Pumpernickel

/ˈpʌmpərˌnɪkəl/ noun

Definition

A dark, dense, slightly sweet type of bread made from rye flour, originally from Germany.

Etymology

From German 'Pumpernickelbrot', where 'Pumpern' may relate to 'pumpern' (to break wind) and 'Nickel' refers to the devil or a goblin—possibly meaning 'devil's bread' because it was hard to digest.

Kelly Says

Pumpernickel's dark color comes from rye being baked slowly at low temperatures, which creates hundreds of complex flavor compounds through the Maillard reaction—that's why it tastes so different from regular bread.

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.