Rather than a soft, slightly sticky, homogenous, dough, the rye dough was more like modeling clay. For example, when I tried to shape it into a ball (by tucking the sides underneath), it just split on the top. Instead of stretching, it just broke apart. I tried adding more water, but it became gooey and sticky.

Why is my rye bread dough sticky?

Rye has a carbohydrate (pentosan) in it that gets very gummy and sticky when mixed with water. Combined with rye's inability to form long gluten chains, rye can get very gummy and sticky when overworked. If a rye dough reaches that point there's nothing you can do to bring it back.

Is rye dough supposed to be sticky?

Rye dough can be discouraging — it's sticky, it's heavy, it's hard to deal with. And while it doesn't require kneading for gluten development, proper mixing is very important.