Pumpernickel (; ) is a typically dense, slightly sweet rye bread traditionally made with sourdough starter and coarsely ground rye. It is sometimes made with a combination of rye flour and whole rye grains ("rye berries"). At one time it was traditional peasant fare, but largely during the 20th century various forms became popular with other classes through delicatessens and supermarkets. Present-day European and North American pumpernickel differ in several characteristics, including the use of additional leaveners. The North American version may have coloring and flavoring agents, added wheat flour, a higher baking temperature, and a dramatically shortened baking time. Etymology The word supposedly stems from an old Bavarian term for "hard", either referring to the process used to grind the grain into flour, or the density of the final bread product. According to Langenscheidts Taschenwörterbuch (1956), it refers to a form of "pumping work". The philologist Johann Christoph Adelung (1732–1806) states that the word has an origin in the Germanic vernacular, where was a New High German synonym for being flatulent, and was a form of the name Nicholas, commonly associated with a goblin or devil (e.g. Old Nick, a familiar name for Satan), or more generally for a malevolent spirit or demon. Hence, pumpernickel means "farting devil" or "devil's fart", a definition accepted by the publisher Random House, and by some English language dictionaries, including the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. The American Heritage Dictionary adds "so named from being hard to digest". A variant of this explanation is also given by the German etymological dictionary Kluge that says the word is older than its usage for this particular type of bread, and may have been used as a mocking name for a person of unrefined manners (a "farting Nick") first. The change of meaning may have been caused by its use as a mocking expression for the (in the eyes of outsiders) unrefined rye bread produced by the Westphalian population. The Oxford English Dictionary does not commit to any particular etymology for the word. It suggests it may mean a lout or booby, but also says "origin uncertain". The OED currently states the first use in English was in 1756. Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary gives the etymology as being the German word for a rackety goblin, a coarse lout, and rye-bread - possibly from its giving forth a sound like pump when struck. A false folk etymology involves Napoleon, who,