associated with a goblin …
Pumpernickel is a very heavy, slightly sweet rye bread traditionally made with coarsely ground rye.
It is often made with a combination of rye flour and whole rye berries. At one time it was traditional peasant fare, but largely during the 20th century various forms have become popular items of delicatessen.
A folk etymology involves Napoleon, who, while invading Germany, was served dark German rye bread. He would not eat it and said “C’est pain pour Nicole!”… it was bread for his horse, Nicole. This folk etymology grew from a “witty interpretation”, proposed by seventeenth-century satirist Johann Balthasar Schupp, that the bread was only good for “Nicol”, a nickname for a weak or puny horse.
We are having our neighbours over tonight for a 100% homemade Scandinavian dinner. A couple of weeks ago I got busy and started preparing. Pickled Herring in different sauces are on the menu.
And so is the fresh Salmon I marinated yesterday … Gravad Lax …
To stick to tradition, I had to make some really thick Rye bread. Mad with sourdough of course. What better occasion to get out my recipe for Pumpernickel.
This time around I decided to stick to my “quick sourdough” to make sure we get some bread to eat before the weekend. It was not easy to get whole rye kernels, or the rye flour, or mixed kernels. There was no time left to make a sourdough that will take three days to prepare.
But, …. no matter …. we got the kitchen all dirtied and dusted with flour, and got right into mixing and fermenting, waiting and raising, kneading and waiting, …I do have a recipe for Pumpernickel, but it would not be me if I did not experiment and modify the recipe on the fly. This time around I added some shredded carrots for extra moisture, and for molasses I used “Date-molasses” for extra flavor. Here is my original recipe …..
PUMPERNICKEL BREAD
(DEVILS FART BREAD)
Ingredients
1 kg Rye Flakes Fine
500 g Rye Flakes Medium
500 g Sourdough For Rye Breads
750 ml Water
10 g Salt
150 g Dark Molasses
Method
Sift the fine rye flakes into a mixing bowl, and add the medium rye flakes add the sour dough and start mixing
Slowly add the water, salt and molasses
Knead until the dough does not stick to the bowl
Remove the dough, put some flour on the bottom of the mixing bowl
Put back the dough cover with some flour and rest for 3-4 hours in a warm place once the dough has risen by half, take out of the mixing bowl and knead
Form to a ball and then to a log
Place into a greased and floured bread tin
Cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 15 min
Brush the dough with water, seal the mould with aluminum foil
Place into a preheated (150 c) oven, bottom tray
At this temperature the pumpernickel must bake for 10 – 12 hours (over night) after about 10 hours check with a knife
If the knife comes out clean, switch of the oven and leave the bread for another hour remove, and let cool completely
Serve in thin slices
So, just now I sneaked a taste of the wonderful creation. A bit of lightly salted butter, a sprinkle of chives … and guess what …
