This week in Baking..March 18, 2015: Pumpernickel Breads

Tuesday is recording day….my husband is part of a duo that plays German music in the area and they are recording their second CD. Our son, who is also a musician and is graduating from college with a degree in Music Production Technology, is recording them. Consequently, I get to feed them. My husband’s partner loves Pumpernickel bread and is always requesting it….so today I’m baking two different recipes. Oh and in addition we will be having Weitzenbrötchen. A trip to the German butcher will round out the menu planned for “Abendessen”.

First up is a pumpernickel recipe that David (Snyder) posted and I used as a guide. I love the Rye sour from his Jewish Sour Rye and built it up yesterday so that today it was perfect for baking…risen three times its original height, very fluffy and lively and lots of continents.

David uses caramel color in his recipe. We like the taste of the Molasses so I’m giving that a try.  Here are pix of the sour fermenting;

The only significant change I made to David’s recipe was to use 2 tablespoons of Molasses  instead of the caramel color) but I did use caraway.

I think I pretty much overproofed this loaf so I punched it down an additional time and let it rise for another 30 minutes.I did get fairly good spring out of it but its not as pretty as loaf number 2.

According to my panel of independent taste testers, this loaf was more like a traditional Jewish Pumpernickel Rye, which I think was the original intent and it was well liked.

Next up on the baking schedule was a recipe that came from about.com and I’ve made twice before with good results. This time I modified the recipe just a tiny bit…

I put in a cup of rye sour, used the KA Pumpernickel instead of my usual rye, a teaspoon less salt and I baked it on a stone.  I also brushed the outside with beaten egg instead of the butter the recipe called for. I modified the baking a little too, starting out at a higher temperature for five minutes and adding in a little steam. I think it looks gorgeous.

It apparently was still slightly warm inside when cut.

The loaf was delicious and moist inside and what my husband said was like a more traditional German pumpernickel.

I plan to make these another time to refine what I did and make sure I get consistent results the next time.

Wendy, your Adventuress in Baking