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Basic Kuchen Dough

Basic Kuchen recipe from our book
Recipes from a German Grandma

Basic Kuchen dough is a sweet dough with a little lemon peel and can be used for all fruit kuchens. Traditionally for centuries a yeast dough was used and that is what my German grandmother used, but many today even in Germany use a dough that uses baking powder or even a baking mix.

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You can make Kuchen on the fly also!

Its fun making the traditional dough like my grandma use to make but it's even
better to feel like you can make one on the fly without taking a good part of your day.

It can be just about as easy as making a sandwich.

I write this on a card and tape it to the inside of my cupboard,

2 1/2 cups-Flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

soften 1 stick of butter
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
Cinnamon
printer friendly

You put the dry in one bowl and mix the wet in another, scoop out 3/4 cup of the dry mix for the Streusal and reserve.

Cut a stick of softened butter in half and put 1 half in the bowl for Streusal and the other half in the bowl for the wet ingredients.
Now you can cut up any fruit you have on hand, needs to be used up, a can of fruit or jar of jam, or just streusal works as well.
a custard base or poured on top of the fruit is a bonus if you want.
That can be made from anything from cream, sour cream, cottage cheese or some flavored yogurt.

You can use any kind of a pan you can thin of, make it pizza style or in a cupcake tin.

Traditional Yeast Dough

Ingredients:

2 eggs, well beaten
1 / 4 cup milk, warmed
1 pkg. (or 1 tablespoon) dry yeast
1 / 4 cup warm water
1 / 2 cup butter (1 stick, melted but not hot)
1 / 4 - 1/2 cup sugar
1 / 2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
3 cup flour, more if needed

This amount of dough will make 2 kuchen's
in a 9 by 13 inch glass baking dish.

 


Directions:

Baking Powder Dough

Dry Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/4-1/2 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

or

2 cups Bisquick or Baking Mix
1/4 -1/2- cup sugar

Wet Ingredients:
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 stick or 4 tablspoons butter softened or melted
1 /2 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Directions:



printer friendly

 



printer friendly           Metric Conversion Chart

 

King Arthur All Purpose White Flour
10 lb.

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Directions for Yeast Dough


1. Pour lukewarm water, yeast, and sugar in mixing bowl.
We like our Kuchen not so sweet so we use 1/4 cup sugar , but if you do use 1/2 cup.

Let the yeast start to foam in the bowl.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 


Add the melted butter,salt, milk and yeast mixture. to the flour.

Add the lemon zest and the egg.


Add flour, 1 cup at a time mixing well after each cup. Add more flour if necessary to make a smooth but not too firm dough.
You can also do this in a mixer.


This dough holds together but is not as firm as bread dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead lightly.


Cover with a towel and let raise for about an hour. Punch down and let it rest for about 10 minutes.

Spread the dough evenly into the pan of your choice. Round, square or rectangular pans
both metal and glass work well.

It should be about 1/4" thick or a little bit more.


The crust raises quite a bit so be aware of that.I like a kuchen that has
a good proportion of fruit and custard to crust. Sometimes when I have just put the
whole amount of dough in the crust is 2 inches high and just a bit of fruit on top.

 

Baking Powder Dough

Place the dry ingredients in the bowl. If you are using a baking mix I mix the sugar in with the milk to help it dissolve.
We like our Kuchen not so sweet so we use 1/4 cup sugar , but if you do use 1/2 cup.

Make a well in the center and add the eggs. Whisk the eggs then add the milk and blend in.
Add the softened butter and lemon peel and lightly blend in. Don't overmix.

Now you can use this like you would the yeast dough to form your base for the kuchen.

 

 

As you can see the crust is fairly thick even though the crust is about 1 inch thick which is perfect.
for the amount of topping. This is a basic Streusal Kuchen

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Last updated April 18, 2023