In addition to wholemeal or medium rye flour, a small amount of low-grade wheat flour, sourdough, and salt, the dough also contains rye malt, sugar, molasses, and coriander. It is prepared using a sponge method with the addition of a sourdough starter. It can be baked as a hearth or pan loaf.

The modern recipe for Borodinsky bread was developed in 1933 by the Moscow Bakery Trust. According to this recipe, coriander was one of the ingredients.

The main literary sources on breadmaking from the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Molokhovets, Mikini) make no mention of a bread by this name, so it is possible that the name of the bread emerged along with its modern recipe. However, similar recipes existed before the Revolution, but they used caraway seeds instead of coriander.