Best 6 German Pumpernickel Bread Recipes

PUMPERNICKEL RECIPE

Steps:

• Prepare the preferment. Combine in a bowl, cover and leave to ripen for 16 - 24 hours.
• Prepare the scalded rye. Pour the boiling water over the rye grains and leave overnight.
• Prepare the rye soaker. Combine in a bowl, cover and leave overnight.
• 11.30am - Add one litre of water to the scalded rye soaker, bring to a boil and simmer for approx. 1 hour until soft.
• 12.30pm - Strain the rye and discard any remaining water. Set aside to cool.
• 1pm - In a large bowl combine 700g of sourdough (the rest goes back into the fridge for your next bake), the cracked rye soaker, the cooked and cooled rye berries, the 550g extra cracked rye, the water (150g), salt (22g), maple syrup (120g) and mix until the dough comes together well. Mix for a few minutes (I just do this with my hands). Once this is done, cover the bowl and leave to rest for 30 minutes.Note: The dough should not be wet. It should stick together well and not fall apart. It should peel off the side of the bowl easily and stick on a spoon when held up.
• 1.45pm - Oil a large and a small loaf tin (I use a silicone brush to do this), then place the dough into the baking tins. Again, just use your hands to do this and even out the dough surface across the tin. Fill the tins only half full. Cover the tins - if you are using Pullman forms, use the Pullman tin cover, otherwise use a polythene bag to ensure the dough doesn't dry out.
• 2pm - Leave to prove for 3 hours (depends on room temperature, so do keep an eye on the dough during this time). The dough will have risen, probably not quite to the top of the tin, but it should have visibly risen.
• 4.30pm - Preheat the oven to 150°C.
• 5pm - Brush the top of the dough with a little water. Fully wrap the baking tins with two tight-fitting layers of tin foil to avoid the steam escaping and the dough drying out during the long baking process. Note, that I cover even the Pullman tin in these additional layers. Place the wrapped tins at the bottom shelf of the oven and bake for approximately 14 hours (best done overnight).
• 6pm - Turn down the temperature to 120°C.
• 7am - After baking, turn off the oven and leave the baking tin in the cooling oven for another hour.
• 8am - Take the loaf out of the baking tins and wrap in a kitchen towel for another 24 hours.
• Cut into thin slices and enjoy with butter and jam or smoked fish for a hearty breakfast!

PUMPERNICKEL BREAD

Steps:

• Put the berries in a small saucepan and pour boiling water over them to cover by at least 1 inch (2,5cm). Cover and set aside to soak overnight.
• For the levain, mix the rye flour, water and sourdough starter in a small bowl until well combined. Cover and let it rest overnight in a warm place.
• Add enough water to the soaked rye berries so that there is about three times as much water a berries. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about 1 hour, or until the berries are soft. Check for water once in a while to make sure the berries are always covered with plenty of water, and add more water if necessary. Drain the cooked berries and set aside to cool.
• In a large bowl mix the dark rye pumpernickel meal, cracked rye and salt. Add the levain and 1⅓ cup (300ml) water. Mix until well combined and no traces of flour remain. Add the cooked berries, syrup and sunflower seeds. Knead the dough using the dough hook of an electric mixer or your hands and add the rest of the water during kneading, as needed, until the dough starts to come off the sides of the bowl. The dough should be moist and slightly sticky so it might not come off the sides of the bowl like in other bread doughs, which is fine. Dust with rye flour and cover. Let rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
• Grease 5 (16 oz/450ml) straight-sided canning jars or 2 loaf tins.
• Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface to remove any excess air. The dough should be slightly sticky. Divide the dough into equal portions and place it into your baking pans or jars. Leaving about 1 inch (2,5cm) headspace in the jars to allow for the bread to rise (depending on the liveliness of your starter, the dough may or may not rise, mine always does). Only fill the pans to two-thirds to make smaller loaves. Grease small pieces of aluminum foil and cover the jars/baking pans, greased side down. Let rest in a warm place for 2 to 3 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 300F/150C. Remove the aluminum foil from the jars/baking pans and lightly spray the surface of the dough with water. Place the aluminum foil back on the jars/baking pans, greased side down. Make sure that the jars/baking pans are tightly covered.
• Adjust the oven rack to the lowest setting. Place the jars/baking pans in the casserole and and place it on the oven rack. Pour about 1 inch (2,5cm) hot water into the casserole. Place the lid on the casserole.
• Bake for 1 hour at 300F/150C. Reduce the heat to 212F/100C, and bake for 13 more hours. Add hot water to the casserole every few hours to maintain the water level. If you bake the bread overnight, pour more water into the casserole before you go to bed. A higher water level of 1½ to 2 inches (3-5cm) does not harm but an empty dry casserole may cause the jars to crack and should be avoided by all means.
• At the end of the baking time, turn off the oven and leave the casserole in the oven for 1 hour. Then take the casserole with the jars/baking pans out of the oven and let everything cool on the counter for another 30 minutes, or until cool enough to handle. Meanwhile keep the oven door closed to trap the residual heat. Gently unmold the breads (promptly removing them is important, otherwise you will have trouble removing them later) and place them in the warm oven for a couple of hours to dry.
• Remove the breads from the oven. Let them cool completely, then wrap them in wax paper or parchment paper and either place them in freezer bags right away, or let the bread sit in a cool place for another two days before cutting it on Day 5. Store the pumpernickel in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

RYE PUMPERNICKEL WITH SOURDOUGH

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• If you have not refreshed the starter in the refrigerator for a while, do so two days before you plan on baking. A rye sour is best, but if you only have wheat flour, that will work, too.
• Set up your sourdough starter by mixing the whole rye flour, water, and a spoonful of starter in a bowl until all the flour is moistened. Cover the batter tightly so it cannot dry out and leave it at room temperature for 16 to 18 hours. This sourdough should develop some sour smell.
• Place rye berries in a pan, cover with 2 inches of water and leave at room temperature overnight.
• Gather the ingredients.
• The next day, bring the rye berries in the pan to a boil (add water as necessary) and simmer until berries are soft, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Drain and set aside.
• Place old bread, including crusts, in a bowl and pour boiling water over; leave for several minutes or longer. If it is soft bread, it will fall apart quickly; if it is old pumpernickel, it may take longer to soften.
• Squeeze the water out of the bread (it will resemble bread pudding or clay) and set aside.
• Place all of the ingredients for the final dough in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook and mix on the lowest speed for 10 minutes.
• Add water or flour as needed to create a dough ball that is only slightly sticky. The amount will vary, depending on how much water was in the soaked bread and berries.
• Knead on the counter for a couple of minutes to make final adjustments. Form into a ball and let it rest in a warm spot for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 F, preferably with a baking stone or another form of heat retention set inside the oven. Oil and flour 2 or more bread pans or Pullman pans (with a lid, also called "pain de mie").
• Divide dough as needed to fit your bread forms. Form the dough into loaves and place in the pans. Dust with flour, cover, and let rise for 30 minutes in a warm spot.
• Cover the loaf pans with oiled aluminum foil, wrapping tightly.
• Gather the ingredients.
• Place the pans in the oven and bake at 350 F for 1 hour.
• Turn oven down to 325 F and bake for 30 minutes.
• Turn oven down to 300 F and bake for 1 hour.
• Turn oven down to 275 F and bake for 2 hours.
• Turn oven down to 250 F and bake for 2 hours.
• Turn oven down to 225 F and bake for 1 1/2 hours.
• Turn oven down to 200 F and bake for 1 1/2 hours.
• Turn oven off and leave pans in oven until morning (oven will still be warm). The bread was in the oven about 16 hours. Leave for an additional 24 hours wrapped in cotton or linen before slicing.

PUMPERNICKEL BREAD II

Steps:

• Mix well bread flour, rye flour, cornmeal, salt, yeast, cocoa, and brown sugar. Add milk, oil, and molasses. Mix thoroughly. When mixed well enough that the dough holds together, knead by hand 15-20 minutes.
• Cover, let rise in bowl 30 minutes. Punch down, form, and place into 9 1/2x5 inch pan. Cover with damp cloth and let rise about 1 hour.
• Bake in preheated 375 degree F (190 degrees C) oven 25 to 30 minutes, covering top with aluminum foil last 10 minutes.

CLASSIC PUMPERNICKEL BREAD

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of the warm water, yeast and sugar. Let sit in a warm place until the yeast mixture turns bubbly (about 5-10 min.).
• In a large mixing bowl (I use my Kitchenaid stand mixer with a dough hook), combine remaining 1 cup water, molasses, salt, shortening, caraway seeds and yeast mixture. Beat until smooth.
• Slowly beat rye flour into the yeast and molasses mixture. Mix in the all-purpose flour and mix until it is a soft, smooth dough ball.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. If dough is too moist, add a little more flour. If dough is too dry add a little more water.
• Knead the dough for 5 minutes.
• Lightly grease (or spray with cooking spray) a large bowl. Add the dough, turning once to coat the entire surface of dough with oil. Cover dough with a clean cloth and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size (about 1 1/2 hours).
• Punch down dough. Separate dough into 2 equal parts. Form 2 round, slightly flattened loaves. Score a 3/4 inch deep 'X" into the tops of both loaves with a sharp knife.
• Grease (or spray) a large baking sheet; sprinkle with cornmeal. Put the loaves on top and then cover with a clean cloth and let rise until doubled - about an hour.
• Preheat oven to 375 degress F. Bake 30-35 minutes or until crusts are dark brown and loaves sound hollow when tapped.
• Remove from baking sheet and cool on a rack before slicing.

BREAD MACHINE PUMPERNICKEL BREAD

Steps:

• Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Basic cycle; press Start.