“In southern Germany and Austria, Berliners are often called Faschingskrapfen.
The word Krapfen goes all the way back to the Middle Ages,
when it meant a little ‘hook’ or ‘claw.’
Early festival fritters were twisted or hooked in shape,
and the name stuck even as the pastry evolved into the round,
jam-filled treat we know today.
So if the word makes English speakers smile, rest assured
— it has nothing to do with ‘crap’
and everything to do with centuries of German carnival baking.” |
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ingredients:
1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
1 pkg. (1 tblsp or 9 grams) 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
Oil for frying about 1 quart
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Getting all the ingredients together .
Scald milk .
Soften yeast in water and set aside.
Does it really matter to scald the milk or not?
YES! Scalding the milk deactivates the protein which can interfere
with gluten development,
and the sometimes your bread won't rise properly.
When my Stollen wouldn't rise I blamed it on the yeast.
However it was because I didn't scald the milk.
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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
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When it's lukewarm, add 1 C of flour and beat till smooth.
Wait until the mix is room temperature
before this next step, or you will kill the yeast.
Stir softened yeast and mix well. Measure out 2 ½ -3 C. flour. Add about half the flour to the mixture and beat till smooth.
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Add the beaten eggs, then enough flour to make a soft dough.
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Knead the dough and if it is still too sticky like it is here, add a little more flour at a time.
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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.
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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.
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 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. But not so much you can't crimp the edges properly. |
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. |
| Some folks prefer this technique instead of building a sandwich |
An alternative way is to cook the Berliner whole and then cut a slit and fill it with a spoon
or inject it with a pastry tube with the jelly or jam. I make the dough about 1/2 inch thick,and not to big.
If it is too large it doesn't get cooked very well inside.
Cooking them this way eliminates the chance of them separating
if the edges dont get crimped together well. |
When you are ready to serve top with powdered sugar . |
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