Artisan Pumpernickel Bread |
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Prep Time: 180 Minutes Cook Time: 60 Minutes |
Ready In: 240 Minutes Servings: 8 |
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Baking bread every Sunday has become a tradition in my house. It fills my house with the cozy smell of fresh baked bread, and the act of kneading has become a source of meditation to release the stress of the work week. Needless to say, this recipe isn't for a bread machine. This was one of my best breads so far. I think it's the addition of the mashed potatos that makes this a wonderfully moist elastic bread. Beware of over-kneading this one, you don't want the dough to be too moist, but it will retain a bit of stickiness throughout. Ingredients:
2 (1/4 ounce) packages yeast |
1 cup lukewarm water |
2 teaspoons sugar |
3 1/4 cups lukewarm water (second amount) |
2 unsweetened chocolate squares, melted |
1/4 cup molasses |
1 tablespoon margarine |
2 cups unseasoned hot mashed potatoes |
1/4 cup cornmeal |
2 tablespoons salt |
2 tablespoons caraway seeds |
3 cups unsifted rye flour (dark is preferred) |
1 cup whole all-bran cereal or 1 cup all-bran cereal |
9 3/4 cups unsifted all-purpose white flour |
Directions:
1. Prepare mashed potatoes, using fresh potatoes or instant.
2. Using a very large bowl soak the yeast and sugar in 1 cup of lukewarm water for ten minutes.
3. In a large pan, heat the 3 1/4 cup lukewarm water, melted chocolate molasses and margarine until the mixture is lukewarm. Remove from heat. Mix in the potatoes, cornmeal, salt and caraway seeds. Stir into the risen yeast liquid. Add the rye flour and bran. Beat for five minutes. Add three cups of white flour, mixing well. Afer about five minutes of beating, you will have a soft dough. Add four more cups lf flour. Mix well, cover, and rise for one hour or more.
4. Sprinkle one cup of leftover flour on kneading board. Turn dough out, sprinkle about 1/2 cup of flour on top of dough, and knead extra flour into the dough until the dough is no longer sticky. When the dough holds its shape, cut it into three even pieces.
5. Shape the three pieces into three egg shaped pieces, and place in buttered or non-stick loaf pans. Rise one hour or until one inch above the rims of pans. Bake at 350 ° for about 45 minutes - 1 hour, switching pans in oven at the half way point. Bread is done when it has a hollow sound when rapped on top.
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