Pumpernickel

Ever since I was a little kid, one of my favorite breads has been pumpernickel.  After I started baking, I learned a few interesting things about pumpernickel.

1.  A true pumpernickel is a German bread that is extremely dense and heavy.  It has almost no (or absolutely no) gluten.  This is important to note because the gluten protein network is what allows breads to rise from gasses produced either chemically (baking soda) or naturally (yeast).  Also, the German pumpernickel bread is baked in an oven with water, essentially steaming it.  Since I have yet to make this, I can't comment extensively on the ingredient list.

2.  American pumpernickel is very different.  American pumpernickel has more wheat in it and is made with slightly different ingredients (from what I understand) and is cooked with standard dry baking method.

3.  Pumpernickel bread is not made from the pumpernickel grain.  It's a rye bread, or a rye-wheat mixed bread.  The dark color comes from molasses, cocoa powder and coffee.  I substituted the coffee with a bottle of coffee oatmeal stout.  I figured they're both black and both have coffee in them, so it works.

So here are the pics from this baking adventure.

Pre-ferment:  I mixed 1/2 cup of rye with 1/2 of whole wheat, a bit of yeast, 1 cup of water and stashed it in the fridge overnight.  I repeated this process the following day.  This helps build a rich flavor in the bread that will come through on the final product.

A close up of the pre-ferment.

Final dough after kneading for 15 minutes.  I stashed this in the fridge to slow the yeast down since I didn't have the time to let it ferment (3-4 hours on the first ferment, 2 hours on the second, 90 minutes bench proofing the loaves.  By putting this in the fridge, I was able to slow down and control the initial 3-4 fermentation and have it ready for when I had time.)

Final dough, bench proofing.

Finished product!  Obviously it wasn't perfect or anything, but it's pretty darn good.  I'm happy with it and I think I'll even make the same recipe again.

That's all for now!  We have one more week on summer classes and I'm already looking forward to having a normal life again.  

Have a good day/night everyone!

P.S.  If by any chance you want the recipe for the above bread, let me know.  I'll be more than happy to type it up.