network like gluten, apparently because the
glutenin molecules can’t link up end-to-end
into long chains. Rye has another major
breadmaking liability: it tends to begin
sprouting before harvest, so its starch-
digesting enzymes are active during baking
and break down the other major source of
dough structure. Nevertheless bakers in
northern Europe found a way of making a
unique raised bread from pure rye flour.
Pumpernickel True pumpernickel was
apparently born during a famine in
Westphalia in the 16th century. It starts with
coarse whole-grain rye flour and a several-
stage sourdough fermentation; the acidity
helps limit starch breakdown and also makes
the dough more elastic. The dough manages to
retain some carbon dioxide bubbles thanks to
its high content of gummy cell-wall materials
called pentosans (p. 470). The fermented rye
dough is baked in a pan at a low oven