Rye’s Quiet Revolution: 40 Years Baking Health with Korean Rye
Creatrip Team
6 months ago
Ryu Han-wook, founder of Hanuk Bakery in Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang, has spent nearly 40 years cultivating and promoting domestically grown rye. Originally introduced to rye as a university research project, he pursued a mission to develop safe, untreated Korean rye seeds and now uses them to bake nutritious breads. His bakery mills whole grains on-site and makes natural-fermentation rye breads (using 100% rye flour and rye starter), plus low-sugar sweet red-bean rye buns, scones, and rye-based beverages like roasted rye misutgaru (미숫가루) and grain tea. Ryu highlights rye’s high fiber and low gluten benefits for digestion and emphasizes preserving local food traditions—creating a signature ‘peony-flower bread’ (작약꽃빵) to represent Yeongcheon and partnering with sesame farmers to add regionally produced sesame oil. He calls himself a steward of the rye fields, committed to simple, healthy ingredients and keeping Korean rye alive.
