On Sat, 12 May 2007 16:13:04 -0600, Samartha Deva wrote
(<mailman.117.1179007988.1438.rec.food.sourdough@w ww.mountainbitwarrior.com>):

> My best so far was to have stainless steel (to prevent rust) baking
> pans, sitting in a large flat baking pan, then pouring water into the
> baking pans with the dough after a couple of hours, as the dough started
> to contract - the stainless pans were leaking, the water collected in
> the flat baking underneath pan and the stainless baking pans were
> standing in the water in the oven while baking.

wikipedia has an interesting article on pumpernickel:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpernickel

It states that Pumpernickel dates from Westphalia - 1450.
(it also mentions the American Pumpernickel is a different animal).

I wonder what ovens and pans they used in 1450?

The next time that I try to bake pumpernickel, I will be to use a
covered ceramic casserole for holding the dough and a pan of water below
it to keep the moisture up.

But I blench at getting up in the middle of the night to refill the pan of
water.

Felix
--
Felix Karpfen
Public Key 72FDF9DF (DH/DSA)