Pumpernickel au Ferment Aigre

This is another "faux" sourdough recipe from my new Bernard Clayton book. It makes a fantastic crusty rye loaf full of molasses and caraway. This may be one of my favourite breads ever. I think it would be interesting to try it as a pure sourdough -- without the added commercial yeast on day 2 -- but this approach certainly works fine and does speed up the process a bit.

I'm still getting used to how to work with rye flour. It is much lower in gluten than wheat flour and the dough tends to be somewhat sticky and flow-y even when at a reasonable hydration and properly kneaded. I think that I got this one just about right, but I know that I definitely need more practice with rye to get a better feel for it. That said, I'm certainly happy with how these loaves came out. They pancaked a bit during baking (possibly slightly overproofed), but the flavour and texture were both excellent, so no complaints here!

Sourdough Pumpernickel

Slightly adapted from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads

Ingredients

Sponge

• 3/4 c. potato water (from cooking potatoes for dough)
• 250g active (fresh/fed) sourdough starter @ 100% hydration
• 1/4 c. molasses
• 300g hard (strong/high grade/bread) whole wheat flour

Dough

• 1 c. boiling water
• 1/4 c. cornmeal
• 1 c. mashed potatoes
• 1/2 Tbsp. instant yeast
• 1-2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1-2 Tbsp. caraway seeds
• 360g rye flour
• 1/2 c. hard (strong/high grade/bread) flour
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp. water

Directions

1. Cut up one or two potatoes (more if they're very small) and boil until tender. You want enough to make at least 1 c. of mashed potatoes.
2. Reserve 3/4 c. of the potato cooking water, then drain and mash the potatoes. Do not add any salt or butter!
3. Put the mashed potatoes in the fridge to be used in the dough tomorrow.
4. Combine the starter, molasses, whole wheat flour, and reserved potato water and mix well.
5. Cover and allow to ferment at room temperature for 8-12 hours.
6. When you are ready to continue with the recipe, whisk the boiling water into the cornmeal.
7. Mix in the mased potatoes.
8. If the potato-cornmeal mixture is still very hot, set it aside to cool a little before adding it to the sponge.
9. Once cooled (body temperature or slightly warmer is fine), add the potato mixture to the sponge.
10. Mix in the yeast, then mix in 1 Tbsp. of the salt.
11. Add the oil and 1 Tbsp. of the caraway seeds.
12. Mix in the rye flour ~1/4 c. at a time.
13. Once most of the rye flour has been incorporated, spread the last 1/4 c. or so on the work surface and turn the dough out on top of it.
14. Knead the dough, gradually working the remaining rye flour in.
15. Keep kneading the dough until it becomes supple. The dough will probably stick to your hands, so keep them well-floured. Once the rye flour is fully incorporated, use the white flour to flour your hands and the work surface as needed. It should hit a point where it starts to smooth out and become somewhat elastic. It will still be sticky at this point, but markedly smoother. Don't try to knead it until the stickiness goes away, it won't. Don't keep adding flour either; the dough will become too stiff. Just use what you need to get it to the point of smoothing out.
16. Once done kneading, round the dough (as best you can) and place it in a covered bowl to rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours.
17. Once the dough has fully risen, knock it back and divide into two equal portions.
18. Round each portion, cover, and rest for 10-15 minutes.
19. Shape as desired and place on a prepared baking sheet or in bannetons to proof.
20. Cover and proof at room temperature for ~1 hour or overnight in the fridge.
21. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
22. If loaves are not already on a baking sheet, grease a baking sheet, dust it with cornmeal, and turn the loaves out onto the prepared sheet.
23. Beat the egg with the water and brush the loaves with the egg wash.
24. Sprinkle each loaf with either 1/2 Tbsp. of caraway seeds or 1/2 Tbsp. of coarse sea salt.
25. Slash as desired.
26. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 40-50 minutes.
27. Turn oven off and leave loaves in hot oven for another 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool.

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Variations

Vegan Version

Ingredients

Sponge

• 3/4 c. potato water (from cooking potatoes for dough)
• 250g active (fresh/fed) sourdough starter @ 100% hydration
• 1/4 c. organic molasses
• 300g hard (strong/high grade/bread) whole wheat flour

Dough

• 1 c. boiling water
• 1/4 c. cornmeal
• 1 c. mashed potatoes
• 1/2 Tbsp. instant yeast
• 1-2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1-2 Tbsp. caraway seeds
• 360g rye flour
• 1/2 c. hard (strong/high grade/bread) flour
• 1 Tbsp. non-dairy milk
• 1/2 tsp. agave syrup

Combine the non-dairy milk and agave syrup and brush it on the loaves before baking. Sprinkle with caraway or coarse salt and bake as directed above.