Pumpernickel Bread

A true German-style dark and dense loaf of pumpernickel bread used to be one of my favorite kinds of bread to eat before I gave up gluten. I distinctly remember buying it at Fairway Market on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, a few blocks away from my apartment when I was a teenager. That market was amazing. There was sawdust all over the floor and the isles were tall and narrow and packed to the gills with jars and boxes full of delicious things to eat like crackers, pickles, jams, and tinned fish. This bread loaf was squared-off and vacuum-sealed and had to be carefully pried open and all of the slices were stuck together. I would smear them with all sorts of toppings: butter and jam, smoked fish, or a sliver of Old Amsterdam cheese with tomato, salt, and pepper. I can taste it now! This version is pretty damn close! It’s grain free and made from ground up nuts and seeds, along with toasted caraway. I added a touch of cacao powder to give it some depth and that signature dark color. 

Yield: Makes 1 loaf

Author: The Kitchen Commune

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Pumpernickel Bread

gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, paleo, vegan, vegetarian, egg-free, nightshade-free, soy-free

Ingredients

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan
• 3 tablespoons caraway seeds
• 2 cups sunflower seeds, divided, plus more for garnishing
• 1 ½ cups super-fine blanched almond flour
• 2 tablespoons cacao powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup ground flaxseed
• ¼ cup whole psyllium husks

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 4 by 8-inch loaf pan with some of the olive oil.
2. Toast the caraway seeds in a small non-stick skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.
3. Add 1 ½ cups of sunflower seeds and the caraway seeds to the bowl of a food processor and grind until it resembles a coarse flour, about 45 seconds. Be careful not to over process or you’ll end up with seed butter.
4. Transfer to a large mixing bowl, add the almond flour, cacao powder, and salt and whisk together until well combined. Add ½ cup sunflower seeds and fold in with a rubber spatula.
5. In a large liquid measuring cup, add 1 ½ cups of water, olive oil, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, flaxseed, and husks and whisk together, stirring occasionally, until it becomes thick like apple sauce. This will happen quickly so stay with it.
6. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and using a rubber spatula, fold the mixture together until it forms a thick, sticky dough.
7. Transfer the dough to the loaf pan and using the rubber spatula, push it into the corners of the pan, compacting the dough and making sure it is spread evenly across the pan. Sprinkle some sunflower seeds on top and gently press them into the dough.
8. Bake for 1 hour on the middle rack, then lower the temperature to 300°F and bake for another 15 minutes, until firm to the touch in the center.
9. Allow the bread to cool for 1 hour in the loaf pan. Run a dinner knife between the loaf and pan to loosen, invert the pan to remove the loaf and transfer to a wire rack right side up to cool completely before serving.
10. To store, wrap the cooled bread in parchment paper and seal inside a zip-top bag and refrigerate for up to 1 week. You can also slice the cooled bread and freeze it in a zip-top bag, and toast to reheat each slice as needed.