Black (Pumpernickel) Bread 黒パン

This is my wife’s baking project. This one is called “black bread” but it is a type of pumpernickel bread. The recipe came from the cookbook “Beard on Bread”. One of the reasons she decided to bake this is that she discovered that both the rye and pumpernickel flours she kept in the freezer had a best use by date of 2013 (We are now in 2023, 10 years past the best use date). Even kept frozen all this time, she decided they were past their prime and we ordered rye and pumpernickel* flours from King-Arthur. Once the new bags of flour arrived she couldn’t resist making some rye/pumpernickel bread. (Also, to assure she made something with them before they passed the “best used by” date.) This is a great and robust bread. She added raisins since she likes raisins in a bread.

*I was not sure about the difference between rye and pumpernickel flours. My wife explained it to me that it was equivalent to the difference between white wheat and whole wheat flour, i.e., pumpernickel flour include the husks and germs.

Ingredients (makes two loaves)
3/8 cup cornmeal
1 3/4 cup water (I used whey because I had it. Buttermilk could also be used)
1 tbs. Butter
2 tsp. Salt
3 tbs brown sugar
2 tsp. Caraway seeds
1 tbs. Unsweetened cocoa
1 tbs. Instant coffee
2 packages active dry yeast
2 cups rye (dark) flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups AP flour
1 cup raisins (optional)
Additional flour for kneading
1 egg white beaten

Directions:
Add the cornmeal to 3/4 cup cold water and mix well. Meanwhile heat the rest of the water to boiling, add the cornmeal mixture and stir until it thickens. Then, add the butter through instant coffee. Cool to room temperature. Add the dry ingredients (yeast through AP flour) to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the cooled cornmeal mixture. Mix until a smooth dough forms. (We found we had to add more liquid because the dough was very dry. Even with the addition of the extra liquid in the end did not use all the flour.)
Form into a ball and put in a bowl with a little vegetable oil. Coat the ball with the oil. Put in the proofing box until doubled in size. Punch down the dough and form into two loaves and put them in well buttered bread pans. Put back in proofer until they almost double in size. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until bread taps hollow. (Original recipe says, ‘if you have doubts about whether it is done, let it bake longer. This loaf is better a little overdone than underdone.’) The next picture shows the loafs just as they came out of the oven.

This is a very dense bread. Nonetheless the texture is very moist and soft. It has a very complex flavor. Despite all the ingredients that went into it no one stands out; they all meld together for a richly flavored result. My wife served a slice lightly toasted with honey butter and it was very good. This is a great pumpernickel bread.