inexperienced about how to put questions on this site?

Sunflower are good, toasted ones have a stronger flavour.  Sesame, the same.  Another seed good in rye is coriander seeds lightly toasted and crushed.  You don't have to put Caraway seed in rye bread if you don't like caraway.  You can also try drained canned sweet corn or cooked whole grains like kamut and wild rice.   Buttermilk and hazelnuts, walnuts roasted whole or chopped go great in rye breads and so do many oil bearing seeds and nuts.  Black pepper will make a spicy rye bread.  Lumps of blue cheese is also pretty good in walnut rye.  

You can also use a slice or two of baked rye bread to flavour up rye bread.  Toast and crumble or crumb in a food processor then toss into the dough or the liquids and add a tablespoon or two of water for each slice.  Can also soak and wring out saving the water for liquids in the recipe.    

You are only limited by your imagination.  :)

Mini Oven has the right idea, you are only limited by your imagination. I have also added 1 tsp of freshly ground caraway seed to a light rye bread for a subtle flavor without the texture.

Happy Baking,

I regularly make 3 different Rye breads. My figgy rye has caraway seeds in it - and dried figs. Then there is the classic Borodinski - which has Corriander added (ground in the flour and seeds on the outside) and I also do a basic 'dark rye' which just has molasses added.

But almost anything goes...

-Gordon

So feel free to make it without any seeds/spices, if you like.

If the caraway or fennel or anise are too intense for your liking, as opposed to not liking them at all, then you could experiment with decreasing the amounts.  I've see recipes that call for 2 or 3 tablespoons of seeds for a single loaf, which means the seeds' flavor completely masks the rye flavor.  Or, you could try grinding them first, so that the flavor is more distributed throughout the bread without the intense flavor bursts you get when biting down on a seed.  Or, use a blend of ground seeds (I'm surprised Mini didn't mention brotgewurz) which is sometimes more interesting than any one of the single flavors.

Another seed that plays well with rye is dill seed.  If you like that flavor, give it a try, too.

plant, took the blossom right off it to harvest leaves for the freezer, now with a little research, I discover that lovage seeds are also used as a bread spice.  Interesting.  Maybe I'll get a few blossoms yet as the thing is so tall.  

I didn't mention Brotgewurz  while part of the mixture contains caraway.  But the blend of caraway, fennel and coriander does make a more smooth flavourful rye bread without one flavour being prominent, like what would happen if only one of the spices were used alone.   

When looking for a sweeter scent, that might have more to do with the length of fermentation of rye flour itself.  Seems the longer it ferments, the sweeter it gets... naturally.   That, in turn, might just lead you into rye sourdough starters where you can balance the sweetness with the sour that can build for an interesting tingle on the tongue.  

The sweetness is more in tune to apples and pears.  You might want to try apple cider or pear sauce in the bread instead of spices.  Or a tablespoon or two of apple vinegar in the dough.  Chopped dried apples and raisins also makes a lovely bread. 

but I stopped putting caraway in simply because I don't like it that much even tho hubby does.  He hasn't complained.  If I want a more pronounced rye flavor I use the pumpernickel instead of whole rye flour and use my rye starter.

Wendy