Pumpernickel Bread

For those who like German bread, this is really worth making. I normally make it late in the evening, because the baking time is 12-14 hours, and I do it during the night. I use a mixer, but you can do it by hand if you have someone strong by. Mixing this dough together is actually man's work. You need 3 bread pans for this recipe and also to grease them properly, I use spray grease that comes in aerosol cans. All the ingredients are cold.

You need:

1.7 liter (7 1/2 cups of water)

600 grams of coarsely grounded rye

600 grams of coarsely grounded wheat

300 grams of finely grounded rye

300 grams of finely grounded wheat

300 grams sunflower seeds (or whole wheat corns that you have put in water the day before, and which I always forget, so I use sunflower seeds instead)

300 gram normal wheat flour

1 tablespoon of molasses

3 tablespoons of salt

50 grams/one pack of yeast

Dissolve the yeast in the water with the molasses and then add all the other ingredients and stir. It's supposed to be a sticky mass not looking much like bread dough at all. When well mixed, pour it over in 3 bread pans, that are not supposed to be more than 3/4 full. Seal them with aluminum foil on top, before you put them into a cold oven that you put on100 center grades and bake for 12-14 hours (I normally let them be there for 13, but if you don't wake up on time, 14 is still ok).

This bread needs to be kept in the fridge or freezer when done, as it contains a lot of moisture and mildewes easily. I normally cut them in half before I freeze them. And like a lot of European food, this bread also tastes better after a night in the fridge.