Carob Pumpernickel Bread

I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays! Mine have been full of baking, eating, and visiting with family & friends. I got some new cookbooks for Christmas and can't wait to start making my way through them! Abby also got spoiled with cat toys and catnip.

I've had pumpernickel bread before but maybe only a couple of times and never paid much attention to it. I was intrigued by this carob pumpernickel bread in The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest because it uses instant coffee, molasses, carob powder (which I need to find more uses for so I can use up my bag!), and rye flour. There are other ingredients but these are the ones that drew me in. The bread was easy to make and the loaves rose beautifully. I was scared they wouldn't rise that much because I've made some no knead breads that stayed fairly flat, but I guess that's because they were no knead (even though in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day it says they will rise?) Anyway, I loved the texture of the carob pumpernickel bread - nice and dense with a good chew (if that makes sense), but wasn't a huge fan of the flavour as it was kind of bitter. Apparently pumpernickel breads are bitter though so I obviously can't hold that against it.

The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest has an excellent guide to bread making, including shaping, different things you can put on to make a crust and their effects, answers to many baking questions, and of course lots of yummy loaves. I think I've mentioned it before but The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest is one of my new favourite cookbooks!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Buttermilk Honey Bread
Christopsomos - Greek Celebration Bread
Focaccia
Oatmeal Knots

Carob Pumpernickel Bread
Adapted from The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest

The Mix
1/2 cup carob powder
1/4 cup instant coffee granules
1 cup hot water
5 tbsp molasses
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp oil
1 tbsp salt

1. Combine everything, and mix until it forms a uniform paste. (A blender does this well.)

2. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

The Sponge
2 cups wrist temperature water
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
a drop of molasses
1 1/2 cups whole wheat bread flour (Ashley note: I used 190 g.)

Place water in your stand mixer bowl. Add yeast and molasses. Whisk in flour. Cover and let rise 30 to 45 minutes. Beat in the mix.

Additionally
3 cups rye flour (Ashley note: I used 378 g.)
about 4 more cups whole wheat bread flour (Ashley note: I forgot to measure this!)

Add the flour to the risen sponge/mix a cup at a time. Use the paddle attachment of your mixer to mix the flour in until thick. Change to the dough hook, and mix for 6 minutes.

Oil or butter a bowl generously. Place the dough in it, swish it around, then invert dough, and return to bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth from Sponge Stage, and return it to a warm place to rise. The dough is risen when it has doubled its bulk (usually this takes 1 hour). Grease two 8"x4" loaf pans generously with butter or oil.

Flour your fist and punch down the dough. It will instantly deflate. Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Knead the dough for 5 to 10 minutes - well kneaded dough has an ear lobe like texture. Add bits of flour very gradually (if necessary) and knead in each addition thoroughly. Don't add large amounts of flour at once, or your bread may have flour traps. Divide your dough in half.

To make a regular bread pan loaf, place the dough into the greased pans, press it hard into the corners and floor of the pan, take the dough out again, and return it upside down. This gives the bread a handsomely shaped surface. Once again, cover the dough with a damp cloth, and put it in a cozy place to rise. It is read to bake when its bulk has doubled. (This final rising often goes more quickly than the others.) Preheat the oven to 375F 15 minutes before baking.

Bake at 375F for 40 minutes. The bread is done if it gives off a hollow sound when thumped. Remove the bread from its pan right away, and cool it on a rack. Cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing.