All German Breads
Bread dates back over 10,000 years when people began harvesting grains for food. These grains were ground down and mixed with water to make a porridge. Later, the porridge was baked on hot stones or in ashes to make flat breads.
Bread making changed completely with two discoveries.
(1) Surrounding bread with heat (as opposed to just cooking it on stones) allowed round loafs to be baked. This led to the invention of ovens.
(2) Allowing the bread dough to stand for several days attracted yeast to the dough, which made the dough rise. This resulted in lighter more airy breads to be developed.
In Germany, bread is more than just a food - it is a part of the German culture. Germany produces more varieties of breads than any other country. Over 300 varieties of dark and white breads and over 1,200 varieties of rolls and mini-breads (Brötchen & Kleingebäck) are produced in Germany.
Bread makes up a large part of the German cuisine. It is the basis of both the morning and evening meals and its influence stretches into holiday celebrations and festivals. For breakfast, rolls and mini-breads (Brötchen & Kleingebäck) are most common and are accompanied with other German favorites, such as butter, hard-boiled eggs, wurst and cheese. The evening meal (Abendessen) is often a light meal, as Germans traditionally eat their large, hearty meal at mid-day. Like breakfast, the evening meal often consists of bread slices served with wurst, cheese, and/or vegetables. At festivals, the most common breads are the pretzel and rolls and mini-breads (Brötchen & Kleingebäck) served with bratwurst. For holidays, specially shaped breads are baked
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German Lunch
Traditionally, Germans eat their main meal during the day, between 12 and 2 p.m. However, today, the midday meal is often eaten away from home, i.e. at work. With the increase in health and weight consciousness, lunches are becoming lighter, and sometimes are nothing more than a snack.
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German Dinner
This is the main meal today, usually eaten at home with the family in the evening. Traditionally, the German dinner – called “Mandelbrot”, meaning "evening bread", consists of a selection of whole grain bread, deli meats and sausages, cheese and a cold or warm drink. Yet, eating habits changed over time and today, many families eat the warm meal in the evening.
Pork, beef, and poultry dishes are the favorite main courses. But here too, change is in progress. Seafood used to be the domain of the northern coastal areas. But seawater fish like fresh herring, mackerel, salmon and sardines or freshwater fish like trout, salmon, bream and carp are popular across the country today.
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German Beer
Beer is an alcoholic and carbonated beverage, which is made through fermentation of its main ingredients - water, malted grain, and hops.
Germany is widely recognized as one of the greatest beer centers and its beer is among of the best the world has to offer. Beer is engrained both into Germany's history and culture. Germany has over 1,200 breweries, which produce the largest variety of beer styles in the world. Bavaria (Bayern) is Germany's leading beer producing region, and Dortmund, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen), is Germany's largest beer-producing city (producing over 4 million barrels of beer annually).
German Beer is All Natural!
The German beer industry is regulated by the "German Beer Purity Law" (Reinheitsgebot). This law, first created on April 23, 1516, by the Bavarian co-rulers Duke Wilhelm IV and Duke Ludwig X, is designed to keep German beer pure, natural, and free from unhealthy and cheap ingredients. The law states that lager beer must be made only from barley malt, hops, yeast and water. Spices, corn, rice, sugar, unmalted grains, chemical additives, or stabilizers are not permitted ingredients for lagers. Brewers have a little more flexibility when it comes to ale beers- this is to accomodate Germany's ancient barley-based ale and wheat-based ale traditions. German ales may contain to barley malt, hops, yeast, water, other malted grains (such as wheat, rye, spelt), sugars, and coloring agents derived from sugar.
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German Cakes (Kuchen & Torten)
Germans love cakes and German cakes are excellent! There are actually two German words for cakes: Kuchen and Torten. Kuchen are basic one-layer cakes (with only one layer of dough). They may include toppings, fillings, and glazes, and may come in a variety of shapes. Torten are "fancier" cakes with multiple layers of cake (dough). Between each cake layer is usually a filling made of cream and/or fruits. Torten are often decorated with whipped cream or other cream (such as Buttercream), and may be topped with other decorative items such as fruits, nuts, marzipan, and chocolate pieces.
In German cuisine, the number of cake varieties is endless. Cakes are made from a variety of dough types, fillings, toppings, glazes, and shapes. We identify some of the most common ones below.
Dough Types
Yeast Dough (Hefeteig)
A yeast dough is a dough in which yeast has been added as a leavening agent. Yeast feeds on the sugars in the dough (added sugar and the sugar produced from the wheat starch in the flour). The yeast converts the sugars to carbon dioxide and alcohol. As the dough bakes, the carbon dioxide is trapped within the dough, causing the dough to rise.
Short Dough (Mürbeteig)
The "short" in short dough refers to its crumbly quality produced by shortening (butter or margarine). This dough has a high content of shortening. The dough is firm and can be easily rolled out.
Sponge (Biskuitteig)
The main ingredients of a sponge are eggs, flour, and sugar. In this type of cake, very little or no leavening agents(baking powder or baking soda) are used because its volume and light texture come from air whipped into the eggs.
Batter (Rührteig)
A batter is made mainly from shortening, sugar, eggs, flour, and sometimes milk. Mixing (Rühren) is important to this type of cake because it incorporates air into the cake and makes it lighter. Mixing the eggs and sugar first, then adding the shortening, results in a cake that is light and rises high. Mixing the butter and sugar first, then add the eggs, results in a cake that is airy and soft. The flour is then added at the end of mixing and mixing should only continue until the flour has been incorporated into the batter.
Puff Pastry (Blätterteig)
Puff pastry is made from hundreds of layers of butter and dough. This creates a very flakey product.
Strudel Dough (Strudelteig)
Strudel dough is a very elastic dough, made of flour, water, and oil. It is formed by stretching it out (similar to stretching out a pizza dough) until it is paper thin. The dough is so thin that is is almost transparent. It is spread out on moist towel (to prevent it from drying out), topped with the filling, then rolled up.
Common Fillings
Common fillings used in German cakes include nuts, fruits, Quark, poppy seeds, chocolate, whipped cream, and other creams.
Common Toppings
Common toppings used in German cakes include crumbs, fruits, nuts, sugar, chocolate, marzipan, whipped cream, and other creams. Fruit toppings are most commonly apples, Zwetschgen, strawberries, red currants, berries, cherries, or rhubarb.
Common Glazes
Glazes are used both for decoration and to keep the cake from drying out. Glazes include chocolate, honey, glazes made from powdered sugar, marmelade, and gelatin-based glazes.
Common Shapes
The most common shapes of German cakes are round (using a Springform) and regtangular (as with the Blechkuchen).
Recipes:
Apfel-Streuselkuchen (Apple Crumb Cake)
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For the Dough:
4 cups All Purpose Flour
1 package Active Dry Yeast
9 tablespoons (1 stick + 1 tablespoon) unsalted Butter
1/2 cup Sugar
Pinch of Salt
Juice from Half of a Lemon
1 cup Milk (lukewarm)
For the Apples:
4 to 5 Apples
Lemon Juice from One Lemon
1/2 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Sliced Almonds (optional)
For the Crumb Topping:
3 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 sticks Unsalted Butter
1 1/4 cups Sugar
1 package Vanilla Sugar
Pinch of Salt
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
Additional Ingredients:
Powdered Sugar for decoration
Create a "pre-dough" by combining the milk and yeast. Use a whisk to help dissolve the yeast. Mix in one tablespoon flour and one tablespoon sugar. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm place for one hour. During this time, you should see the yeast becoming active, noticeable by bubbles forming in the mixture.
Sift the remaining flour.
Using a mixing bowl, whip the butter until it is smooth. Add sugar and continue whipping until the sugar is absorbed. Change your mixer to the dough hook. To the mixing bowl add 3 cups of flour, milk, lemon juice, salt, and the "pre-dough." Combine all the ingredients. Gradually add remaining flour until dough is no longer sticky (if the dough reaches this point before adding all of the flour, then stop adding flour). Knead dough for 2 minutes. Transfer dough to a clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place for one hour or until it has doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
While the dough is growing, prepare the crumbs by combining all the crumb ingredients. Crumbs should not be sticky. If they are sticky, add some extra flour (1 tablespoon at a time) until they crumble easily. Set aside.
Wash, peel, and core the apples. Cut apples into thin slices. Drizzle lemon juice over the apple slices and mix to distribute the juice over all the apple slices. Set aside.
Prepare a retangular cake pan by greasing it and dusting it with flour. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead on a flour surface for a minute or two. Roll the dough out to fit the cake pan. Transfer dough to the cake pan. Top the dough with apple slices and optionally the almond slices. Sprinkle the apples with the sugar. Top the apples with crumbs. Cover cake loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise again for 30-40 minutes.
Remove plastic from cake. Bake cake for 40 minutes or until the dough and crumbs are golden brown. Remove cake from oven and allow to cool completely. Dust top of cake with powdered sugar.
Baileys-Nuss-Gugelhupf (Baileys & Nuts Gugelhupf)
2 tablespoons instant Cappuccino Powder
1/2 cup Water, hot
1 cup Walnuts, ground
7 oz (200g) Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped
1 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
3/4 cup Cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
5 Eggs
2 1/8 cups Powdered Sugar
1 cup Sunflower Oil
1/2 cup Baileys
1 tablespoon Plain Bread Crumbs
For the Chocolate Glaze:
8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
Prepare a cake pan (Bundt form or Gugelhupf form) by greasing it with butter. Sprinkle the pan with the bread crumbs and shake pan around to distribute the bread crumbs.
Combine cappuccino powder and hot water. Allow to sit for a few minutes to dissolve the cappuccino powder.
Combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and nuts.
Combine powdered sugar and eggs. Using a mixer, whip egg mixture for 7 minutes. Slowly drizzle in oil and Baileys.
Gently fold the flour mixture and cappuccino into the egg mixture. Gently fold in chocolate pieces.
Pour cake batter into prepared pan. Bake cake for about 80-85 minutes. Test cake for doneness by sticking the center with a toothpick - if it comes out clean, the cake is done; if it doesn't come out clean, bake the cake a few more minutes and retest.
Remove cake from oven when its done and allow it to cool in the cake pan for 20 minutes. Remove cake from pan and turn-over, so that the flat side becomes the bottom. Allow cake to cool completely.
To make the chocolate glaze, place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream and butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth.
Make sure the cake is cold before covering with the chocolate. This will ensure that the chocolate does not dull when stored in the refrigerator. Brush any loose crumbs from the cake and place cake on a wire rack. Put the wire rack on a baking sheet. In this way if the chocolate drips it will end up on the baking sheet, which makes clean up easier. Using a cake spatula, cover the sides and top of the cake with about 2 tablespoons chocolate. This seals in any cake crumbs and holes so that your cake will have a smooth finish. Refrigerate cake for 5 minutes to set the coat. To cover cake, pour the remaining chocolate over the center of the cake. Working quickly, spread with a spatula, using big strokes to push the chocolate over the sides of the cake, to create an even coating of chocolate.
Butterkuchen (Butter Cake)
For the Dough:
4 cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter (1 stick)
1 Egg
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon Sugar
1 package Active Dry Yeast
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Milk, lukewarm
Zest from half of a Lemon
For the Topping:
1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, cut into tiny cubes
1 cup Sugar
1 1/2 cups Sliced Almonds
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
In a small bowl, combine the yeast and half of the milk. Mix in 2 tablespoons of the flour and 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Allow this mixture to sit in a warm place for 1 hour.
Combine remaining dough ingredients then add in the yeast mixture. Mix until a smooth dough forms, then knead by hand. Allow dough to sit in a warm place until double in volume.
Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
Grease a baking sheet. Roll out dough to fit the size of the baking sheet. Transfer dough to baking sheet.
Sprinkle the sliced almonds, sugar, cinnamon, and butter cubes over the dough.
Allow cake to sit and rise for another 30 minutes.
Bake cake for around 30 minutes or until a golden crust develops.
Remove cake from oven and allow to cool. Before serving, cut into squares.
Erdbeerkuchen (Strawberry Cake)
One Sponge Cake Base
3-4 cups fresh Strawberries
1/2 cup Sugar
1 package Vanilla Sugar
1 package Red Cake Glaze
Wash strawberries and remove stems. Cut into halves. Place in a bowl and mix in sugar and vanilla sugar. Allow to stand for 15 minutes. Save strawberry juice.
Arrange strawberry halves into finished sponge cake base.
Make cake glaze according to package instructions. Replace some of the water in the instructions with the strawberry juice. Evenly pour glaze over the strawberries. Allow to cool and the glaze to firm up before serving.
Obstkuchen & Obsttorten (Fruit Cake)
Obstkuchen and Obsttorten, translated as "Fruit Cake," are cakes topped with fruit. Obsttorten refers to cakes that are made with a pre-baked base then topped with fresh or canned fruits (similar to fruit tarts). Obstkuchen refers to cakes that are baked with the fruit. There are hundreds of varieties of Obstkuchen and Obsttorten - all kinds of fruits or combination of fruits can be used.
These cakes are very simple to make and, because of this, are favorites throughout Germany. Plus, any fruit combination is possible, satisfying all palates.
Region
Throughout Germany
Main Ingredients
The base of these cakes can be made from a yeast dough, a sponge cake, or a short dough (one that is easily rolled out). The base is typically thin. Depending on the fruit and other ingredients used, the base may be pre-baked without the fruit or baked with fruit.
Recipe for Short Dough Base
Recipe for Yeast Dough Base
Recipe for Sponge Cake Base
Recipe for Chocolate Sponge Cake Base
Those cakes topped with fresh fruit are also often topped with a clear glaze. This keeps the fruit fresh longer as well as adds beauty to the cake.
Serving Suggestions
Serve these cakes with fresh whipped cream and a good cup of coffee.
Gugelhupf (Traditional Recipe)
1/2 cup (packed) seedless Raisins
5 tablespoons Orange Juice
2 tablespoons Sugar
5 tablespoons Rum
3 1/8 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoon All Purpose Flour
1 package Active Dried Yeast
Pinch of Salt
3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon Powdered Sugar
1 package Vanilla Sugar
1 teaspoon Orange Zest
2 3/4 sticks (1 cup + 5 tablespoons) Unsalted Butter, softened
6 Eggs
1 cup Almonds, chopped
1/4 cup Almonds, ground
In a small cooking pot, add orange juice and sugar. Mix together Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and mix in rum. Add raisins to a small bowl, then pour rum-orange juice mixture over raisins. Allow raisins to soak for a minimum of 4 hours to soften them.
Add flour to a large bowl. Mix in dried yeast. Mix in salt, powdered sugar, vanilla sugar, and orange zest.
Cut butter into cubes and add to flour mixture. Mix together.
Add eggs one at a time, mixing each egg into the dough before adding the next.
Drain raisins in a colander. Knead them into the dough.
Knead chopped almonds into the dough.
Prepare a cake pan (Bundt form or Gugelhupf form) by greasing it with butter. Sprinkle the pan with the ground almonds and shake pan around to distribute the almonds. Place dough into pan and press dough with hands so that it is evenly distributed in the pan. Cover pan with a dish cloth and allow dough to rise in a warm place for 30-45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C).
Bake cake for about 45 minutes. The low temperature of the oven should keep the cake from getting too dark. Test cake for doneness by sticking the center with a toothpick - if it comes out clean, the cake is done; if it doesn't come out clean, bake the cake a few more minutes and retest.
Remove cake from oven when its done and allow it to cool in the cake pan for 20 minutes. Remove cake from pan and turn-over, so that the flat side becomes the bottom. Allow cake to cool completely.
Sift powdered sugar over the cake as decoration.
Zitronen-Gugelhupf (Lemon Gugelhupf)
4 Eggs
1 1/4 cups Sugar
3/4 + 1/8 cups Vegetable Oil
3/4 + 1/8 cups Orange Juice
2 1/2 cups + 3 tablespoons All Purpose Flour
3 teaspoons Baking Powder
Zest from 2 Lemons
Juice from 2 Lemons
For the Lemon Glaze:
3/4 cup Powdered Sugar
Juice from 1/2 of a Lemon
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
Combine eggs and sugar. Using a mixer, beat egg mixture until it has tripled in volume. With the mixer going, drizzle in oil, then the lemon juice, then the orange juice.
Gently fold in the flour, baking powder, and lemon zest.
Prepare a cake pan (Bundt form or Gugelhupf form) by greasing it with butter or cooking spray. Pour the cake batter into the cake pan and distribute it evenly.
Bake cake for about 45-55 minutes. Test cake for doneness by sticking the center with a toothpick - if it comes out clean, the cake is done; if it doesn't come out clean, bake the cake a few more minutes and retest.
Remove cake from oven when its done and allow it to cool in the cake pan for 20 minutes. Remove cake from pan and turn-over, so that the flat side becomes the bottom. Allow cake to cool completely.
To make the glaze, sift the powdered sugar and mix it with the lemon juice. Drizzle the lemon glaze over the cake.
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