Thursday, November 19, 2009
from http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/fea04/2009/11/rich-and-wonderful-kuchen.html Rich and wonderful kuchen <http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/fea04/uploaded_images/lcjdc5-57ydcym5zfcb12jmefv_layout[1]-777425.jpg> Rich and wonderful kuchen Marlene Mattingly from Owensboro wrote to request the recipe for butter kuchen served at Heitzman's Bakeries. Bakeries in general seldom wish to share recipes, for their business model requires people to return frequently to buy their relatively low-profit items. Kuchen, however, is a traditional coffee cake, with many variations possible. I sent Ms. Mattingly these from the C-J recipe archives. Kuchen: 1 package active dry yeast (about 2 teaspoons) 2 tablespoons lukewarm water 1 cup milk 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature 1/2 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 egg yolk 1 teaspoon salt 4 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour Filling: 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup chopped pecans 1 cup golden raisins To make the kuchen: Combine yeast and water. Stir to dissolve yeast. Set aside. Scald the milk and pour it into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and sugar. Stir until the butter has melted. Beat in the eggs and the yolk. When the mixture has cooled to lukewarm, add the dissolved yeast. Mix in the salt and 4 cups of flour, 2 cups at a time. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead, adding a little extra flour if needed if the dough feels too sticky. Continue to knead until the dough is soft, smooth and elastic, 2 minutes. Put the dough into a greased bowl, turning it to coat the surface. (This prevents the top from crusting over.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, place it in a warm spot and leave it until the dough has doubled in bulk, 1 hours. When the dough has risen, it may be punched down and completed, or it may be punched down, covered and refrigerated for several hours or overnight (it is easier to work with cold dough). When you are ready to make the kuchen, remove the dough from the bowl. Knead it on a lightly floured surface for a few seconds. Divide it in half. Roll each half into a rectangle 1 inch thick. To fill the kuchen: Brush the dough with butter. Stir together the cinnamon with sugar. Sprinkle the dough with the nuts, raisins and cinnamon sugar. Press the fruits and nuts well into the dough. Roll each rectangle up tightly like a jellyroll, tuck the ends under. Place them in 2 greased 9-by-4 -by-3-inch loaf pans. Cover the pans with plastic wrap. Leave them in a warm spot until the dough has doubled and springs back at once when lightly touched, 1 to 1 hours. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the loaves until golden and the bread sounds hollow when rapped with your knuckle, about 45 minutes. Turn the loaves onto a rack and allow them to cool before slicing. Makes 2 loaves. Basic kuchen 3/4 cup milk 1/4 cup butter or margarine 1/2 cup sugar 1 teaspoon salt 2 packages active dry yeast 1/2 cup warm water 2 eggs 5 cups bread flour Scald milk and add butter, sugar and salt. Dissolve yeast in warm water and add to milk mixture. Beat in eggs, then beat in flour. Cover and let rise until double, about an hour. Divide into 5 pieces. Roll out into desired shape. Place in 9-inch cake pan and let rise 30 minutes. Butter topping: Beat together 1 cup sugar, 3 eggs and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Slowly beat in 1 cup of oil; add oil too fast and the mixture will curdle. Heat on top of stove until hot and pour on crust after it rises the second time. Bake 25 minutes at 375 degrees. Cinnamon topping: Use a pastry blender or 2 knives to mix cup each margarine and brown sugar, cup flour and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle it over crust after it rises the second time. Dot with margarine, if desired. Bake 20 minutes at 375 degrees. Cherry kuchen: Heat 1 can dark cherry-pie filling on top of the stove. Spread on crust after it rises the second time. Bake 20 minutes at 375 degrees. Cheese kuchen: Mix 2 cups cottage cheese, 1 egg and 1/2 cup sugar in a blender until creamy. Heat slowly until warm. Pour on crust after second rising and sprinkle cinnamon on top. Bake 25 minutes at 375 degrees. Apple coffeecake: Peel and thinly slice 3 apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar to taste. Roll the dough into a rectangle after it rises the first time. Place on a cookie sheet. Fill center of dough with the apple-cinnamon-nutmeg-sugar mixture. Dot with margarine. Cut dough on both sides of the mixture into 1-inch-wide strips. Bring the strips into the middle of the dough to form a crosshatch pattern. Tuck in the ends. Bake 20 minutes at 375 degrees. Tea ring: Roll dough into a rectangle about 2 1/2 times longer than wide. Place on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Dot with margarine. Starting with the long side, roll the dough in a spiral to enclose the cinnamon filling. Join the ends to form a circle. Use scissors to cut nearly through the dough at 1-inch intervals. Pull the sections up and out to form a larger circle and expose the spiral interior. Let it rise until about double in size. Bake 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Sugar glaze: Cream 2 tablespoons softened butter and add about 1/2 cup confectionersâEUR^(TM) sugar, beating until well combined. Add another 1/2 cup confectionersâEUR^(TM) sugar, a dash of salt, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 1/2 tablespoons milk, more or less, so you can drizzle the glaze onto your coffeecake or sweet rolls. (Good for apple coffeecake and tea ring too.) -- *Ginny Butterfield Cranberry Twp, PA * [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CAKE-RECIPE/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CAKE-RECIPE/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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