Hi Marion, Yes, the bread is dense. Authentic wholegrain rye bread is dense. It’s 100% rye we are using and it’s 100% wholegrain too. You barely find that out in the world – most rye breads are white rye mixed with wheat. You can see a clear picture of the crumb of my 100% wholegrain rye sourdough bread in this post: https://ancestralkitchen.com/2025/04/14/how-to-make-sourdough-rye-bread-from-scratch/

Having said that, as you become more confident with this process/recipe there are many things you can do to ensure you get as much rise as possible: a strong starter, the right timings for getting into the pan and the right timings for getting into the oven.