A German ligature that originally stood for 'sz', but can be transliterated as 'ss'. It is never found in Swiss German. It looks like a B, but sounds like an S. Compare to the boring language known as English, which only has the ligatures Ã and Å, which are rarely used.
The only other flour used in traditional pumpernickel is wheat flour, which is used as an ingredient in the sourdough starter, a pre-fermented flour, water and yeast mixture that combines with the rye flour to hold the bread together.
Hence, pumpernickel is the devil's fart, allegedly a reference to the bread's indigestible qualities and hence the effect it produced on those who consumed it.(www.snopes2.com/language/stor ies/pumper.htm). On the one hand you have to admire the Germans for their honesty.ver the years I've heard two origins for the word 'pumpernickel.' Both seem reasonable enough, so it's hard to tell which might be the real one. One claims that it was Napoleon proclaiming the bread was only fit for his horse, Nicol.