Liz On Food

Pumpernickel Bread, American-Style

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During colder months I often make bread to accompany soup or stew, and I really prefer earthy, whole-grain breads to light, white versions (no offense to those lovers of French bread). My hybridized version of pumpernickel is a family favorite. Its dense texture and nutty flavor stands up to hearty stews.

 

Pumpernickel bread originates from the Westphalia region of Germany and, traditionally, is made with a sourdough starter, molasses and coarse rye, is baked and then steamed for up to 24 hours resulting in a dark, dense bread. The closest I found retail is Rubschlager Wesphalian Pumpernickel, which is wunderschön!

 

Like the German version, American-style pumpernickel typically contains molasses, but it's less dense, made with yeast, and hand shaped rather than baked in a tin. The American version may also contain caraway seeds, chocolate or coffee.

 

Here's an American-style pumpernickel bread modified from two recipes in the 1973 version of Beard on Bread, my personal bread bible. I mix and knead bread with my Kitchen Aid mixer and a dough hook attachment. With a little more effort, the mixing and kneading can be done by hand.
 

Yield: 1 loaf, about 12 slices.

 

Preparation Time: About 4 hour to mix, let rise and bake.

2 Tbsp caraway seeds

 

1/4 cup warm water

1 1/2 cups nonfat milk

2 Tbsp molasses

1 Tbsp honey

2 packets (or 1 1/2 Tbsps) dry active yeast

2 cups rye flour

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup yellow whole-grain corn meal, plus 1 Tbsp (divided)

2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp olive oil
Egg white from 1 egg

 

 

Place the caraway seeds and water in a small vessel; let seeds soak about 15-30 minutes.

 

In a microwave, heat milk to scalding (do not let boil).

 

Let milk cool to luke warm. Place milk, molasses, honey and yeast in mixing bowl; mix. Let sit for about 10 minutes until yeast foams at surface of mixture (known as proofing the yeast).

 

 

 

Add remaining ingredients except reserved corn meal and egg white.

 

 

Using the dough hook, mix the ingredients for several minutes. A ball will start to form. Add more rye and whole wheat flour if dough is too wet.

 

Continue kneading the dough with the mixer about 3-4 more minutes. Remove hook and bowl from the mixer stand. Shape dough into a ball center at the bottom of the bowl.

 

 

Cover bowl with an inverted plate.

Let dough rise about 1 1/2 hours. This is a heavy dough so it may not rise to double in bulk.

 

 

Punch down dough and remove from bowl. Knead for several minutes on a floured surface. Shape into a cylinder about 10 inches long. Tuck the ends under. Sprinkle cookie sheet with remaining corn meal in approximate shape of the loaf. Center the loaf over the corn meal sprinklings. Using a sharp bread knife, make a slice down the center of the loaf about 1/2" deep.

 

Let loaf rise about 1 hour.

 

Whisk the egg white in a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, gently brush loaf with egg white. Center oven rack and pre-heat oven to 400°F. Bake loaf about 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven. Use a flat spatula to loosen the loaf from the baking sheet and wrap with a dish cloth. Set wrapped loaf on a cooling rack and let cool at least 30 minutes before slicing.

 

 

You'll notice I use nonfat milk and olive oil in the dough recipe. I save butter for when it really counts - letting it melt into a slice of warm bread. Enjoy with your favorite soup or stew.

 

Now for a bit of etymology...according to Merriam Webster Dictionary here's the origin of pumpernickel: Pum·per·nick·el/ˈpəmpərˌnikəl/ noun A dark coarse sourdough bread made of unbolted rye flour. German, from pumpern to break wind + Nickel goblin; from its reputed indigestibility. First Known Use: 1756.

Oxford Dictionary offers an alternative word history for pumpernickel: Mid 18th century: transferred use of German Pumpernickel 'lout, bumpkin', of unknown origin.

Whatever the origin of the word, pumpernickel bread offers a delicious way to add several whole grains to your culinary lexicon.

Per Serving Nutritional Profile:

Calories, 180
Fat, 3.5 g
Saturated Fat, 0 g
Cholesterol, 0 mg
Carbs, 34 g
Dietary Fiber, 5 g
Protein, 6 g
Sodium, 85 mg
Vitamin A, 2% Daily Value
Vitamin C, 0% Daily Value
Calcium, 6% Daily Value
Iron, 8% Daily Value

 

This blog post is part of Recipe Redux. Check out other whole grain creativeness from the Recipe Redux clan:

Peach Lavender Ice Cream

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I recently joined the monthly blog festival, Recipe Redux, founded by fellow registered dietitians Regan Jones, Serena Ball and Deanna Segrave-Daly. The challenge they put forth is to "take delicious dishes, keep them delicious, but make them better for you," founding the blog fest "on the belief that healthier eating should always taste delicious." I couldn't agree more!

The Recipe Redux theme for August is frozen desserts. Scroll down to the bottom of this post to check out more delicious dessert recipes, but stick around long enough to drool over peach lavender ice cream. (Shhh, the fat, saturated fat and cholesterol are lower than a traditional custard ice cream, but don't tell anyone!) And if you don't have access to fresh lavender, this recipe will work well as straight peach ice cream, sans lavender.

This summer I have been working on a client project that has allowed me to team up again with Souders Studios, headed up by food and beverage photographer extraordinaire Rick Souders who partners with fabulous food stylist chef Stephen Shern. And I recently received some excellent advice from Stephen about using lavender in culinary applications. First, if you haven't used lavender in cooking, you might want to start with a savory meat dish first, rather than a sweet dessert. But don't let me deter you from trying this ice cream recipe, because it's quite delicious. Second, with lavender, it's all about the amount used.

Lavender buds tend to be less bitter than leaves and stems, and in a sweet recipe featuring the relatively mild taste of peaches, you want to be careful to keep the lavender from overwhelming the flavor profile, so just buds are called for. Eight to 10 lavender sprigs, such as these from my front yard, yield enough lavender buds for this recipe.

I use kitchen shears to trim the buds from the stems.

I simply adore Colorado peaches, but truly I think the key to good tasting juicy peaches is getting them locally in season, wherever you live. When August rolls around, we buy a case weekly from the Boulder County Farmers' Markets. Maybe we get a a dessert or two out of the box, but mostly we're just gobbling peaches, juice dripping down our chins.

To make ice cream with eggs (cooked, of course), you'll want to plan ahead and prepare the ice cream mix the day before, to allow time for the cooked mix to cool thoroughly. I have an old Donvier ice cream maker, and I place the inner "chillfast" aluminum cylinder in the freezer when I start to make the mix. Churning the ice cream is a fun family activity reserved for the next day.

 

Yield: 8 1/2 cup servings.

Preparation Time: About 1 hour for mix, chill overnight, about 30 minutes for churning.

1 1/2 cups cream
3 Tbsp fresh lavender buds
2 eggs
Whites from 2 eggs
2 1/2 cups reduced-fat (2%) milk
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
3-4 peaches
1 tsp lemon juice

Heat cream and lavender in medium sauce pan to 175°F. Let lavender steep in hot cream for about 20 minutes. Use a strainer and cheese cloth to strain lavender from cream. Discard lavender.

While lavender is steeping in the cream, beat eggs, milk and honey in another sauce pan, cook over low heat, stiring constantly, until mixture thickens, about 15-20 minutes. Let cool and add lavender-infused cream and vanilla. Refrigerate overnight.

About an hour before churning the ice cream, you'll want to blanch the peaches to remove the skin and then chop them. To blanch peaches, bring 1 quart of water to a boil in a sauce pan. Turn off heat. Add peaches and let sit about 2-3 minutes, until skin starts to peel. Drain off water and refill sauce pan with cool water. When peaches are cool, pull off skin and chop the flesh. Sprinkle with lemon juice and place in refrigerator.

Just before churning, fold the chopped peaches into the ice cream mix. Follow directions with your ice cream maker to churn the ice cream. I usually harden churned ice cream in the freezer a couple hours prior to serving.

What makes this recipe lower in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol than its traditional counterpart is replacing one egg with two egg whites, reducing the cream by 25% from 2 cups to 1 1/2 cups and increasing the milk to 2 1/2 cups to make up for the reduction in cream. However, this recipe is not a fat-free ride by any means, and I wouldn't want to make it such. Fat plays an important roll in minimizing crystallization in ice cream, so reducing the cream by too much will make for an inferior texture and flavor. Just keep in mind that a serving of ice cream is 1/2 cup...and if that's all the ice cream you're going to eat, occasionally, you might as well enjoy it! A serving of this ice cream is a good source of calcium (going by the FDA's definitions), and the addition of fresh peaches make it excellent source of vitamin A.

Per Serving Nutritional Profile:

Calories, 300
Fat, 20 g
Saturated Fat, 12 g
Cholesterol, 115 mg
Carbs, 28 g
Dietary Fiber, 1g
Protein, 6 g
Sodium, 85 mg
Vitamin A, 20% Daily Value
Vitamin C, 8% Daily Value
Calcium, 15% Daily Value
Iron, 2% Daily Value

Check out other frozen desserts made by Recipe Redux bloggers:

Carlene's Figments	Peanut Butter Banana 'Ice Cream' Sandwich
Delicious Knowledge	Mango & Coconut Popsicles
East Meats West	Auntie Rosie's Ice Cream Pie
Eat Well with Janel	Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream
Eating The Week	Coconut Chia-Seed Fruit Pops
Food Confidence RD	Banana Soft Serve
Kumquat	Coffee Granita
Liz On Food	Peach Lavender Ice Cream
Love and Zest	Frozen Berry Yogurt
Meal Makeover Moms' Kitchen	Healthy Blueberry and Mango Snow Cones
MeFirst	5-Minute Frozen Peach Pie
Nutrition Adventures	Coconut Ice Cream with Strawberry Puree
Nutrition Budgeteer	Simply Fruit Mango-Pineapple Sorbet
Nutrition Know How	Mocha Pops
Nutritioulicious	Watermelon Sorbet
Peace, Love, and Food	Peanut Butter Banana "Ice Cream"
Swanky Dietitian	Peanut Butter Coffee Popsicles
Teaspoon of Spice	Splendid Key Lime Frozen Yogurt
The Hearty Heart	Coconut Ice, Blueberry and Cocoa
The Nutriscientist	Honey and Strawberry Semifreddo
The Professional Palate	Frozen Samoas Pie
The Scoop on Nutrition	Greek Yogurt Pavlova Popsicles
The Spicy RD	Luscious Lemonade Pie
Whole Health RD	Peaches and Rum Ice Cream Pie