Raisin Pumpernickel Bread

Sharon123's Note:

This bread is also called "Black Russian" and is delicious! Try it with a ripe piece of Brie, as a sandwich, even fabulous French toast! It's origins came out of New York. Smells heavenly baking in the oven!

• Total Time: 8 hrs 45 mins
• Prep Time: 8 hrs
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 3 delicio ...

• 1 ½ cups lukewarm water (105* to 115*)
• ½ cup molasses
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 cups medium rye flour
• 1 ½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 cups bread flour or 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup raisins
• 3 -4 tablespoons cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon cold water
• 1 egg white

Directions:

1. Stir together the lukewarm water and molasses in a large mixing bowl.
2. Sprinkle in the yeast and stir to dissolve.
3. Let stand for 10 minutes, or until slightly foamy.
4. Stir in instant coffee, salt and rye flour.
5. Sprinkle in the cocoa and stir well to combine.
6. Add whole-wheat flour and 1 cup of the bread flour, or enough to make a sticky dough.
7. Turn the bread out onto a lightly floured work surface and let it rest.
8. Wash and dry the bowl.
9. Sprinkle additional flour over the dough and begin to knead.
10. Continue until most or all of the remaining bread flour is incorporated and you have a smooth elastic ball.
11. (Breads with rye flour will always be slightly sticky.) Pour the vegetable oil into the mixing bowl, turn the ball of dough to coat well, cover bowl with a towel, and set aside to rise until dough is tripled in bulk, 3 to 4 hours.
12. Lightly flour the work surface and turn the dough out onto it.
13. Flatten it into a large rectangle and sprinkle with the raisins.
14. Roll up the dough and knead it, to distribute the raisins and let rise until doubled.
15. Sprinkle a large baking sheet with 3 to 4 tablespoons cornmeal.
16. Turn the dough out,cut it into 3 pieces, and shape each piece into a small round loaf.
17. Set loaves on the baking sheet, leaving as much room as possible between them, cover, and let rise until doubled.
18. Preheat oven to 400*.
19. Beat egg white together with 1 tbls.
20. cold water in a small bowl.
21. When the loaves have risen sufficiently, brush the tops with the egg white mixture.
22. Bake loaves on the middle rack of the oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until they are dark brown and sound hollow when bottoms are rapped.
23. Cool completely on racks before cutting or wrapping.
24. Makes 3 loaves.
25. Enjoy!

Reviews

[Engrossed]

YIPPEE! I made REAL bread! It's been about 10 years since I've done so. I did use my kitchenaid's dough hook though. I made this as directed with dark rye flour and all-purpose flour. It was slow to rise so I put on top of the dryer because I was doing laundry all day too. Worked great! I ended up with 3 beautiful loafs that had a nice crust and soft inside. The raisins were perfect in it. I enjoyed this most toasted with butter. YUM! Freddy Cat says hi! Made for the Please Review tag game.

[Chef Kate]

I didn't have instant coffee either, but used a bit of very finely ground espresso. This bread is terrific! Better than anything I can buy here in Washington. Thanks, Sharon!

[CobraLimes]

Oh my! I was hoping, based on the ingredients, that this would be a decent raisin pumpernickel loaf, but this surpassed my expectations. This labor of love produced 3 gorgeous, beautifully textured, bakery style loaves abundant with true New York pumpernickel flavor. I didn't have any instant coffee granules on hand, so I omitted that (but will definitely purchase some for the next batches) and I added an extra 1/2 c. of raisins. I will be perusing ALL of your recipes and popping them in my cookbook because this chef is convinced that you're the real thing. Thanks so much!