The camera doesn't pick up the dark black color of the bread.
I tried two variations of this recipe, and they are both entirely different, and both very good. They are based on a survey of wheat-based pumpernickel recipes on the internet. This recipe is also similar, but not identical to, Pumpernickel Loaf in 125 Best Gluten-Free Recipes by Washburn and Butt. Most of the recipes are similar. The variations shown here are based on:
| Ingredient | Measure | Light Pumpernickel - sweeter | Dark Pumpernickel - less sweet |
| Mild Navy Bean Flour (Celiac Specialties, LLC) | Cup | Approximately 3/8 (Put a bit less than 1/2 cup in a measuring 1 cup) | Approximately 3/8 |
| Garfava or Bob's Red Mill Garbanzo-Fava flour | Cup | Approximately 3/8 (Now fill the cup to the 3/4 mark) | Approximately 3/8 |
| Carol Fenster's gluten-free flour mix or your favorite gluten-free flour | Cup | 3/4 | 1/2 minus 2 Tablespoons |
| Potato flour (not starch) | Tablespoon | 0 | 2 Tablespoons |
| Buckwheat flour | Cup | 0 | 1/4 |
| Corn or potato starch | Cup | 1/2 | 1/2 |
| Expandex tapioca starch - makes the bread springy and much less crumbly | Tablespoon | 2 | 2 |
| Regular tapioca starch | Tablespoon | 2 | 2 |
| Brown sugar - not packed | Tablespoon | 2 | 0 |
| Yellow or white cornmeal | Tablespoon | 2 | 2 |
| Caraway seeds lightly ground in a suribachi and surikogi (Japanese mortar and pestle) | teaspoon | 1 | 1 |
| Ginger powder | teaspoon | 1 | 1 |
| Instant decaffeinated coffee | teaspoon | 2 | 2 |
| Regular unsweetened cocoa | teaspoon | 2 | 0 |
| Black unsweetened cocoa (Bakers Catalogue) | teaspoon | 0 | 2 |
| Instant yeast (I use SAF or Fermipan - starch in the Fermipan yeast is potato.) | Tablespoon | 1 | 1 |
| White sugar (Mix with yeast for activation) | teaspoon | 1 | 1 |
| Xanthan gum | teaspoon | 1 | 1 |
| Guar gum (or xanthan gum if you do not have guar gum) | teaspoon | 1 | 1 |
| Baking powder | teaspoon | 1 | 1 |
| Salt | teaspoon | 1/2 | 1/2 |
| Water | Cup | 1 | 1 minus 2 tablespoons |
| Cider or rice vinegar | teaspoon | 1 | 1 |
| Lite olive oil or vegetable oil | Tablespoon | 2 | 2 |
| Molasses (Put this in your measuring spoon after you have added the oil and the Molasses won't stick to your spoon.) | Tablespoon | 2 | 2 |
| Large eggs | Quantity | 2 | 2 |
You can mix-match from either of the two variations. You can also alter the flour mixes.
Prepare 3 mini loaf pans (or 1- 9" X 5" pan but I have never tried this size pan) by greasing the interior and dusting with either cornmeal, corn flour (not corn starch) or brown rice flour.
Put all of the dry ingredients except the yeast and white sugar into a mixing bowl and mix with a whisk until well blended. (Yes, there are a lot of ingredients. That is what makes this recipe so authentic tasting.)
Put white sugar and yeast in the bottom of a 2 cup measuring cup, pour 110° F water on top and mix until thoroughly blended. Turn on oven light, cover measuring cup with plastic wrap and place in the oven close to the light. The yeast will be properly tempered when you have a full 2-cup measure of foam and water.
Place vinegar, oil Molasses and eggs into the work bowl of a stand mixer and blend at low speed only until thoroughly mixed. When the yeast and water mixture is ready, pour these in as well.
Add the dry ingredients a little at a time, and mix only until thoroughly blended. The batter will be very sticky.
Place the batter into the loaf pan or pans. Take a large serving spoon, dip it in water and smooth the tops of the batter so that the batter is level across the long axis of the pan. The pans should be about half full although it is ok if the batter rises above the pan.
Spray the tops with olive oil using your Misto sprayer. This prevents the plastic wrap from sticking. Now cover the loaves or loaf with plastic wrap. If you have a convection oven, place the loaf or loaves in the oven and turn the oven on to low temperature proofing. Proof the bread no longer than an hour or until it is doubled in height, whichever is less.
Heat the oven to 350° F for light pumpernickel or 375° F for dark pumpernickel. (Convection ovens will be 25° F lower.)
Remove the plastic wrap and bake the 3 mini-loaves for 15 - 20 minutes or until a steel cake tester comes out clean. The large loaf would probably take at least 35 minutes to bake.
When the bread is baked, turn the bread out of the pans and thoroughly cool the bread on cooling racks. Do not slice until thoroughly cool. The bread may be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, sealed into ziplock bags and frozen.