Traditional German Pumpernickel Bread

Ok. So. The River Street Cafe and Cheese Shop in Santa Cruz makes a loaf of traditional German style pumpernickel that retails $10 for a full loaf (maybe 3 lbs.), which you can find here. Now, when you see the recipe below you'll get why this thing is $10, it takes forever to make correctly. But oh man...is it good. This is my first attempt at this style of bread and I have to say that I really did like how it turned out. I think it would be better if I could get my hands on some real pumpernickel flour, but it's really hard to find (even here in SC) so I've done what I can with what I'm allowed. Take a peak:

Traditional-like German-inspired Pumpernickel-ish Bread:

2 Cups Organic Rye flour (Organic is more likely to have the natural yeasts used to raise the bread; ideally this should be pumpernickel flour, which is more coarsely ground)
1 Cup white all purpose or whole wheat flour (if you can find pumpernickel flour then use finely ground rye flour here instead of white or whole wheat)
2 Tbs. bulgur wheat (bulgur is par-boiled cracked wheat berries, you could use any par-boiled grain here -- oats, buckwheat, rye)
2 Tbs. sunflower seeds
2 Tbs. flax seeds
1 tsp. salt
1 3/4 Cup warm water
1 tsp. olive oil

Sift together the flours, bulgur or cracked rye berries, seeds, and salt. Add in the water and the oil and mix all this together. You'll end up with something that is very sticky, this is ok. Lay down some parchment paper in the bottom of a medium sized bread pan and oil the sides so things are a little easier to remove later.

Spoon the dough into the prepared bread pan and smooth the surface. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and put the whole thing in a relatively warm place in the kitchen.

Let it sit for 24 to 48 hours. In the summer months you may find that after 24 hours the bread starts to push very insistently against the plastic wrap. If this happens before your two days are up pop the pan in the fridge and let it chill out there for the next day.

When you're ready preheat the oven to 225 F (very low) and place a pan of boiling water on the bottom-most rack. Unwrap the bread pan, re-wrap the bread in tin foil, and place it on the upper-most rack. This needs to "steam" for four hours (I know!). Raise the oven temp to 325 F and bake for another 40 minutes to brown the surface and the sides of the bread.

Let the bread cool slightly in the pan before you remove it. Peel off the parchment on the bottom and wrap the bread in a tea towel to sit overnight. DO NOT CUT INTO THE BREAD RIGHT AWAY. You've waited this long, you can wait a little bit longer.

After it's completely cool and has sat some more...cut in, spread some cream cheese all over it, and enjoy.