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Rye bread is bread made with flour from rye grain of variable levels. It can be light or dark in color, depending on the type of flour used and the addition of coloring agents, and is typically denser than bread made from wheat flour. It is higher in fiber than many common types of bread and is often darker in color and stronger in flavor. In the U.S. it is sometimes eaten with a variety of different meats, especially pastrami.

Pure rye bread contains only rye flour, without any wheat. Pumpernickel, a dark, dense, and close-textured loaf, is made from crushed or ground whole rye grains, usually without wheat flour, baked for long periods at low temperature in a covered tin. Rye and wheat flours are often used to produce a rye bread which has a lighter texture, color and flavour than pumpernickel. 'Light' or 'dark' rye flour can be used to make rye bread, the flour is classified according to the level of extraction of fiber. Caramel or molasses for coloring and caraway seeds are sometimes added to rye bread. Typically rye bread recipes also include ground spices such as fennel, coriander and aniseed.

Rye is made into both loaf breads and crisp bread. There are three different types of rye crisp bread: yeast fermented, sourdough fermented and cold bread crisp bread. Most of the crisp bread produced in Scandinavia is produced following 3-4 hours of fermentation. Sourdough crisp breads are used in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Germany. The third type of crisp bread is the so-called cold bread crisp bread, which is baked without the addition of any raising agent. The dough gets the right texture from a foaming process, where air is incorporated into the cooled dough, which also leads to the almost white colour of the finished bread. Crisp bread has a long shelf life due to its very low water content (5-7%).

Rye bread can be made by the sourdough method, where leavening and flavour result from the addition of a small amount of old dough in which lactic-acid-producing bacteria have developed. These micro-organisms ferment some of the carbohydrates in the fresh dough batch, producing characteristic sour tastes and odours. Pure rye dough often produces a very heavy textured bread because it lacks the amylase enzyme needed to form a crumb. Consequently some bakers add wheat flour to lighten the texture. The acidic environment created by sourdough culture helps to gelatinise rye dough and produces a lighter textured pure rye bread which has better keeping qualities. There are also natural leavening agents other than sourdough that can be used to make pure rye bread.

In 500 AD., the Saxons and Danes settled in Britain and introduced rye which was well suited to cold northern climates. Dark rye bread became a staple which lasted to the Middle Ages. Many different types of rye grain have come from all over such as Finland, Denmark, Russia, and the Baltic countries. In Finland, rye is the most popular type of bread.

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