Tuesday, April 19, 2011

bread making: Betty Crocker pumpernickel

I have made bread about five times in my life, and not for a long while. They all came out fine - one of them was pannetone, and that was especially good! - but I'm no bread baker.  However, I've been working myself up to this. And the time has come.

I tried a Laurie Colwin recipe which seemed simple enough, but it didn't come out - too heavy. I'm not sure what the problem was, and I want to try that one again at some point.  Last week I made up a batch of the 5 minute artisan no-knead dough, and baked a loaf a couple of days later, but it wasn't right. The crust was great, but inside it was too doughy. (The crust can be used for something; I put it in the freezer.) I tested the oven temperature and it seems fine.  I'll try the next batch at 25 degrees lower and bake it a bit longer.

Yesterday I had success - made a pumpernickel recipe from my 1975 Betty Crocker cookbook.



It's very whole-grainy, half rye and half all-purpose. Crunchy. My friend Emily was over today, and I was feeding her pieces of it with canola butter and honey - I think she ate half a loaf.  That's okay, I have another in the freezer!

8 comments:

  1. That pumpernickel with canola butter and honey sounds d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s.

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  2. I guess it was - Emily said so!

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  3. The bread looks lovely. I bet it was delicious - especially with butter and honey. I make the 5 minute a day artisan bread at least 4 days a week and have noticed that I need to let my bread rise and bake a little longer than the book states to avoid a doughy interior. Also, I let the oven preheat at least 20 minutes before putting the bread in to bake. The bread feels rock hard when it comes out of the oven but it does soften up as it cools down.

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  4. If I had been there with Emily - there wouldn't be a loaf in the freezer.
    Sounds delicious!!!!

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  5. Dondi, I'm grateful for your input about letting it rise a little longer - I was wondering about that.

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  6. That sounds (and looks!) good. My crazy experiments with bread baking haven't been successful, mostly because I really just experimented... but looking up to more successful people like you is what keeps me hoping that one day I'll manage. :-)

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  7. It's better to start with a recipe, Hana - until you get a feel for it, I think. But I would also like to experiment someday. Don't give up, though!

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  8. Your bread looks yummy! Thanks for stopping by my blog. Yes, we're square foot gardening for the first time. Hoping for success!

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