Country Pumpernickel Bread

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This Pumpernickel Bread, like many European loaves, includes a bit of whole grain flour for texture and flavor.

For a lighter-colored loaf, cut the pumpernickel or white whole wheat down to just a couple of tablespoons, while increasing the all-purpose flour so that the total amount of flour used remains 3 cups.

 

Country Pumpernickel Bread

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 cup pumpernickel flour OR White Whole Wheat Flour
2 1/2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
seeds (sesame, flax, caraway or poppy) OR oat or rye flakes, for sprinkling

(Note: this is a non-fat loaf: eat it quickly, or it’ll stale. To keep it fresh longer, substitute 2 tablespoons of oil for an equal amount of the water.)

Directions:
Bread Machine Directions:

Place all of the ingredients in the order listed above into the pan of your bread machine, select Manual or Dough, and press Start. Proceed from*.

By-Hand Directions:

Pour the water into a mixing bowl. Add the yeast and pumpernickel or white whole wheat flour, and let sit for several minutes until the mixture begins to bubble. Stir in the salt and 1 cup of all-purpose flour and mix well. Gradually add the second cup of all-purpose flour until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 4 to 5 minutes. Let the dough rest while you clean out and grease your bowl; then knead the dough a few more minutes. The dough should be on the slack side and a little tacky, but should not be sticky. When the dough is well-kneaded, place it into the prepared bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Proceed from*.

*When your dough has risen once, flour your dough-rising basket heavily and sprinkle some seeds (sesame, flax, caraway, poppy…) or some oat flakes or rye flakes in the bottom. Pick up your dough and work it around in your hands a bit, expelling the air. Make the dough into a ball and place it, “nice” side down, into the basket. Drape the dough with lightly greased plastic wrap, and set it aside to rise for 45 minutes, or until it’s crowned nicely over the rim of the basket.

Have a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet ready. Very gently, roll the dough from the basket onto the baking sheet. It should slip out gracefully, without deflating. if it deflates totally—a small settling is OK—simply form it into a smooth ball, put it back in the basket, and let it rise again (only this time not quite as high).

Bake the pumpernickel bread in a preheated oven at 425°F for 20 to 25 minutes. For a crunchy, crisp loaf, spray water into the oven with a spray bottle three times during the first 10 minutes of baking. When the bread is done, remove it from the baking sheet, set it on the rack of the oven, turn the oven off, and crack the door open a couple of inches; let the bread cool completely in the oven. If you want a soft loaf, remove the bread from the oven, and from the pan, and let it cool completely, at room temperature, on a wire rack.

Source: Photo and recipe. Copyright © 2009 King Arthur Flour Company, Inc. All rights reserved.