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{{Short description|Type of rye bread}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2009}}
{{Infobox food
| name             = Pumpernickel
| name_lang        = de
| name_italics     = true
| image            = Pumpernickel.jpg
| image_size       = 250px
| caption          = A very dense wholegrain [[Westphalia]]n pumpernickel
| alternate_name   = 
| place_of_origin  = [[Germany]]
| region           = [[Westphalia]]
| creator          = 
| course           = 
| type             = [[Rye bread]]
| served           = 
| main_ingredient  = [[Rye]] [[flour]], rye berries
| variations       = 
| calories         = 
| other            = 
}}

'''Pumpernickel''' ({{IPAc-en|lang|pron|ˈ|p|ʌ|m|p|ər|n|ɪ|k|əl}}; {{IPA|de|ˈpʊmpɐˌnɪkl̩|lang|De-Pumpernickel.ogg}}) is a typically dense, slightly sweet [[rye bread]] traditionally made with [[sourdough starter]] and coarsely ground [[rye]]. It is sometimes made with a combination of rye [[flour]] and [[Whole grain|whole rye grains]] ("rye berries").

At one time, it was traditional [[Peasant foods|peasant fare]], but largely during the 20th century various forms became popular with other classes through [[delicatessen]]s and supermarkets. Present-day European and North American pumpernickel differ in several characteristics, including the use of additional leaveners. The less dense North American version may eschew rye grains, have coloring and flavoring agents, add wheat flour, glazed crust, a higher baking temperature, and a dramatically shortened baking time.

==Etymology==
{{Wiktionary}}
[[Image:Pumpernickel allemand.jpg|thumb|A very dark, dense wholegrain pumpernickel]]

Contemporary English ''pumpernickel'' is a [[loanword]] from German ''Pumpernickel'' (compare also German ''Pompernickel'' and ''Bompernickel''), referring to a black bread from [[Westphalia]]. The word is found in English-language literature as early as 1738. Before its use to refer to the bread, the German word was used to mean "lout" (and can later be found in southern German-speaking areas in use for "vivacious child" or "small, plump person or child"). The German word is constructed from two elements: [[Early New High German|Early modern German]] ''pumper'' meaning 'fart' (recorded in 1558 in this sense) or "to knock, fall noisily", from which the sense of "fart" derived ([[Middle High German]] ''pumpern''). The second element, ''Nickel'', is [[Hypocorism|pet form]] of the name ''Nikolaus''.<ref name="OED">Oxford English Dictionary, “pumpernickel (n.),” September 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/8482737662.</ref> An earlier word for the bread is attested in English as ''cranck broat'', meaning "sick bread".<ref name="OED"/>

The [[Oxford English Dictionary]] highlights that while there is uncertainty around the exact sense of the word ''Pumpernickel'' as used in German to refer to the bread, "it is clearly depreciative", potentially a negative means of describing Westphalian bread by outsiders. According to the dictionary, "This type of bread was probably so called either on account of its being difficult to digest and causing flatulence or in a more general allusion to its hardness and poor quality".<ref name="OED"/>

As early as the 1600s, a [[folk etymology]] is recorded that proposes that the name ''Pumpernickel'' derives from the French ''bon pour Nicol'' ("good only for Nicol"), where Nicol was purportedly the name of a horse. While false, this etymology is found in early modern German and is reflected in the form ''bonpournikel''.<ref name="OED"/>

==Germany==
Pumpernickel has been long associated with the [[Westphalia]] region of Germany, first referred to in print in 1450. Although it is not known whether this and other early references refer to precisely the bread that came to be known as ''Pumpernickel'', Westphalian pumpernickel is distinguished by the use of coarse rye [[flour|meal]] and a very long baking period, which gives the bread its characteristic dark color. Like most traditional all-rye breads, pumpernickel is made with an acidic [[sourdough]] starter, which preserves dough structure. The acid inactivates the rye [[protein]], [[amylase]], which converts the [[starch]] to [[sugar]]. That sourdough starter is sometimes augmented, or replaced, in commercial baking by adding [[citric acid]] or [[lactic acid]] along with [[Saccharomyces cerevisiae|commercial yeast]].<ref>From the label of a German-style ''Pumpernickel'' sold by [[Trader Joe's]] in eastern Massachusetts</ref>

[[File:Pumpernikiel.jpg|200px|thumb|A slice of very dense flat [[Barley malt syrup|malt]]-colored Polish pumpernickel]]

Traditional German pumpernickel contains no coloring agents, instead relying on the [[Maillard reaction]] to produce its characteristic deep brown color, its sweet, dark chocolate, coffee flavor, and its earthy aroma. To achieve this, loaves are baked in long, narrow lidded pans 16 to 24 hours in a low-temperature—about {{cvt|120|C|-1}}, steam-filled oven. Like French [[pain de mie|sandwich bread]], or a [[Pullman loaf]], Westphalian pumpernickel has little or no crust. It is very similar to rye ''[[Vollkornbrot]]'', a dense rye bread with large amounts of whole grains added.{{Cn|date=January 2021}} German pumpernickel is often sold sliced in small packets in supermarkets, where it may be paired with [[caviar]], [[smoked salmon]], [[sturgeon]], and other expensive products on an [[hors d'oeuvre]] tray.{{Cn|date=January 2021}}

== Netherlands ==
Pumpernickel varieties are popular in the [[Netherlands]], where it has been a common part of the diet for centuries.<ref>{{cite web |title=Graansoorten |trans-title=Grain varieties |url=http://www.bakkerijmuseum.nl/kalwiblo/index.php?t=2&h=5&s=8#Minderwaardig |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113134555/http://www.bakkerijwiki.nl/index.php?t=2&h=5&s=8 |archive-date=2018-11-13 |publisher=Nederlands BakkerijMuseum}}</ref> It is known there as ''[[:nl:Roggebrood|Fries roggebrood]]'' or 'Frisian rye bread', as this variety of rye bread originates in the Dutch province of [[Friesland]], and is significantly different from, for example, ''Brabants roggebrood'', rye bread made with yeast, from the province of [[North Brabant]].

==North America==
The term "pumpernickel" is often used in North America, especially in the United States, to refer to an airy style of dark-colored wheat-and-rye [[sandwich bread]] or [[bagel]] originally popularized by [[Ashkenazi]] [[Jewish deli]]s. These products often forgo the sourdough starter, long bake times, and steaming, and instead use [[baker's yeast]] and short dry bakes that do not allow for the same degree of [[Maillard browning]] as traditional German methods. To compensate, ingredients such as [[molasses]], [[caramel color]], [[coffee]], and [[Cocoa solids|cocoa powder]] are added for both color and flavor. Some shops and bakeries, especially those in Canada, do use recipes that produce a traditional dense loaf.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pumpernickel Bread: Real versus American-style |url=https://www.cooksinfo.com/pumpernickel-bread |website=CooksInfo |access-date=28 February 2024 |date=6 August 2010 |archive-date=28 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240228193835/https://www.cooksinfo.com/pumpernickel-bread |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ephanov |first1=Nikita |title=The Difference Between American And German Pumpernickel Bread |url=https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/difference-between-american-german-pumpernickel-134541237.html |access-date=28 February 2024 |work=Yahoo Finance |date=13 January 2024 |archive-date=28 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240228193834/https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/difference-between-american-german-pumpernickel-134541237.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Trillin|first=Calvin|title=The Magic Bagel|date=27 March 2000|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|page=53|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/03/27/the-magic-bagel|access-date=3 November 2020|archive-date=25 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925015758/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/03/27/the-magic-bagel|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of breads]]
* [[Rugbrød]]
* [[Schwarzbrot]]
* [[Jewish rye bread]]
* [[Pumper Nic]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pumpernickel pumpernickel] at the ''Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary''
*[http://www.aviewofamerica.com/Recipes/Breads/pumpernickel.htm How to make an American pumpernickel bread] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511210110/http://www.aviewofamerica.com/Recipes/Breads/pumpernickel.htm |date=2008-05-11 }}
*[https://www.thebreadshebakes.com/2014/08/baking-traditional-real-german-pumpernickel-bread/ How to make authentic German pumpernickel bread]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=IBI8AAAAIAAJ&dq=Schuppius+Jahrbuch&pg=RA1-PA48 Description of Schupp "bon pour Nicol" quotation]

{{Jewish baked goods}}
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[[Category:German breads]]
[[Category:Jewish American cuisine]]
[[Category:Jewish baked goods]]
[[Category:Jewish breads]]
[[Category:Rye breads]]
[[Category:Sourdough breads]]
[[Category:Westphalian cuisine]]