00:01Even in Germany, the land of bread, this bread is something special.
00:07Pumpernickel is made without wheat flour,
00:10bakes for what seems like an eternity and may even have gotten its name from Napoleon.
00:15Here's everything you need to know about this bread that's exported to almost a hundred countries.
00:23Emsland in Westfalia can be proud, because it's made in this region.
00:27There's not a baker in Bavaria or Berlin who knows how to make a bread like this.
00:35Emsböhren in northwestern Germany is home to Günther Enking's bakery.
00:40He turns a ton of pumpernickel dough into bread every day.
00:44He used to make three times as much.
00:47Even though production has gone down, there's no immediate danger that it will stop.
00:51There are just too many people who swear by this rye bread
00:55as an alternative to breads made with wheat.
00:58Wheat bread is nowhere near as healthy.
01:02There isn't any fiber in it. It's completely processed.
01:05But we use the whole grain, including the husk.
01:08That gives it the high fiber content, which is why it's so healthy.
01:13Pumpernickel generally uses very few ingredients, but GĂĽnther's is even more minimalist.
01:19While other bakers might add sourdough, syrup or preservatives, he sticks to the essentials.
01:26The ingredients are very, very simple.
01:29We use our rye meal and, of course, some salt.
01:32Those are the only ingredients we need.
01:35The dry ingredients.
01:37The only thing missing, of course, is the water.
01:40That's it.
01:42Pumpernickel is one of the oldest types of German bread.
01:46It was being baked in Westphalia in the 16th century.
01:49The bread keeps for years in a tin, making it the ideal emergency ration.
01:55It used to be that people who worked hard, like farmers, had to eat till they were full.
02:02And I know from my grandfather's stories that they'd come in here and consume an entire loaf.
02:07The horse got the first piece, because after all, it needed a full belly to work too.
02:14The few ingredients are kneaded into a dough.
02:21It then comes into loaf pans, which give the pumpernickel its traditional shape.
02:27A pumpernickel baker needs one virtue above all – patience.
02:31GĂĽnther's pumpernickel is baked at a temperature of just 120 degrees Celsius for a full 24 hours.
02:41The bread bakes in its own steam.
02:43And during this long baking process, the sugar from the grain breaks down and gives the bread its sweet flavor.
02:54Many legends surround the origin of pumpernickel's name.
02:57Some say Napoleon named the bread while visiting this region.
03:00Others say the name stems from the bread's easy digestibility.
03:04It's said Napoleon was given the bread and told to taste it.
03:10He said, I'm supposed to eat that? Give it to my horse.
03:13He said, it's pumpernickel, or good for his horse, nickel.
03:17So they named it pumpernickel.
03:19The other story is that pumpernickel can also mean an old fart.
03:22Pumpern meant farting, and nickel meant an old geezer.
03:24They couldn't call the bread farting geezer, so they named it pumpernickel.
03:29The traditional way to eat pumpernickel is with something hearty.
03:34But it's also good with something sweet.
03:37Like this pumpernickel cake that Günther offers in his mill café.
03:40At Christmas, I make a Stollen with pumpernickel, pumpernickel ice cream, and pumpernickel dessert.
03:54You can do so much with pumpernickel.
03:59Pumpernickel, a healthy alternative to wheat-based breads.
04:02Would you like to give it a try?
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