I always think about
My Grandma's Sweet Dough
Kuchens
That Sweet Dough is very versatile and you can make,
unlimited pastries with it. In our busy lives are there
any ways we can wing it a bit so it doesn't seem complicated?
Maybe some "Rules of Thumb"?
Plum Kuchen
Apple Kuchen
Necatrine or Peach Kuchen
Plum Kuchen Pizza
You can also make Cinnamon Rolls
or bread , Hefezopf, Stollen, Crecent Rolls or Donuts
My grandma's all purpose sweet dough
that she used this to make CInnamon rolls,
Stollen, and of course the base for her Kuchens
The nice thing about a Kuchen made with a sweet dough,
is that pleasant yeasty flavor, sweet and rich with buttery
light texture, the eggs making it tender, and a hint of lemon peel,
that harmonizes with the sweetness.
then you bake the fruit with a custard, so that dough
absorbs all the good flavors and keeps nice and moist
and gets better as it sits.
So she would make it in a rectangular baking dish so it would be good
for a few days.
Grandma's Rules of Thumb,
I have had so many conversations with folks about how,
uncomplicated their grandma made magic with flour, some eggs, butter and a
few other things.
I love that era, and as a chef I have cooked that way most of my life.
Either memorizing a few ingredients or making "rule of thumb".
type measurements to make large or small batches.
By the way ....what does "Rule of Thumb" mean...
The thumb-nail use to be a good approximation of an inch ....so women would
measure
fabric that way,
A Miller would rub the flour between his thumb and forefinger to determine if it should be
ground again
A Brewer would stick his thumb in the vat to determine the right brewing temperature.
Also,
Cups and Spoons
were really cups and spoons....
a handful or two of nuts, or chocolate chips,
a pinch of salt or knife point of cinnamon.
Butter the size of a small potato.
The important thing I like is keeping things straight and easy in your mind.
When making my grandma's Sweet Dough for Kuchen I think,
Wet ingredients
milk eggs yeast
butter or oil
The butter is cut to have 2 T I will use
for the Streusal topping. I know yeast is dry but I will put it in the milk to bloom.
Dry ingredients
flour,
sugar,
salt
Separating it this way I can see it in my mind easy.
A 2 cup Measure
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 tablespoon yeast
or
1 package
1 stick of butter
18 inch Stainless Bowl
2 cups+ flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Easy to keep in your mind, so you don't have to run for the recipe.
I keep my go to Rules of Thumb on one of my cabinet doors
for easy reference.
Also develop your favorite measuring devices.
so you can see the measured ingredient clearly
Get extra measuring cups
and spoons to keep in your
containers of flour and sugar for quick measuring.
Melt the butter for the dough keeping the 2 TB separate, and let cool,
Mix the rest while the yeast is blooming in the milk and eggs.
Mix the wet and dry and this time I want some lemon peel in it.
Knead the dough and you can either let it rise,
and punch down for bread or roll out for a Kuchen
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Kuchen Recipes
Probably the one that I remember most is the Plum Kuchen
particularly the ZwetschgenKuchen or the one
made with what she called Italian Plums
because of WW2 she tried not to talk much
German to me, but I still heard it and to this day
remember her accent so well.
Grandma had a big Italian Plum tree outside her house so we had this often.
I remember the pits come out of the plum easy and the flesh isn't quite as
juicy.
Italian Plums or Zwetschgen
a freestone fruit with yellow flesh...
This is a German style apple pie, only the crust is got a bit of chew to it, like
a cinnamon roll, and the custard sinks into the crust as well as the apples.
I peel the nectarines like you would a tomato,
putting them in boiling water and making an x on the end with a knife.
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A recipe book and short biography of my Grandmother Emma Block. Her recipes, culture and cooking styles that were brought over from Germany. How they evolved when she came to America in the early 1900s and settled in Portland, Oregon on the west coast of the United States. Over 100 recipes
Bonus Recipe CD with the Ebook and recipes with step by step pictures
Biography of my grandma
Emma Block From Germany with Love tells the story of my grandma, Emma Block, growing up in a little town in Baden/ Würtemberg, Germany near Heidelberg named Steinsfurt. Then at the age of 15 immigrating to the United States, taking a train with one of her sisters and brothers to Hamburg and sailing the Atlantic with other hope filled Germans wanting to make a life in the "New World". It was not easy but with good values learned in her German upbringing made a full life, had a wonderful family with lots of fun and celebration including the great German meals.
You can use this dough as you would a pizza dough and
use the custard as a base and put any kind of fruit on top
and Streusal. I like to cook it on a pizza stone, and it only takes
10 minutes or so.
Through modern technology we can enjoy music from Germany at the touch of your computer, there are many venues now, Pandora, Amazon music, and Youtube is free.
I love my noise canceling headphones that are completely wireless and give incredible sound!
over 2500 perfect reviews, it is a bit of an investment but worth every penny.
Ein guter Freund-
Max Raabe & Palast Orchester -
Du kannst nicht treu sein 2012
Funky Marys
Du kannst nicht treu sein, nein, nein, das kannst du nicht,
wenn auch dein Mund mir wahre Liebe verspricht.
In deinem Herzen hast du für viele Platz,
darum bist du auch nicht für mich der richtige Schatz.
Du kannst nicht treu sein,
nein, nein, das kannst du nicht,
wenn auch dein Mund mir wahre Liebe verspricht.
In deinem Herzen hast du für viele Platz, darum bist du auch nicht für mich der richtige Schatz.
Du kannst nicht treu sein, nein, nein, das kannst du nicht, wenn auch dein Mund mir wahre Liebe verspricht. In deinem Herzen hast du für viele Platz, darum bist du auch nicht für mich der richtige Schatz.
You can not be faithful, no, no, you can not,
even if your mouth promises me true love.
In your heart you have room for many
that's why you're not the right sweetheart for me.
You can not be faithful
no, no, you can not,
even if your mouth promises me true love.
In your heart you have space for many, so you are not the right sweetheart for me.
You can not be faithful, no, no, you can not, even if your mouth promises me true love. In your heart you have space for many, so you are not the right sweetheart for me.
This is a wonderful tool from Germany, that makes the longer Spaetzle noodles. My German friend brought one over from Germany for me.
Empty Table
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Our German Cookbook
A recipe book and short biography of my Grandmother Emma Block. Her recipes, culture and cooking styles that were brought over from Germany. How they evolved when she came to America in the early 1900s and settled in Portland, Oregon on the west coast of the United States. Over 100 recipes
Bonus Recipe CD with the Ebook and recipes with step by step pictures
Biography of my grandma
Emma Block From Germany with Love tells the story of my grandma, Emma Block, growing up in a little town in Baden/ Würtemberg, Germany near Heidelberg named Steinsfurt. Then at the age of 15 immigrating to the United States, taking a train with one of her sisters and brothers to Hamburg and sailing the Atlantic with other hope filled Germans wanting to make a life in the "New World". It was not easy but with good values learned in her German upbringing made a full life, had a wonderful family with lots of fun and celebration including the great German meals.
Karin Elliot born and raised in Germany
is a chef and wonderful friend giving me encouragement through the years here and donated her recipes for our newsletter. She also does wonderful volunteer work like providing meals for school children in need in Tuscon, Arizona.
Many German-Americans and German immigrants are interested in Native American items from books and movies to jewelry and arts and craft supplies. Karin will take care of you personally with her online store Native Rainbows
This is the newsletter you are reading now, called the German Goodies Recipe Newsletter. I have been publishing this for 20 years now and we have had a lot of fun doing it.
If you enjoy the history I talk about in this newsletter you will also love the history of other dishes and foods I like to do in my
Food History Newsletter