Two days????

Yes, all you legions who’ve written in in shock, this black bread does indeed need to rest for a full two days before you slice and eat it. Why? It’s because a black pumpernickel like I’m making this week has no white flour in it, just rye flour, and rye creates a very different structure that’s not based on gluten so much as jelly-like pentosan gum. I’ll be talking all about it as the week progresses. But let’s just say for now that if you try to slice all-rye black bread right from the oven it crumbles. On the upside, this type of bread takes a very long time to stale, so the wait has no averse consequences from a texture standpoint. More on this soon.