye berries.  These loaves tend to be dense and dark with strong flavors as pumpernickel bread is typically steam-baked for a long time at low heat.  It’s worth noting that because rye does not contain gluten, wheat flour is almost always added to the dough to ensure soft, delicious loaves.

Where Can You Buy Rugbrød?

At O&H Danish Bakery, we offer a variety of Scandinavian breads alongside a range of sweets and other baked goods - all authentically made with recipes and techniques passed down through our family for generations.  Try our Danish Open Face Sandwich Bread - delicious slices of dark rye ready for the perfect sandwich toppings (prepare to eat with a fork and knife!) Open face sandwich bread is hugely popular in Denmark, so make yours authentic by buttering your bread and making sure that your toppings all hang over the sides so that no bread shows.

We also offer Danish pumpernickel bread, perfect for those open-face sandwiches the Danish are so fond of - or any other sandwich, for that matter.  Get two tasty loaves of thinly sliced pumpernickel and be sure to pair it with our Gokstad Premium Coffee.  You can also try our Rugbrød Danish grain bread, moist bread perfect for any time of day.  Rugbrød is excellent with butter, jam, or cheese as an accompaniment to a larger meal or as a snack all on its own.

Our team at O&H is dedicated to outstanding customer service with a smile at every interaction - and this goal is second only to serving the highest-quality Danish baked goods around.  Stop by one of our stores or order online - either way, you’ll get the same authentic Danish bread and baked goods, homemade and amazingly fresh, from our family to yours.