Hello,
Jan Fure wrote:
>
> Hi;
>
> I am making pumpernickel mainly following the method outlined in:
> http://samartha.net/SD/procedures/PPN01/index.html
> I am dividing the 18.2Kg recipe by 10 to get a 4 pound recipe.
>
> Starting with about 1800g, I end up with 1500 to 1600 gram bread, with
> other words, on a typical run, I start with a dough hydration of 70%,
> and end up with a bread hydration of 45%.
I have not measured the loss of weight as far as I remember.
Typically, I get maybe 10 % of weight loss with baking regular (my
style, 50/50 rye wheat mix etc..), dough weight 1660 g, final loaf
weight 1509 after 40 minutes baking, so you have a maybe 20 % loss with
the long baking time, you are pretty much what one could expect.
> > My pumpernickel is pleasant to eat, however, it is quite different
> from German pumpernickel. The German pumpernickel I buy in American
> German-food stores (500g, plastic wrapped, rye, water, salt, yeast as
> only ingredients) is darker than my pumpernickel, somewhat softer and
> moister, it has a slightly sweet smell and taste, but of course not as
> fresh as my own homebaked pumpernickel. My pumpernickel smells more
> like rye in comparison.
Ok I see what you mean. The pumpernickels from the store and driven by
yeast are done with an industrial process and what they do is probably
scald the flour/schrot to get it softened. That's an assumption.
If you could name the brand of the bread you are talking about, I will
go and look if I can find it at the store.
My thinking at this point about the color is that it may depend a lot on
the rye used. There appear to be color variations and the choices on rye
varieties in US is to be happy to get _one_ decent grain and if you can
get it, buy a 3 year supply because you may never get it again.
> I am interested in how much water loss other people experience making
> pumpernickel, and also how sour the dough gets prior to baking, i.e.
> can you hear the CO2 escaping through the dough, is it a sharp whiff
> when smelling it?
The water loss/drying out is definitely an issue with this method, not
to say _the_ issue to solve.
Whatever opening there is in the dough enclosure, it will allow moisture
to escape and with the long baking time, the loaf will dry out.
What you could do it to close the oven vent holes to avoid steam loss. I
do this with duct tape and it sure helps with baking bread - haven't
done it with pumpernickels, though.
The fermentation and sourness is another issue.
Ratio of starter flour/total flour is the key issue. From the recipe
page you said you used, it's not so visible since they use leftover
bread and on the starter calculation page, you can't see it either since
this is using version 1 - you'll have to manually divide the starter
flour by the total flour to get the number.
On the "sketchy notes" page, you see that it's only 10 % starter of
total dough. That's about 8.5 % starter flour (baker's %). Normally,
with a 100 % rye bread, one would use something like 40/50 %. Now,
that's done (the 10% with pumpernickel) to allow for the long
baking/fermentation and avoid excessive sourness.
I am not sure, if you considered that with your recipe. Also, I used
only 3 hours dough fermentation because of this issue.
Another factor to influence acidity is how you grow your starter,
although the portion is relatively small with this, but I never had to
fiddle on that and with pumpernickel.
> I have tried using extra aluminum foil to retain more water, but I end
> up with a "doughy" bread.
Now, you seem to be successful with retaining moisture with your setup.
About the "doghyness" - was it hardening after maybe 24 hours or did it
remain doughy?
Mine are totally soft and "doughy" in the inner parts, but this hardens
after a while.
The Pumpernickels I get from this process are not the almost black/dark
one's you see sometimes sold in cans. That's another tinkering project.
What I get is fairly dark - definitely darker as the darker "Rye-Ola
Pumpernickel" (with molasses) from Rubschlager.
Curious: with your aluminum foil - did you notice any corrosion?
Samartha
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