Medium
2
loavesBy Tom Jaine
Published 2005
Pumpernickel (the Devil’s wind, a reference to its causing flatulence) originated in Westphalia on the banks of the Rhine. It is a dark and dense rye bread, cooked extremely slowly, which has no obvious leavening, though it does ferment spontaneously during a long rest in the tin before baking. It is steamed rather than baked, and the slow cooking ensures that it keeps very well. A fact of life is that breads that cook fast are never long keepers, and the giant loaves that once were baked over a matter of hours in a cooling oven would keep for a number of days if not weeks. Pumpernickel, which would keep for months, could be viewed as some form of insurance against a rainy day when the corn ran out and no more bread was to be had - not so unrealistic a possibility when a peasant’s life was turned upside down by invasion, pestilence or famine. It was also a way of using the rejects from the corn mill as the best flour for this bread is a really coarse grind, almost a meal. Nowadays, however, it is valued for its intense flavour, a natural foil to foods like smoked hams or strong cheese.
When the cooking is finished, cool it on a rack, and delay slicing the loaf for a day or two, then cut it into the thinnest of slices.
At the beginning of the fermentation time, the dough will come halfway up the tin (see right). By the end of the rising time it will reach the top of the tin.
© 2005 Tom Jaine. All rights reserved.