Authentic German Pumpernickel or Rye Times Six!
I tried to make a real traditional German Pumpernickel - all whole rye, overnight bake, heavy and fulfilling. . .
Well I succeeded with the "heavy' part anyway.
My loaf turned out to have wonderful flavor in the center of the loaf, but was truly a brick. Had to cut off the crust to eat it, and I could barely cut through. Note the extreme dense "crumb" in the photo towards the crust.
Not entirely sure where I went wrong, but the result tasted good enough that I will keep trying. Hydration was probably about 60-65% depending on how you figure the hydration of the scalded rye berry soaker. Not sure hydration was insufficient, or if the rye flakes soaked up too much moisture, or maybe need more levain, or. . . .
This was my formula, which I barely modified so that I could say that I used six different rye millings: BRM dark rye flour, Idaho Grain and Flour course stone milled rye flour, BRM rye meal, BRM cracked rye, BRM whole rye berries, and BRM rye flakes. (BRM stands for Bob's Red Mill).
NOTE: Edited hydration info
German Pumpernickel Bread
Levain –
50g rye sourdough starter, 50g BRM rye flour, 300g rye meal, 350g water
Combine in a bowl, cover and leave to ripen for 16 – 24 hours.
Scalded Rye Berry Soaker –
200g BRM rye berries, 200g boiling water
Pour the boiling water over the rye grains and leave overnight.
Cracked Rye Soaker –
150g BRM cracked rye, 150g water
Combine in a bowl, cover and leave overnight.
Next day add one quart of water to the scalded rye soaker, bring to a boil and simmer for approx. 1 hour.
Combine to make final dough:
550g BRM cracked rye
700g of levain
the cooked rye berries
the cracked rye soaker
150g water
22g salt
120g Lyle’s Golden Syrup (light molasses)
Rest 30 minutes. Oil a 13” pullman pan and dust with course rye flour. Roughly shape loaf, roll in rye flakes, place in pullman pan. Leave to prove for 3 hours.
Preheat the oven to 300°.
Put pan in turkey roasting oven bag or wrap with foil. Bake at 300° for one hour.
Turn down the temperature to 250° and bake for another 13 hours.
After baking, turn off the oven and leave the baking tin in the cooling oven for another hour.Take the loaf out of the baking tin and wrap in a kitchen towel, baking paper or tin foil for another 24 hours.
On second thought, I should have titled this post "An Authentic German Doorstop!"
And it looks good! You might want to up the hydration or soak grains if you find it gets dry after a few days.
Mini
Yes it looks great, but not really edible unless I slice away the outer half inch.
I think that I will try again without the rye flakes and flour on the outside, and cool the loaf in the covered loaf pan.
I wonder if it can be rehydrated by wetting and wrapping up for a few days.
I am already working on version 2.0!
13 hours bake time seems way too long especially after 1 hour at 300°
When I bake these types of loaves I pre-heat to 425° then drop the heat down to 350° and bake covered for 90 minutes. I then uncover and bake at 325° for the last 30 minutes. (My oven is convection.)
The idea of the overnight bake is to caramelize the sugars and create the deep flavor and color without any coloring added.
Do your loaves turn a deep dark brown with the short bake?
Here is a recent blog of mine that shows a loaf similar to yours. I could have gotten a darker brown crust had I let it bake longer but, as you found out, longer = harder crust.
You might look through Ananda's blogs to see how he bakes these types of loaves. I know he does bake longer than I do at lower temps.
I suggest changing only one thing at a time while experimenting. Pick to change ingredients or hydration level or baking times and temps and see what happens. I suggest this but I changed two things because I am impatient. I went with hydration level and temps. and it worked out to give me what I was after.
That is a gorgeous loaf!
The bread I am trying to make is 100% rye and is actually steamed in an enclosed pan overnight at low temperature.
I have read that traditional Pumpernickel is still sometimes steamed in a long wooden container. I put mine into a turkey roasting bag to try to preserve moisture.
The deep, dark color is entirely due to the MIllard reaction. There is no dark coloring added.
Without exacting examination of your formula, it appears that you are very much on the right track and not far from success. The crust you describe is typical as is the great flavor.
Jeff
i think my mistakes were to use flour in the pan, then roll the loaf in dry rye flakes, then I cooled the loaf overnight wrapped in a dish towel , which allowed further drying of the crust.
Next time I will try an oiled pan only and cool the loaf in a plastic bag.
Any thoughts?
Yes, try the bag when the loaf has cooled a bit. I’ve had the same crust problem with this kind of loaf and putting it in a bag made a huge difference. Wrapping the loaf in a linen towel, as is often recommended, left me with exactly the loaf you are describing. This may have to do with the local climate (really, really dry in my case), so maybe there are places where a towel would work, I don’t know.
Once wrapped, it may take 48 hours for the crust to soften, and it may not soften entirely, but it should at least be soft enough to eat. Putting a pan of water in the oven to keep a little moisture in the air can help, too. I’ve even tried pouring water right over the loaf mid-bake – helped some but I never quite perfected the process.
One thing to watch for is excess moisture in the bag that can create soggy spots on the crust. Your loaf already looks great so I think the early bagging will get you very close to the texture you are after.
Marcus
baking schedules I have used. i like Hammelman's or a a variation of it. They key is to bake covered for most of the bake and to wrap the loaves after they cool and let them sit for 32-40 hours to let the moisture redistribute properly to soften the crust,
happy baking,
Norm Berg’s Black Pumpernickel
About 1 hour before bake time, preheat your oven to 500°F/255°C, with the baking surface in the middle and a steam pan on a lower shelf. Bake for 15 minutes and reduce heat to 400°F/205°C. After 15 minutes more, reduce heat to 300°F/150°C and continue baking until the center of the loaf reaches an internal temperature of 210°F/100°C, 80-90 minutes. Remove to a rack and let cool for at least 24 hours before cutting.
Andy’s Black Pumpernickel
Pre-heat the oven to 280°C. Load the pan, apply steam, and turn the oven down to 110°C. Keep a supply of steam in the oven and bake for a total of 4½ - 6 hours.
Hammelman’s Pumpernickel
Place the pans in the oven and bake at 350°F for 1 hour.
Turn oven down to 325°Fand 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 260°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 at 11 pm and leave pans in oven until morning (oven was still warm)
Dabrownman’s Revised JH Schedule
375 F - 30 minutes
350 F - 30 minutes
325 F - 30 minutes
300 F – 30 minutes
275 F - 30 minutes
250 F - 1 hour
225 F - 1 hour
200 F - 1 hour
Turn oven off and leave the bread in the oven until morning or 8 hours
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/32497/100-whole-grain-rye-and-spelt-yw-sd-scald-and-seeds-altus-test
Another JH Variation
400 F - 30 minutes
375 F - 30 minutes
350 F - 30 minutes
325 F - 30 minutes
300 F - 1 hour
275 F - 2 hours
250 F - 2 hours
225 F - 1 ½ hours
200 F - 1 ½ hours
Let rest innoven for 8 hours
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/32781/ww-sd-yw-multigrain-pumpernickel
Another BM Variation
375 F - 30 minutes
350 F - 30 minutes
325 F - 2 hours
235 F - 2 hours
200 F - 2 hours
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/32943/whole-grain-dapumpernickel-aroma-bread
DB’s White Pumpernickle
375 F - 30 minutes
350 F - 30 minutes
325 F - 1 hour
300 F - 1 hour
275 F - 1 hour
250 F - 1 hour
225 F - 1 hour
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/32982/two-way-75-white-bread-dapumperized-scald-and-seeds
Dabrowman,
Thanks for the links to your "Dapumpernickel".
I'm humbled by the incredible loaves you have made in this style.
I'd be an idiot not to take your advice on baking time and temp, right? So I guess I am an idiot, because I really want to try the extended steam the way it is done traditionally. The complicated time and temp changes really don't fit any schedule that I could reasonably put together. . .
My next try will be a 16 hour steam at 225° with 100% humidity in the steam oven. . . I like the simplicity and the ability to sleep a full night!
Best,
Ed
Version 3.0 is in the oven, and I have taken drastic measures to prevent drying out. I am going to steam this loaf at 212°F for 14 hours. 100% steam. This is inspired by the fact that an actual german pumpernickel must be steamed for 16 hours before it can legally be called a pumpernickel!
Note the steam on the glass of the oven. The aroma is absolutely wonderful!
If this loaf dries out, I give up!
Version 3.0 is out of the oven. It will be hard to wait 24 hours to slice into this loaf.
I ended up steaming at 212° with 100% humidity for 15 hours. The loaf did not shrink and crack as previous non-steam loaves did. The loaf is not quite as dark looking - wondering if it could go even longer? Supposedly the German Pumpernickel meisters (elves?) steam for up to 24 hours. Wish I could find more info on the German formula and method.
What was the internal temperature at the end of the bake?
The temptation to cut into it would be a real struggle but you might want to wait 48 hours, just to allow the moisture levels to stabilize.
Looks absolutely wonderful, edroid.
Paul
Thanks Paul, I am optimistic that I got it right this time. The loaf feels right, not dried out, shrunken, and hard like previously. Smells incredible.
I did not take an internal temp when I pulled it out, but after 15 hours at 212°, I can't imagine it was anything but 212°. Next time I will take temp. Starches supposedly gel a bit under 200°?
I think that I will start eating this tomorrow morning, and see how it changes over the next couple of days. Smoked salmon and cream cheese for breakfast!
Curious, I have done a lot of searching, and don't find ANYTHING about steaming Pumpernickel, though I am fairly sure that is how they do it in Germany.
Best,
Ed
Your pumpernickel looks very much like the small cylindrical loaf I purchased in a Dusseldorf bakery. It was crusted in slivered almonds and various seeds. Solid like a brick….a very tasty brick. I ate part of it on a train ride into Switzerland with some good cheese. It was not easy to cut or chew but I did not have to worry about crushing the bread in my backpack.
Also, I made two black rye loaves following a Hammelman recipe in my masonry oven. After baking other breads, I loaded the rye loaves into the 350 degree cooling oven, closed the oven, and left them overnight. In the morning I took the loaves out of the oven which was just under 200 degrees. The rye dough was baked in an old dual-loaf cylindrical covered pan. The resulting loaves were solid…not much rise if any. After a few days wait, we sliced it thin as crackers and it was great with salami, cheesy artichoke dip, and other strong flavored meats and cheeses. My adult "kids" loved it. That was 2 years ago….but your photos make it tempting to do it again.
as it gets exposed to air. Take some more pictures using the same light and time of day and after a few days, you will see the crumb does darken. Great looking loaf! Wrap it up tightly with cling wrap when mostly cooled. :)
That looks absolutely perfect. Crumb shot? If you can get one before it is gone.
Thank you!
Well I already ate half the loaf and froze the other half, so no crumb shot.
I was extremely happy with this bread. Dense yet not at all dried out. Absolutely wonderful flavor and aroma. . . .