Yearly Archives: 2013

April 24th, 2013

Champions Bread

Category Bread, Bread Baking Day  Tags: , , , , , , ,   31 Responses

Weltmeisterbrot

Cinzia from Cindystar asked us to bake Bread with seeds and flakes for Bread Baking Day. When my mum asked me for a recipe for “Weltmeister-Brot” (Champions Bread) I knew directly that this would be perfect for this theme.

It is not clear, why this bread is called champions bread. Some Bakers from the german island Sylt claim that they invented it, while others connect it with the swabian soccer player Klinsmann, who is a baker by trade. I can only tell you, that I ate both champions bread and rolls first as a child in the 90th during our family holiday in East Frisia.

I saw the champions bread either baked in a tin or formed as a batard, but I like the batard more. But the recipe would work in a tin, too.

I like the bread very much, with its light and soft crumb and a thick, crunchy crust covered with a lot of seeds. That’s a bread I like!

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April 17th, 2013

Wheat Rye Bread No 2

Category Bread, Bread baking theory  Tags: , , ,   69 Responses

Weizenmischbrot

Three Month ago I baked a bread decorated with a rose for Bread Baking Day. My Mum was very much in love with the decoration and asked me if I could bake such a bread for her birthday breakfast with her colleagues. And of course is her wish my command! And so I baked another decorated bread last weekend, with a beating heart – baking something as a present makes me always nervous.

I changed some points of the process. Last time I realised that I don’t need to knead more flour in the dough to make it firmer for the decoration, so I skipped this step. And yes, with the softer dough it is still possible to form beautiful flowers and leaves. This time I felt more confident and decided to take pictures of the process for a little “how to”.

I changed the recipe of the dough a little bit, too (and yes, even my own recipes are not safe from being changed). I added some more rye flour and sourdough and a little bit of butter which makes the crumb softer. The bread is tasted even more delicious as its precurser, and so the name “Wheat and Rye bread No 2” is a little bit misleading, because for me it is the Number one!

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April 8th, 2013

Swiss Butter Braid

Category Bread  Tags: , , , ,   43 Responses

Schweizer Butterzopf

Jutta likes braided breads very much, just like me. And when she blogged her 12-stranded Braid I knew immediately that I had to bake such a braid, too. I bake already some braids in the last years, braids made with one Strand, two, three, four, six  or even with eight strands. So it was time to increase the difficulty level!

I watched the Videos Jutta linked and realized that it was not as difficult as I feared. The braiding needs just a lot of concentration.

And so I braided bread on Sunday morning, doing three smaller braids at once. After I finished the first, braiding the remaining two was not so hard to do. Making 36 small strands for three braids was much more annoying.

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April 7th, 2013

White Chocolate Muffins with Vanilla and Cardamom

Category Cake & Pastry  Tags: , ,   No Responses

Weiße Schokolade Muffins

When we need a cake which can easily transported in a box, I tend to bake Muffins. And so I suggest Muffins when I talk with my sister about her birthday, too. She like the idea of Muffins but had no clue what kind she would like to have and so she announced that whatever I bring would be delicious.

And so I opened my pantry and looked through my baking ingredients on search for inspiration. Finally I saw in my chocolate box half a bar of white chocolate, a leftover from the Christmas baking.

Immediately a recipe starts to form in my brain: muffins with molten white chocolate, a hint of vanilla and cardamom….

And that’s what I bake then: White Chocolate Muffins, flavoured with vanilla and freshly grounded cardamom. A easy and yet so delicious treat!

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April 1st, 2013

Chocolate Hot Cross Buns

Category Overnight, Special Occasions  Tags: , , , , ,   14 Responses

Hot Cross buns

When I saw Hot Cross Buns on an English Blog some years ago, I was fascinated by their look and the describtion of the spices (cinnamon, allspice, cardamom). But living together with a person who does not like raisins at all, baking them never made sense to me.

But this year I learned that in Australia and New Zealand Hot Cross Buns are often baked with chocolate instead of raisins. That was the solution to my problem!

And so I baked Hot Cross Buns for Breakfast on Easter Monday. I made the sleeping long variation – like my Burger Buns the Hot Cross Buns are made with only a tiny bit of fresh yeast, so I can form them the night before. They proof by roomtemperature and the next morning I only had to pipe the crosses and put them in the oven. And until I cooked coffee and prepared our breakfast table, the buns are done.

Is there a better start in a day then with a cup of coffee and still hot chocolate hot cross buns with the flavour of cinnamon, cardamom and allspice?

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March 31st, 2013

Aachener Poschweck

Category Bread, regional breads, Special Occasions  Tags: , , , , ,   20 Responses

Poschweck

When I saw the Poschweck that Petra baked some days ago, I knew that I had to bake some as well because it looked so delicious!

The Poschweck is a very traditional bread which the Bakers of Aachen gave as present to their customers during Easter since the late medieval. It is first mentioned 1547 in the “Aachener Bäckerverordnung” (Bakers edict). In 1760 some bakers tried for the first time to get rid of this custom but they where forced by the municipality to deliver the sweet breads.  After nearly another 100 years they tried again to break with the tradition, which ended with the so called “Poschweck riot” in which angry citizen demolished shops. To restore the public order the bakers where forced once again to bake and give away the Poschweck. Finally, in 1946 the bakers succeed with their claim to sell the Poschweck instead of giving it away.

I used Petras Recipe as a start for my own variation of Poschweck. With a pâte fermentée and less yeast the bread develops a complex taste. With almonds, raisins and sugar cubes and the hint of orange and vanilla it is a really rich bread. I love the fact that the sugar cubes will melt during baking and leave sweet and sticky holes in the bread (which you can see on the picture below).  A perfect bread for persons with a sweet tooth!

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March 30th, 2013

Easter bunnies 2013

Category Bread, Special Occasions  Tags: , ,   6 Responses

Osterhäschen

When I take a look out of the window on Good Friday, I had to blink and take a second look. Yes, during the last night our street was dusted with snow. During Christmas I would be happy with snow, but at the end of march I don’t need it anymore. I shortly considered to go back to bed and to stay there until it is finally spring. But complaining about the weather will not change it and so I started some dough to bake a nut-filled braid, some “Poschweck” and this sweet Easter bunnies.

I bake Easter bunnies every day. We eat some for Breakfast and the rest I give away. So we gave one of the bunnies as Easter present to my little niece. This year I made the dough with a pâte fermentée and seasoned it with some grated orange peel.

They taste good – my niece eat immediately a big part of her “Hasi” – is there a bigger compliment?

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March 29th, 2013

Multigrain Batards

Category Bread  Tags: , , , , ,   24 Responses

MehrkornstangeIn Germany it is a tradition to bring salt and bread as a present when friends or family moved into a new home. The present symbols wealth and luck for the new home.

When Zorra moved her Blog to a new address, my first thought was, that I should bring Bread for her, at least virtually. And then Zorra asked for Bread for a Blogwarming Party at the Bread baking Day. But no salt is needed, because she has  still a big stock!

It is always harder for me to decide what kind of bread I should bake when there is a theme with nearly no restrictions. So many breads are possible :-). At the End I decided to go for multigrain batards, which are covered with seeds. A great Bread for any party, delicious on its own, but although great with some butter and fleur de Sel!

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