Wiezenmischbrot

Weizenmischbrot
(Mixed Wheat Bread)

Prep time: 30 min | Cook time: 45 min | Total time: 1 hour 15 min| Yield: 2 loaves , Serving size: 1 slice | Calories per serving: 210 gr |  Fat per serving: 1 gr | carbs per serving: 44 gr | protein per serving: 6 gr

Ingredients: Makes two loaves of 600 grams or 1 1/2 lb, each. 1/2 c. water, lukewarm (under 120 degrees) 1 package active dry yeast 1 T. sugar plus 1 pinch 1 1/2 c. milk, lukewarm (80°F) 1 tsp. salt 1/2 c. molasses 3 c. rye flour, or 315 grams 1 c. white whole wheat flour, or 115 grams 1 c. whole wheat flour, or 115 grams 3 c. all-purpose flour, or 300 grams Directions: Mix the water, pinch of sugar and the dry yeast together and set aside until foamy (about 5 minutes). Meanwhile, mix together 1 tablespoon sugar, lukewarm milk, salt and molasses. Add the yeast-water mix and 3 cups of rye flour and stir well. Add the other flours, 1 cup at a time, starting with the whole wheat flours and ending with the all-purpose flour. Towards the end, you will add flour 1/4 cup or so at a time, kneading with your hand to incorporate. Depending on your local weather, you may need more or less white flour. You should end up with a stiff dough which sticks only slightly to the bowl and your hands. Keep kneading in the bowl or on a lightly floured board for five minutes. Form the dough into a ball. Place it in an oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm spot (70°F) for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until doubled in bulk. Punch down and knead for 1 minute. Form into a round ball, pulling the dough around towards the bottom to create a smooth crown. Pinch the dough closed at the bottom and place on an oiled cookie sheet. Cover with the kitchen towel and let rise until doubled, about 90 minutes. At 75 minutes, start preheating your oven to 500°F. Place an old aluminum pan on the bottom rack and your baking rack on the next level up. Slash bread with sharp razor blade or very sharp knife. To bake, place cookie sheet in oven, pull bottom rack with old pan out and pour about 2 cups of ice cubes or water into it. Close quickly. If you have a spray bottle with water, open oven after 3 and 6 minutes and give 10 quick squirts onto the walls of the oven. Turn oven down to 450°F after that and bake for 30 to 40 more minutes, or until internal temperature of the bread reaches 200°F. Remove bread and cool on wire rack.

Berliners
Berliner Pfankuchen

This is a nice filled donut with jelly. Popular for Fasching parties but good anytime. Sometimes they are filled with custard, that woud be called a bismarck

ingredients:

1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
1 pkg. dry yeast, rapid rise yeast is best
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup lukewarm water
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1 tsp. vanilla or other flavoring

Jelly or custard for filling

Getting all the ingredients together . Scald milk . Soften yeast in water and set aside.

3. Put sugar, butter, and salt into a large bowl. I crumbled it up with my fingers. Pour scalded milk, while still hot, over ingredients in the bowl	. When it's lukewarm, add 1 C of flour and beat till smooth. Stir softened yeast, mix well. Measure out 2 ½ -3 C. flour. Add about half the flour to the mixture and beat till smooth.	Add the beaten eggs, then enough flour to make a soft dough.
Knead the dough and if it is still too sticky like it is here, add a little more flour at a time.	Till you get a smooth round ball. Oil the top, cover and raise.	Some places it can rise right on the counter. Where I live I usually warm the oven then shut it off. Put in a pan of water and then the covered bowl with the dough and shut the door for a hour.
When the dough is doubled in bulk punch it down, turn out onto the counter and let it rest for 10 minutes.	Fill a pot with about 3 inches of oil , I use Canola, and heat the oil to 350 degrees. You can also use a nub of dough to test it. Be careful, and don't turn the temperture on high. Heat the oil on medium, give it plenty of time to heat up.	Roll out the dough about 1 / 4 inch and cut out 2 inch diameter circles. if you don't have a round cookie cutter and glass works well for this.
Get your favorite jelly or jam.	Use a good amount of jelly a healthy tablespoon full.	Put one of the circles on top.
pinch the edges to seal	Put them on a sheet pan to raise.	These took another 30 minutes to rise. Now they are ready to fry.
I tested the oil to make sure it was the right temperature. I carefully lifted the Berliner with a metal spatula and placed it carefully in the oil.	Fry them on one side and flip over, and cook on the other.	Lift the donut onto a paper towel when done.
When you are ready to serve top with powdered sugar .

They should be nice and fluffy inside.

Weiberfastnacht , Womens Day During Fastnacht

So you have heard of "Fat Tuesday but how about "Fat Thursday" ? Womens Liberation Fun Day for Fastnacht Season My friend told me about the event called Weiberfastnacht a tradition in the Rhineland part of Germany where she lives. This is an old picture from early last century rinsing the clothes in the " Riesbrunnen" that ran through the town. This is where my grandma as a kid went as this was one of her chores. Read more about Weiberfastnacht here The Thursday before lent the Rhineland part of Germany is called Weiberfastnact Weiber = woman Fastnacht = the festival before lent. What happened , known as the Washer women were working long hard all day long to wash clothes for the men that would go to the Fasching parties. According to the story they got fed up, ditched their washing stations and went to the pub. They plotted a protest and went to the “Rathaus” (city hall) and protested. From then on the women were allowed to participate in these parties and this became their special day. They did all kinds of fun things, they were allowed to order men around , and if you wore a neck tie they would cut it off with scissors. a Washer woman in Steinsfurt, before washing machines. ` Storming the Rathaus Video in Beuel, Rhineland, Germnay during the Weiberfastnacht celebration ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dagmar  also said that on Friday the children from the elementary schools go to old folks homes and sing the songs and shout Alaaf and Helau . What do these shouts mean? Long history Read more here

These were some of the rebels that formed the Damekomitte and started the first Fat Thursday (Weiberfastnacht) about 1825 Read more about Weiberfastnacht Here Here is what how they dress for Fat Thursday now 100 years later.

Knieküchle
(Auszogne)

Knieküchle is a favorite fasching pastry in Germany. Sometimes called Knee Patches in the US as they origionally were stretched over your knee to get a thin center. This way it cooks faster. In Germany they are also called Auszogne (ous-Zog-Knee) sometimes the z is pronounced like an s.

ingredients:
3 1/2 cups (500g) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon or 1 packet yeast
1/4 cup (50g) sugar
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (250ml) lukewarm milk
3 egg yolks
1 stick or 4 oz (100g) melted butter, lukewarm
a pinch of salt
3 cups Oil for frying ( Canola or vegetable oil)
1/2 cup powdered sugar for dusting the pastry

Knieküchle (Auszogne) Knieküchle is a favorite fasching pastry in Germany. Sometimes called Knee Patches in the US as they origionally were stretched over your knee to get a thin center. This way it cooks faster. In Germany they are also called Auszogne (ous-Zog-Knee) sometimes the z is pronounced like an s. Another great         Kitchen Project             Recipes from a German Grandma                    German OnlineShop

ingredients: 3 1/2 cups (500g) all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon or 1 packet yeast 1/4 cup (50g) sugar 1 cup + 1 tablespoon (250ml) lukewarm milk 3 egg yolks 1 stick or 4 oz (100g) melted butter, lukewarm a pinch of salt 3 cups Oil for frying ( Canola or vegetable oil) 1/2 cup powdered sugar for dusting the pastry printer friendly Presto Combination Deep Fryer and Steamer Does about 6 servings, Versitale basket for steaming, blanching and deep frying. 1. Gather your ingredients together 2. Make a well in the center of the dough and pour the milk in. Sprinkle in the yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar on top of the milk and mix in with a little bit of the flour. Cover and let this sit 15 minutes or until you see it froth up. 3. Mix in the egg yolks, the rest of the sugar, the salt and the butter, 4. Take the mixed dough now and knead it for a minute till it is smooth and elastic. if you need to sprinkle on a little flour because it is too sticky that is fine. 5. Cover the dough and let it rise till double in a warm area. 6. Divide the dough into small peices. Now is a good time to heat your oil up to about 350 degrees. Use a pot to give you a lot of room but not too big. You should have several inches of fat. I like to weigh them out at 1.7 ounces. 7. To form the dough the idea traditionally is to stretch the dough over a knee so you have a nice round rim and the center is as thin as skin. A legend was that it should be thin enough to read a love letter through. I didn't think that was a good idea for me, so I used a ladle. Getting there 8. Place the kniekuchle on the pan to rest. 9. When you are ready to fry make sure the oil to 350 degrees or you can cook a small piece of dough to see if it is browning correctly. 10. If the dough has contracted back while resting I stretch it one more time before going right into the hot oil. Put the dough in the oil gently, I use a "skimmer". 11. Fry the dough on one side until brown then flip it over and cook for a few more seconds on the other side. It shouldn't take long on the second side. I only do one at a time. If you crowd the pan too much it lowers the heat of the oil and they can get soggy.