bread machine onion pumpernickel bread

How To Make bread machine onion pumpernickel bread

• 1

  Real prep time: 10 min. actual work, plus 15 min. soak time. See NOTE Step 11. Rehydrate half a pouch of dry onion soup mix in 1/4 cup water at least 15 minutes before adding to bread pan. This keeps onions from being leathery. DETAILS: (Crushing recommended if you prefer no noticeable onion bits:) Before opening pouch, you can crush dry onions through pouch with fingers or bottom of a glass (or with mortar and pestle if you forget to do it before opening). When they're smaller, onions hydrate quicker and distribute more evenly throughout loaf, mostly disappearing. Next (still before opening), I turn pouch horizontal and shake it gently, trying to distribute bits evenly within soup powder. Then I turn pouch upright, level the mix, and cut off top of pouch. Then I fold pouch in half top to bottom to evenly divide mix, and pinch off half of mix while pouring other half into small empty cup. Don't pour mix directly into water in case too much mix accidentally slips out: you can still put some back into pouch if it's dry. When you're satisfied onions are broken down and you've got about half the mix into cup, add 1/4 cup water and stir until everything is wet. Let sit at least 15 minutes. Longer is better. I store remaining mix folded into its pouch sealed inside a plastic zipper bag with my spices. I use a Sharpie marker to write the date I opened it on the plastic bag. I use this same hydration method for onion white bread... also quite yummy! (If you want MORE onion bits, feel free to add extra dehydrated onion flakes to this recipe. Just rehydrate them in an equal amount of water to onion bits. I'd start with no more than 1 TBS extra flakes. More than this may adversely affect the moisture content of your bread. If you want still more onions in your bread after trying it this way, feel free to experiment, but be prepared for failures. See NOTES in step 9 for discussion about adding extra onions vs. onion soup mix.
• 2

  Make sure your paddle and bread pan are clean and the paddle is firmly seated on the drive shaft! (Yes, you know who you are!) DETAILS: FYI, I always fill my bread pan on the counter, not while it's in the machine. Flour has a tendency to sprinkle itself in odd places while I'm measuring, and I try to eliminate one of them from being inside the baking chamber; burned flour does not smell appetizing. That said, some people worry about tipping the pan over while it's on the counter. If that is a concern of yours, I recommend steadying it in a bowl or pan with sides high enough (like a stock pot) to prevent it from tipping fully over if the dreaded event does happen.
• 3

  Add the wet ingredients (including a few relevant dry ones). Stir them briefly to dissolve coffee: Hydrated onion soup (I use a small spatula to get it all!) Remaining water Oil Blackstrap molasses* Sugar Salt (optional but recommended - see section 9 NOTES below) Instant coffee DETAILS: When the onions are hydrated, fill the bread pan with wet ingredients plus the dry ingredients included in the wet section because they work better if given a chance to at least partially dissolve. Stir with rubber spatula until instant coffee is dissolved. (Regarding spatulas: bread machine makers discourage use of metal utensils in their pans because the nonstick coating is easily damaged. I like to use a flexible spatula instead of a hard plastic or nylon utensil because it does a better job of cleaning the sides of the pan. But I prefer the one-piece silicone spatulas because they are sturdier than the more flexible rubber-head-on-a-stick design. The one-piece design gives more leverage when trying to manipulate big balls of dough orbiting in confined spaces.) *Molasses explained: There are basically three types of molasses in the US: light (or plain old Molasses), dark, and blackstrap. Dark and light are pretty similar, and taste a little on the sweet side. Blackstrap molasses is a different animal. It is twice as strong and half as sweet. If you use regular molasses instead of blackstrap in this recipe, leave out the sugar and double the molasses measurement. (To be honest, I've never used anything but blackstrap molasses; the above recommendation is based on what I've read about substituting blackstrap for regular molasses; YMMV.)
• 4

  Add the dry ingredients and briefly stir together: AP flour Rye flour Unsweetened cocoa Instant yeast DETAILS: After adding them to the pan, stir dry ingredients gently together as they float on the liquids. It's okay if you accidentally dip into the water level a couple times; it's going to get all mixed together eventually. But the purpose of this step is to break up any big lumps of cocoa as well as to evenly distribute yeast while everything is still dry.
• 5

  Put the pan in the machine, set the cycle to Basic, the loaf size to its largest capacity (preferably 2 pounds), and the crust color to medium. DETAILS: Seat bread pan firmly in bread machine so it stays put while kneading. Some pans are easier to seat than others, but the pan should "snap" into place and give firm resistance when you try to remove it. Close the lid and set the menu for the largest size loaf with a medium crust on the Basic cycle. I have never made this using the whole wheat/grain cycle since it works so well on Basic (which, on my machine, is over an hour shorter than the whole wheat/grain setting and I am impatient for my bread to be done!). Feel free to experiment and post your experiences below!
• 6

  Press Start. Adjust moisture content of dough if necessary. DETAILS: Press Start and wait five minutes or so while the machine does its thing. It may sound like it is struggling a bit. This is okay for now. After five-ish minutes (up to 10 minutes), open the lid and scrape down the sides with spatula. Also, check underneath dough for pockets of flour: with the rubber spatula, help the dough ball to turn over and "pick up" the hidden flour. Sometimes I quickly but firmly press down on the outer part of the dough so it can reach flour stuck in a corner. Just be careful of the whirling paddle (you can't really hurt it, but it can knock your fingers into the lip of the pan which doesn't feel great). It's a bit of an adventure to manipulate the dough ball while the machine is kneading, so if you feel overwhelmed, and your machine has a Pause button, feel free to use it. But it's not an exact science and it goes faster if you let the machine carry on while you assist. When most of the flour has been incorporated, IF the dough still seems dry and has cracks in the surface, or has formed more than one ball of dough, add a tablespoon of water and watch while it is incorporated into the ball... watch maybe 45 seconds to a minute or more. The machine should be sounding mostly normal by now. If it is still struggling and there are still cracks in the dough or the dough balls haven't begun to merge (you may have to help by smashing them together with your spatula), add another tablespoon of water. Repeat if necessary until dough is all stuck together and has formed a mostly uniform ball with a smooth, slightly tacky surface. Don't be impatient with this part; it takes time for the dough to "drink in" the water. But it's better for the dough to be a little too wet than a little too dry (notice I said "a little": Too much water can cause the loaf to collapse or even to not cook fully). Close lid when done.
• 7

  Allow machine to complete its program. After the Finished signal, remove pan from machine. Remove loaf from pan. Remove paddle from loaf. Cool loaf on wire rack. DETAILS: The machine will signal when it has finished baking. You can remove pan immediately or let it sit for the length of your machine's warming cycle (usually an hour). Just don't let loaf fully cool off inside pan else it could be very difficult to remove bread without destroying it (more on this shortly). Using a hotpad, pull the pan from its clamps. Some machines provide more resistance than others. Remember, it's HOT. Removing loaf from pan can be tricky. I use a hotpad to steady the bread end and some thick, folded paper towels to firmly grasp the bottom mechanism (because I don't want to get machine oil on my hotpads). Holding both ends as described, I turn the pan upside down and shake (sometimes a lot) to slide the loaf from the pan into my hand, trying to keep the handle from blocking the movement of the loaf. Hopefully the loaf will come out. If not, you may have to dig it out, trying to salvage as much as possible whole. As soon as loaf is out, remove paddle if it's still in the bread (about 90% of the time for me). If you leave paddle in the bread until it's cool, it will make removal difficult because crust becomes very firm as it cools. I use a plastic fast food knife to "cut" paddle loose from surrounding bread. This keeps paddle from being scratched by metal utensils. If plastic knife is sturdy enough, you can use it to partially pry paddle from loaf, but you will need to use some kind of protection for your fingers when you grab it: that sucker is HOT! (A little bread usually sticks to paddle.) Once paddle has been removed, place loaf on wire rack to cool. I cover it with a towel to impede moisture evaporation. Loaf will not slice well when it's hot so resist the temptation to cut into it until it's only slightly warm!
• 8

  Slice and serve warm (not hot) in a cloth lined and covered basket, with a rich European butter like Kerry Gold or any honey butter! Also makes tasty sandwiches, but crumb is not dense enough to hold up well. Store in plastic bag only when completely cool. Only fresh for a couple of days (still edible after that of course, but better as toast). Refrigeration extends life but decreases flavor so avoid refrigeration unless you're sure you won't eat it all within three days.
• 9

  NOTES: >> Extra dried onions OR extra onion soup mix? So you want more onion flavor. Why not add all the onion soup mix? Of course you can, but soup mixes include thickeners which may affect how your bread turns out. My limited experience is that it makes the crumb wet and heavy, causing poor rise and uncooked interior. As always, YMMV. Additionally, there is a lot of salt in dry soup mixes (most all soup is absurdly over salted) which can affect how well your loaf rises (salt being a yeast inhibitor). So, if soup mix is so bad, why not just use onion flakes? You can, and it will turn out fine, but I find that the brown broth flavoring (I won't go so far as to call it beef) adds a little something extra to the flavor profile. >> Regarding salt: this recipe does have more salt than other bread machine recipes of this size because of the soup mix. However it also has more flour by volume than most bread machine recipes so it tastes fine, but it definitely has more sodium if you're watching salt intake. If you wish, the teaspoon of salt called for in the Wet Ingredients section can be safely omitted. It will, of course, still have whatever sodium is in the half-pouch of onion soup mix, so you'll have to check the soup mix box for that data. >> Cold weather baking: I keep my house at 65°F in winter. This makes for pretty cold water coming out my pipes which yeastie beasties don't like at all. Bread machines do warm the ingredients as they mix, but I have found that microwaving the water to Barely Warm (NOT hot!) before adding to the pan produces a better rising loaf in winter (you could also use the hot water tap, but it's wasteful if you have to run it until the warm water gets to your sink*). If you keep your house on the cool side, or if your pipes travel far in outside walls to get to your sink, this little trick can help your loaves achieve their best rise in cold weather. * Compared to a few electric seconds in a microwave.
• 10

  NOTES (continued): >> Delayed baking: For a couple of reasons, I don't recommend using the delayed baking feature until you've already made this recipe at least once in the current weather season. First, it's important to learn how much water your flour actually needs. Where I live I have to add significantly more water in winter than in summer, plus each bag of flour has its own moisture content so may act differently than the previous bag. Second, this is a large, high rising loaf and you might have to puncture it if it starts to touch the lid of your machine (see next section about "Really Big Loaf," Step 11). If that does happen, next time try making it with only 2 tsp yeast. With the delay timer, you might not be around if your dough's moisture content needs adjusting. It could be too dry or too wet which does occasionally happen (more likely in humid climate).* * Signs of overly wet dough may include "tornadoing" up the side and/or looking like batter, and sometimes a layer of dough stays on the bottom of the pan under the paddle as it's going around. In this case add 1 TBS flour and wait to see if it needs more (as you would if adding water, explained in step 6 above). After a minute or so dough should begin to draw together into a ball. If not, repeat as necessary. Do not rush. Moisture takes time to adjust.
• 11

  NOTES (continued part two): >> Really Big Loaf - maybe too big? Technically this is a 2+ pound loaf and fits best in a machine that is built to handle that size. I do recommend checking the dough just before the baking cycle starts (usually the last hour). So if it's a 3 hour program, check it at 2 hours (the machine's instruction manual should provide this information if you want to be precise). If it's almost touching the lid BEFORE it bakes, it's guaranteed to rise HIGHER during the first few minutes of the baking cycle (called Oven Spring). To prevent it from baking onto the un-nonstick-coated lid, get a sharp knife, coat it with oil or water, and open the lid just enough to slide in the knife. Deeply puncture the loaf until it begins to deflate (be careful not to poke the knife tip into the other side of the pan and damage the nonstick coating). Do it as fast as is comfortable so you don't let too much heat escape. You can still salvage the bread by letting it continue its program. It may LOOK bad when it's done, but you will be GLAD you didn't have to clean off dried out, baked-on bread dough from the lid of your machine! (I will admit that I first made this recipe in a friend's machine that was only meant to handle a maximum of 1.5 pounds (I never thought to ask what capacity her machine was). When baked, it didn't quite touch the lid, but it was very close. I was just lucky. Don't make my mistake!) >> A note on Prep Time: Yes, this recipe is LONG. That's because I've included very detailed notes. But in actual time spent working, the bread doesn't take long to prepare. If you have to adjust the moisture content, it could take as long as 15 minutes working to get things right, but usually it's less than 10 minutes to measure and dump everything in the pan (NOT including the 15 min soak time for the onions)... that's IF your kitchen is well organized and everything is washed and ready to use. (The rest of us will take a little longer, lol!)
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