no knead overnight pumpernickel beer bread
Who else thrives in darkness…when it comes to bread?
I am a new convert to Dutch oven breadmaking, and it has revolutionized my personal level of laziness. Granted, I wouldn’t call any brand of breadmaking a venture for truly lazy folk, but the minimal guesswork and maximal hands-off time really appeals to my inner minimalist. A good weekend project without swallowing all of your free time, or, honestly, a weekday baking trick when you’re running too low on bread for comfort.
The fact that this is pumpernickel bread makes it even more fantastic. Maybe it’s my inner German vying for deep brown loaves. Maybe I just have good taste. If you’re here for the beer (bread), my hand is raised for a virtual high five.
No knead breads are famous for a chewy, crusty exterior and a fluffy interior. The cooking method required of these loaves involves plenty of time with the Dutch oven lid on, and the remaining with the lid off. This creates the desired texture and ensures a fully heated bread. No undercooking here.
But first, how to prepare so you have a bread loaf to bake in the first place.
1. Rise time. No knead breads typically require at least 2-3 hours before baking, since the yeast has to do more work to eat up the sugars in the flour due to the lack of kneading stimulation. This one needs much longer – think 12 hours minimum, preferably closer to 24. So, a bit of preplanning. Pumpernickels are dense breads by nature so the rise is more gradual. After you combine all of the ingredients in your bowl, give the dough a spray with some oil, cover it loosely with plastic or a tea towel, and let it hang out somewhere warm and undisturbed so it can get the good night’s sleep you probably don’t get if you’re a working adult.
2. Prepare your Dutch oven. Your Dutch oven, the baking bread bed, needs a 15 minute or so preheat before the bread touches the walls. During this period, flour a work surface, remove the dough from its bowl and work it into a cohesive ball. When your Dutch oven is nicely preheated, set the dough onto a slab of parchment.
3. Remember an oven mitt when handling the Dutch oven. I don’t know why, but apparently heat transfer rules don’t apply in my mind when it comes to dealing with a ripping hot Dutch oven. I’ve nearly pulled the lid off sans protection multiple times. Slide that cooking condom over your fingertips and remove your pot carefully. Set the dough inside and replace the lid.
4. Bake #1: Lid on. The majority of the baking time occurs with the lid on. 35 minutes does the trick. Here you can sit back, sip a beer, watch an episode of How I Met Your Mother, maybe take a nap if you’re not in the mood for reruns.
5. Bake #2: Lid off. Remember your friends the oven mitts? Use them again. Pop the lid off your Dutch oven and finish the final 10 minutes with the irresistible aroma of pumpernickel teasing your nostrils.
6. The final test of patience. Take the freshly baked bread out of the Dutch oven and let it cool at least an hour. Cut the bread when it’s too warm and the slices will surely crumble. Trust me, with an hour elapsed time the bread will still be toasty on the inside and ready to melt the slab of butter you most certainly should spread on its surface.
That’s that, friends! A long process, sure, but a rewarding one and definitely worthwhile. No knead breads are beautiful in their forgiveness. If you neglect it for too long, chances are the loaf will still taste wonderful. Especially this one.
Tried this recipe out? Leave a comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you’ve made!
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 cups rye flour
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3 tbsp molasses
- 1 cup dark beer, like Guinness
- 1/2 – 2/3 cup brewed coffee, chilled
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine flours, cocoa powder, yeast, and salt. Stir in molasses, then add beer and 1/2 cup coffee and work the dough with a wooden spoon until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms a cohesive ball. You may need an additional 1-2 tbsp coffee to achieve the right texture.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a tea towel and set in a warm, draft-free area to rise for at least 12 hours, but preferably closer to 24.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 450 degrees. After the oven fully heats, set a Dutch oven with the lid on in the oven to heat an additional 15-20 minutes.
- While the Dutch oven preheats, flour a work surface and your hands. Turn the ball of dough onto the surface and work into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest as the pot preheats.
- When the Dutch oven is done heating, place the dough ball onto a big sheet of parchment and set carefully into the bowl of the pot. Cover with the lid. Bake 30 minutes with the lid on, then remove the lid and bake an additional 8-10 minutes.
- Remove bread from the pot and cool on a wire baking rack for at least an hour. After that time, slice and serve!
