Sourdough Flax Seed Pumpernickel Bread

     When I told Wayne I was making a Flax Seed Pumpernickel bread he was expecting it to be a black bread.  He did not realize that without coffee and/or molasses it is brown.  I would have added instant coffee to color it, but I didn't have any in the house.  He has discovered the color does not affect the flavor.   Since I have worked my way through the Bread Bakers Apprentice, I have started on a new book Bread a Bakers Book of Techniques and Recipes by Jeffrey Hamelman.  It is a really good book with lots of great recipes and techniques (including decorative breads).  There are some differences in terminology. but the explanations are very clear. There are many recipes using a sourdough starter.  I am always looking for recipes to use "Baby" my starter.

       The flax seed bread was a two day bread.  Yesterday the sourdough rye was made and left to develop overnight and the flax seeds were left to soak.  I was surprised to see the flax seeds became gelatinous. All of the ingredients were put into Big Blue (my mixer) and set to mixing. I had to adjust the hydration.  The completed dough had that typical gooey rye look, but after a short first rise the dough was ready for shaping. I made an oblong loaf topped with toasted sunflower seeds and a round loaf with a spiral slash.  The recipe also said to wait 24 hours before slicing it.  (Yeah, like that was going to happen.)  The bread has about three and a half ounces of flax seed which gave the bread a really pleasant chewy texture. Breakfast in the morning - scrambled eggs with pepper cheese on flax seed pumpernickel toast.
     My first time having pumpernickel bread was when I was a kid, and my mother bought party pumpernickel for New Year's Eve.  It's funny how when you are young staying up until midnight to welcome the New Year was such a big deal.  (Now that I'm an old fart, it is all I can do to stay awake til midnight.)  I remember having ham and Swiss on tiny bread, junk food, and Shirley Temples. Life was so very uncomplicated.  My Uncle Carney would drive us (his daughter Linda, my brother, and me) to St. Bernard or Slidell a few days before New Year's Eve to buy fireworks.  I was a sparkler and blackcat kind of girl, but Richard loved the big stuff.  Repeaters, bottle rockets, Roman candles, etc.  He would put on a show for the whole neighborhood (which consisted of 7 houses).  When we were teenagers,Richard and his friends would have Roman candle wars.  They literally shot Roman candles at each other.  How no one was ever hurt is beyond me.