Pumpernickel Bread
Pumpernickel Bread is wonderful. Many of you know how much I love a good slice of home-baked bread. These days breadmakers do all the work. So making up a homemade loaf of bread is quick, easy, and quite economical, too. On top of that, making a loaf of bread in the breadmaker is usually a lot healthier than store bought breads. You can omit the preservatives, MSG, fillers, and high fructose corn syrup that many of them are filled with.
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In many cases you can substitute good oils for shortening which is hydrogenated. You can also substitute honey, molasses or maple syrup for sugar. These products are are more easily digested and don’t spike blood sugar levels like sugar does. But even if your recipe isn’t “clean” or super healthy, it’s just a lot of fun making up homemade bread. Especially with the convenience of a breadmaker.
We’ve been making this Pumpernickel Bread recipe for many years. I first purchased my old breadmaker about 20 years ago. We’ve always enjoyed this recipe. I amped it up even more when I started adding caraway seeds to the bread after the second or third time I made it. This recipe uses cocoa, molasses, and instant coffee granules to get it’s dark color. It also includes whole wheat flour and rye flour in addition to regular bread flour.
Just a hint for those of you not used to making homemade bread. I never use all-purpose flour. It doesn’t have the same ratio of vital wheat glutens which cause the bread to raise. It also can leave the bread crumbly and dried out. Because Pumpernickel Bread also uses a lot of heavy, dense flour from the rye and wheat it needs vital wheat gluten.
I include vital wheat gluten because it helps the bread expand properly. The texture becomes nice and fluffy rather than heavy and dense. You’re not trying to make bricks like Ellie Mae Clampett’s home-baked goodies on The Beverly Hillbillies. (Most of you are probably too young to remember this old TV show. But for those of us who grew up on a steady diet of it, her culinary confections were hilarious).
I whipped up a loaf of this delicious bread a few weeks ago when I was taking a meal to some friends in the hospital. They were staying round-the-clock for several days with a close relative. They really appreciated having a hot home-cooked meal. I brought Pumpernickel Bread along with Chicken and Yellow Rice, Zucchini Supreme and Sock-It-To-Me Cake. There’s nothing quite like a slab of homemade bread slathered with butter to heal what ails you! I brought them a jar of apple butter so they could enjoy it for breakfast too!
If you’re looking for a tasty home-baked bread for dinner, consider this easy recipe. It takes 5 minutes to put everything in the breadmaker and approximately four hours to bake it on a wheat bread setting. Simple, easy, economical! I’ll take it. 🙂
Pumpernickel Bread is a tasty dinner bread you’re family will love!
We really like the addition of caraway seeds in this recipe. It adds a little extra oomph to the recipe.
Because I use vital wheat gluten, this bread which would normally be heavy and dense, comes out light and fluffy.
Here’s what I did.
I used these ingredients.
Layer ingredients in bread canister in order listed. Place on whole wheat setting. Mine takes approximately 4 hours.
Allow bread to cool 15 minutes before removing from breadmaker. Then butter the top and sides of the bread to prevent the crusts from hardening.
Allow the bread to rest another 15 minutes before cutting down.
An electric knife makes cutting the bread smooth and easy. It also protects your bread from being hacked up from using serrated knives.
Pumpernickel Bread has rich depth of flavors due to the molasses, cocoa and instant coffee granules used in the recipe.
Here’s a close up so you can see the texture of the bread.
Pumpernickel Bread is a sourdough bread made with rye flour and caraway seeds. It’s really marvelous.
Here’s the recipe.
PUMPERNICKEL BREAD
(Recipe adapted from Black and Decker Breadmaker Cookbook)
Pumpernickel Bread
Equipment
- 1 breadmaker
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 1 pastry brush to brush bread with melted butter after baking
- 1 electric knife preferred, or sharp bread knife
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cup hot water
- 3 tbsp. powdered milk
- 2 tbsp. Crisco shortening or avocado oil
- 2 tbsp. honey
- 2 tbsp. molasses
- 1 3/4 tsp. Kosher salt or sea salt
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 2/3 cups bread flour NOT all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup rye flour
- 2 tbsp. cocoa
- 2 tsp. instant coffee granules
- 2 tsp. caraway seeds
- 1 3/4 tsp. active dry bread machine yeast (Fleischmann's preferred over Red Star)
- 4 tsp. vital wheat gluten
Instructions
- Layer ingredients in bread canister in order given.
- Set for wheat bread setting.
- Allow to cool about 15 minutes before removing from canister.
- Butter top and sides of bread with pastry brush to prevent crust from hardening.
- Allow bread to cool an additional 15 minutes before cutting.
- Slice down.
- About 16 slices.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Black and Decker.
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Nutrition
- 1 2/3 cup hot water
- 3 tbsp. powdered milk
- 2 tbsp. Crisco shortening
- 2 tbsp. honey
- 2 tbsp. Grandma’s molasses
- 1 ¾ tsp. salt
- 1 cup King Arthur whole wheat flour
- 2 2/3 cups King Arthur bread flour (NOT all-purpose flour)
- 2/3 cup Hodgson Mills rye flour
- 2 tbsp. Nestle’s cocoa
- 2 tsp. instant coffee granules
- 2 tsp. caraway seeds
- 1 ¾ tsp. active dry bread machine yeast
- 4 tsp. Hodgson Mills vital wheat gluten
- Layer ingredients in bread canister in order given.
- Set for wheat bread setting.
- Allow to cool about 15 minutes before removing from canister.
- Butter top and sides of bread to prevent crust from hardening.
- Allow bread to cool an additional 15 minutes before cutting.
- Slice down. About 16 slices.
Each bite of Pumpernickel Bread is so mouthwatering. We like to serve ours with butter, honey, jams, or apple butter.
Toast Pumpernickel Bread and serve with your favorite jam for a delicious home-baked breakfast!
If you enjoy home-baked bread, this one needs to be on your dinner rotation!
You may also enjoy these delicious recipes!
Pumpernickel Bread
Equipment
- 1 breadmaker
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 1 pastry brush to brush bread with melted butter after baking
- 1 electric knife preferred, or sharp bread knife
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cup hot water
- 3 tbsp. powdered milk
- 2 tbsp. Crisco shortening or avocado oil
- 2 tbsp. honey
- 2 tbsp. molasses
- 1 3/4 tsp. Kosher salt or sea salt
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 2/3 cups bread flour NOT all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup rye flour
- 2 tbsp. cocoa
- 2 tsp. instant coffee granules
- 2 tsp. caraway seeds
- 1 3/4 tsp. active dry bread machine yeast (Fleischmann’s preferred over Red Star)
- 4 tsp. vital wheat gluten
Instructions
- Layer ingredients in bread canister in order given.
- Set for wheat bread setting.
- Allow to cool about 15 minutes before removing from canister.
- Butter top and sides of bread with pastry brush to prevent crust from hardening.
- Allow bread to cool an additional 15 minutes before cutting.
- Slice down.
- About 16 slices.
2 Comments
James Jones
December 28, 2015 at 7:45 pm
I have been on a search for “fluffy” pumpernickel bread for a couple years now, and have tried many bread machine recipes with little success.
THIS recipe is the holy grail for me. It has incredibly rich flavor, AND it is soft and fluffy (for a darker bread.)
I have made it twice, exactly as the recipe instructs – no changes. As far as I can see, none are needed. It is consistently perfect 🙂
This Pumpernickel loaf is so good, that I would happily give it as a gift to a neighbor, family member, or friend.
Thank you so much for sharing it!
Teresa
December 28, 2015 at 8:28 pm
James, I’m so glad that you enjoyed the recipe. I have to admit I’ve enjoyed Pumpernickel Bread ever since I first tasted it with Classic Spinach Dip as a bread bowl to put the dip in. If you enjoy homemade bread, I have about 30-40 bread machine recipes, I hope you’ll give some of them a try, too. 🙂 Thanks again for stopping by and letting me know you liked the bread.