Pumpernickel Bread

A few weeks ago, while I was shopping at Winco (Amazing place, by the way. If you have one even within 50 miles of your house, you should check it out.), I bought some rye flour. I was just planning on making some rye bread, but Daniel mentioned he liked pumpernickel, so I thought I would give it a shot. I looked up a highly rated recipe online, and attempted to make a loaf of pumpernickel. I say attempted, because it ended up a complete disaster. It didn't rise, it tasted weird, the color was off, anything that could go wrong, did. When I decided to take another shot at making pumpernickel, I thought it would be best to create my own recipe. That way, if it turned out completely horrible again, I would have no one to blame but myself. The recipe I created turned out beautifully! It looked great, it tasted great, and the texture was perfect! In fact, I would say this is the prettiest loaf of bread I have ever baked. Let's get started, so you can make pretty bread too.

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup warm water
1 3/4 tsp (dry active) yeast
1 TBS sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus a bit extra for kneading
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rye flour
3 TBS vegetable oil
1/4 cup molasses
2 TBS cocoa powder
2 tsp salt

I am aware that a good amount of rye and pumpernickel recipes call for caraway. This recipe does not. I like caraway alright, but if I bite into it just right, I tend to gag, so I kept it out of my bread. Let me tell you, I don't think you will miss it.

If you have been following this blog for awhile, you should know the drill. Combine the water, yeast and sugar together and let sit until it gets nice and foamy. In the meantime, put all of your dry ingredients in a bowl. One the yeast mixture looks nice and foamy, add it, the molasses, and the oil to the dry ingredients.

Mix the ingredients together using a dough hook (or bread maker if you don't have a dough hook, or a spoon if you don't have either) until everything is well combined. The dough will be a little sticky. This step is so much easier now that I have my Kitchenaid! Bread making is where I love it the most...alright I love it for everything, but still. (Thanks again to my Kitchenaid purchasers, you rock).

Take the dough and place it on a slightly floured surface. Knead in a small amount of all purpose flour until a soft smooth dough is formed. Form the dough into a ball and place in a slightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set the dough in a warm to let rise until it is about double the original size.

Before the Rise.

After the Rise.

Punch the dough down and form it into a loaf. Place your loaf in a greased loaf pan. At this point, you may also want to start preheating your oven to 350 degrees.

Place the pan in a warm place and again let it rise until it had doubled in size.

Ready to Bake!

Place your bread into your 350 degree oven and bake for 30 min, or until you hear that nice hollow sound when you tap on the top of the loaf.

Upon removing your bread from the oven. Remove it from it's pan, and allow it cool on a wire rack.

Letting it Cool.

I know it is super tempting, but you really should not cut the bread until it is cool. Bread (of all forms) has a tendency to not cut well and be more likely to fall apart if you do not wait. When the bread is nice and cool, go ahead and slice.

It's pretty right? Well, at least I think it is pretty, and it's tasty too! Use your pumpernickel for sandwiches or any other application you desire. I think it would great dipped in cheese fondue. Speaking of which, I think I will have a fondue party soon. Now that I am completely off subject, Enjoy!