I haven't made it in quite a while but the Pumpernickel we like best is the one that was on the old Fleishman yeast packets...it is identical to the one in Bernard Clayton's book also. It is very dark and rich and lovely to work with. It has cocoa in it and caraway seeds . I used to make it all the time and use it for ham sandwiches. It was also great toasted with orange marmalade...yum !! You are making me hungry natal !! If you like I will go and pull it out and write it out for you here.

What was the name of the particular breads you enjoyed on your trip? Was it made with rye, wheat, oats, barley, or a combination? Danish ryes tend to be lighter and sweeter than German ryes, but you said it wasn't sweet, was it a light rye or similar to German Pumpernickel (more like a dense "brick" that has been steamed in the oven, rather than baked)? Nordic Breads... Kernebrod Tresse Limpa Rogbrod Swedish Caraway Bread Scandinavian Star ------------------------------- Here are some different recipes for Sprouted Breads.... This recipe uses a sponge method which works very well when using whole wheat flour. I'd add 1/4 t. ascorbic acid powder to the sponge, but that's me, always trying to improve a recipe. But then, I always add ascorbic acid anytime I make a yeasted bread that contains whole wheat flour or wheat germ. You'll get better gluten development if you use ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid isn't necessary when making sourdough breads. Sourdough breads are acidic enough. -Grainlady SPROUTED WHEAT BREAD (source: Deaf Smith Country Cookbook) Yield: Two 9x5-inch loaves 3 c. lukewarm water 1 T. dry yeast 1/4 c. unsulfured molasses or raw honey 4 T. unrefined oil 1 t. sea salt 4 c. whole wheat flour 2 c. wheat sprouts (more can be used) 3-4 c. whole wheat flour Dissolve the yeast in the water. Add the molasses, oil, salt, and flour. Beat well. Let rise for 1 hour. Add the wheat sprouts (ground in a food grinder or hand grain mill) to the raised sponge. Add additional flour to make the dough kneadable. Knead well on a floured board. Place the dough in an oiled bowl. Cover with a damp cloth. Let rise until double in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch down and form into 2 loaves and place in oiled loaf pans. Let rise about 30 minutes. Bake 1 hour at 350F. Cool on rack. --------------------------------- SPROUTED WHOLE WHEAT BREAD (source: Wheat Cookin' Made Easy - by Pam Crockett) 1 c. milk, scalded 1/2 c. water 2 T. vegetable oil 2 T. honey 1 egg 1 c. sprouts 1 t. salt 1 pkg. dry yeast 4 cups whole wheat flour Liquefy in blender, scalded milk, water, vegetable oil, honey, egg and sprouts. Pour into large mixing bowl and add salt and 2 cups of whole wheat flour. Mix well. Add yeast and remaining 2 eups of flour. Knead for 10 minutes. Form into a greased 9x5-inch pan and let rise until doubled in bulk. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes at 350°F. Grainlady note: I'm going to question going from kneading to formed loaf without allowing the dough to double in bulk if using active dry yeast. If you use an instant type yeast (Quick-Rise, Rapid-Rise, SAF-Instant, Bread Machine Yeast), you can knead the dough, then cover and allow it to rest for 10 minutes, THEN form and allow to proof. So there may have been a step omited in this recipe. ----------------------------------- WHEAT SPROUTS BREAD (source: Uprisings - The Whole Grain Bakers' Book) 2 c. warm water 2 t. malt 2 T. molasses 1 T. yeast 5 cups hard whole wheat flour 1/2 lb. (about 2 cups) wheat sprouts 1 t. salt 2 T. whey powder (optional) 3 T. oil 1-1/2 T. soy flour Mix together water, yeast, sweeteners and 2 cups flour. Let sit till bubbly. Then add remaining ingredients, and knead well, reserving or adding a little flour to obtain a good elastic texture. Let raise in oiled covered bowl, shape into loaves and let rise again. Bake at 350°F, 45 minutes. Yield: two 1-1/2-pound loaves. ---------------------------------- Sprouted Wheat Bread (source: http://emr.cs.iit.edu/~reingold/ruths-kitchen/recipes/breads/sprouted_wh.html) This sprouted wheat bread is moist and hearty without weighing a ton. Be sure to start it 3 or 4 days before you want to bake because you need to grow the sprouts first. I originally got this idea from Bernard Clayton, Jr., The Complete Book of Breads, Simon and Shuster, 1973. Early Preparations 3 days prior to baking, put 1/4 cup whole wheat seeds or berries in a 1-quart jar. Cover the mouth of the jar with cheesecloth, fastened with a rubber band. Soak seeds in warm water. Pour off the water (save), and place jar on its side, in a dark place. Twice a day, rinse the berries in tepid water (80°-85° )poured through the cheesecloth. Each time drain and reserve the water for a total of 2 cups rinsing water. Store the rinsing water in the refrigerator. Ingredients 1/4 cup wheat seeds or berries (see above) 2 cups tepid water for rinsing (see above) 2 pkgs. dry yeast the same 2 cups of rinsing water, heated to 100°F. 1/4 cup each brewer's yeast and honey 3 T. oil 5 cups whole wheat flour 1 T. salt When the sprouts are as long as the seed, bake the bread. Sprinkle the yeast over 1/2 cup of the reserved liquid (heated to 100°). Put remaining ingredients (except for 1 cup of flour and sprouts) in bowl of food processor. Add yeast mixture, and mix until smooth. Leave in food processor to rise for 1 hour. Stir down; add sprouts and 1 additional cup of whole wheat flour. Mix until fairly smooth, adding flour if needed. Place dough in greased bowl, cover, and let rise until double. Punch down, knead 30 seconds, and divide into two. Shape into balls, and let rest for 5 minutes. Form loaves by making an oval, folding in half, and pinching seam. Put in greased loaf pans to rise. Cover, and allow to double. Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake loaves for 25 minutes, lower heat to 300°F., and bake an additional 35 minutes. Finished loaves should give a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom. Bake an additional 5-10 minutes if loaves are not done. Cool on rack. These freeze quite well. Yield: 2 loaves.

LOL!! Annie, I admire your determination. i like using grams because it says it on the scale, and it's a smaller unit than an ounce. Makes the math easier. :) And you're absolutely right that a recipe is an approximation. I do find that weights are more accurate to that approximation than volume, so if I'm going to do a recipe I've never made before, I'd rather one that uses weight. Both are variable, but volume is more so, unless you sift, and then it's still a little more accurate. Perhaps that's less true if you live somewhere with wildly swinging humidity, though... These last few months, I've been learning how to make breads that are very different than the ones I'm used to, with different flour and different yeast. It was probably something I should have eased into, but I just leapt into the deep end and had some "interesting" results. It's very hard to judge if the dough is off if you don't know what it's supposed to be like to begin with. That's why I advocated looking for the adjectives. They help more than anything. Right this moment, I have a loaf from a new recipe in the oven. I started off trying to follow a recipe, which meant starting a very wet rye starter. The wheels came off halfway through, when the starter started dying and I just fixed it rather than worrying about the requirements of the recipe. Then I fixed the preferment to try to get back on track, and that worked. But then I sort of went my own way with the flour choice, and started adjusting back to the recipe, but kneaded and folded in the same bowl as it rose in to cut down on wash water, which worked, but I think it was meant to absorb more flour from the bench so I sprinkled flour, but it didn't cloak well, and I needed a second pan, and then it sank, so I changed it again to a sided pan and gave it some extra rise time. And it has the best oven spring of any of these new recipes I've tried! We'll see what happens when it comes out. So, yes, listen to your instincts and do what you think you need to to get it to come out, even if what you end up with isn't the recipe you thought you were starting with!

Linda, If you want to convert a bread machine recipe to a made by hand recipe, try this: in a bowl - put in the water or other liquid called for add in the yeast, whisk to dissolve, let sit 5-10 minutes to "proof" the yeast and made sure it is viable add any sugar, honey, maple syrup or other sweetener called for in the recipe, stir well add half of the flour called for in recipe, add salt and mix well, stirring with a strong spoon or heavy duty whisk also add in any dry herbs or spices now add in any butter, oil, or other fat called for - if melted butter, make sure it is only just warm, not hot - add in any egg(s) listed in recipe add in rest of flour and any other ingredients, chopped herbs, nuts, dried fruits, cheese, etc. stir well with spoon or mix with your hands until dough is a rather shaggy mass turn out dough onto a clean, floured flat surface and knead for 8-10 minutes adding only small sprinkles of flour if the dough sticks to your hands and the kneading surface [if you forgot those nuts, cheese, or raisins, you can knead them in now] when dough has been kneaded sufficiently it will come together into a nice firm ball (rather than a shaggy mass) and spring back when poked with a finger grease or oil a large bowl (or use the one you mixed in), put dough in, turn it around in the oil to grease the top of the dough and turn it oiled side up in the bowl; cover with a bowl cover (shower cap type), plastic wrap, or wax paper, then cover with a clean kitchen "tea" towel (dampened with hot water if you are making whole wheat bread) and set the dough to rise until doubled in bulk turn out dough, knead 2 minutes, divide into portions according to recipe or not - form loaves and put in greased loaf pans or not - cover again with wrap, and let rise until doubled in bulk preheat oven, bake bread until done, let cool at least a few minutes before cutting - and enjoy!