Middle and eastern European baking - experiences? Enthusiasms?

[buttertart]

I've dabbled in German/Austrian/Hungarian baking a bit (have several books on the subject, including the German Pastry Bakebook that came out in the 70's, Kaffeehaus, the Time-Life books, and Dr Oetker and other German baking books) but haven't really delved into it as much as I'd like to. Have been toying with the idea of making a Rigo Jansci (Hungarian chocolate cake filled with chocolate cream) this weekend - have seen recipes for it for years and never took the plunge. Would be very interested in others' experiences with this rich baking tradition - and if anybody's made the Rigo Jansci, would love to know how it turned out.

[souschef]

Buttertart, it seems like there is no "standard" recipe for Rigo Jancsi as there is with, say, Sachertorte. The one I have includes apricot preserves and cognac, and is glazed with milk chocolate, whereas Emily's does not include the preserves/cognac, and is glazed with dark chocolate, and it's round.

On the subject of other desserts from the general region, I have made something from Austria called "Hapsburger Torte". It is expensive and time-consuming to make: two layers of hazelnut sponge, one layer of chocolate hazelnut sponge, boozy chocolate filling, pistachio and almond filling .... all covered with a boiled chocolate glaze. I don't like te glaze so I use an Alice Medrich glaze. Very rich and yummy!

From the same book I have been planning to make a Frankfurter Kranz but have not got down to it yet.

[buttertart]

That sounds fabulous. The same book being Kaffeehaus? (The RJ recipes I have are all dark choc.)

[souschef]

No, the book is called, "Traditional Cakes and Pastries" by Barbara Maher. It has stuff from a number of regions of the world.

[buttertart]

Hmm, another book to look out for. I see "Classic Cakes and Cookies" by this author on ABEbooks, is that it? Thanks!

[souschef]

Nope, the title is per my original post. There is one on Amazon for $8, so grab it! Some nice stuff in there !

[buttertart]

Enabler...of course I just bought it! It looks excellent.

[souschef]

So what cake did you make for hubby?

[buttertart]

To tell the truth, that was shelved for next weekend - we were invited to friends' for the weekend and I ended up making (for the first time) a Derby Pie for the dessert (a recipe from the department of don't bother, just kind of nasty, like underflavored chocolate chip cookie dough in a crust). So I still have a few days to decide on which to make. The birthday boy is OK with the delay - his family often moves holiday and birthday celebrations around for convenience's sake.

[souschef]

It just occurred to me that I may have led you astray - the RJ recipe is not in the book you just bought; everything kinda got mixed up in the discussion about cakes. The RJ recipe I have, using milk chocolate, is from Chocolatier magazine; I can post it here if you like.

[buttertart]

Never mind, I have at least 3 recipes, all are dark chocolate. No harm done buying (yet another) cookbook.

[buttertart]

PS souschef , check out that About.com link in BarbRolek's post above. Nice stuff in there.

[Jen76]

My in-laws are coming next week from Romania for my husband's graduation. I'm hoping my MIL can show me how to make Cozonac (Romanian sweet bread) with American ingredients.

[buttertart]

I hope so too - would love the recipe!

[Bada Bing]

I'll jump on this thread with a bread query. I've finally given up finding German-style Döner Kebab sandwiches in the USA. (There are threads by me in regional forums as I've searched.)

My basic question: any recipes for flat bread (German fladenbrot), which is one item used by the Turks in Berlin for their Kebab sandwiches?

In case you're curious about Döner Kebab, here's one thread:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/670567

[buttertart]

I'd be interested too - a German friend has been on the hunt for these forever.

[Harters]

I see that the link thread mentions you having a kebab in the UK. Was the bread pitta or similar to the flatbread? If the latter, then it's likely to have been khobez (although Turks probably have a different name for it).

[Bada Bing]

The bead was flatbread. The khobez, to judge from internet pictures, seems similar. As I recall, the German Turks used a flatbread that had often had some kind of seeds mixed in (not carraway). The real key difference from USA style is that here in the USA gyros are tpyically served rolled in pitas, which are usually tough by comparison. The Döner flatbread was like a semi-circle half of a little round loaf that was then cut open to form a pocket.

[Harters]

Don't think I've come across a flatbread with seeds here. Most kebabs in the UK are served in pittas - but this is because most of the original kebab shops are run by Cypriots. Increasingly, there's more "Middle Eastern" ownership and they tend to use khobez or similar (which they often call naan - although it isnt)

[buttertart]

Nigella seed perhaps? Looks like black sesame, tastes sort of oniony? It's used in a lot of Turkish bread and savory pastries (I work in the same office with a Turkish company and one of their vendors is forever bringing in simit and other breakfast breads from a bakery in Paterson, NJ.)

[Bada Bing]

Yes, nigella seeds! And--while it's off topic--your mentioning "simit " totally blasts me back to my early childhood in the 1960s, when my father's Air Force career had our whole family stationed in Ankara, Turkey, for three years. Every day or two a Turkish woman came down the road carrying a pile of breads over her head and calling out what I remember as "sme-tay"--and we kids went nuts trying to get some change to buy them. We loved those.

[buttertart]

My Turkish friends say these are not as good as the ones in the old country (nothing is, to Turks) but they are very good indeed.

[ChristinaMason]

I think I can help here! I know exactly what kind of bread you mean. It's very popular here in Berlin and is eaten with spreads or stuffed with donner. Personally, I prefer a durum donner, but that's neither here nor there. A kebab in freshly-toasted Fladenbrot is also a thing of beauty.

I found this recipe (http://www.chefkoch.de/rezepte/157599... ), which I haven't tested, but gets good reviews. It is apparently for making smaller rounds, but could be adapted to make one or two big round loaves. Here's a translation:

500 g flour (ideally bread or wholegrain flour
)1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. dried yeast
1 tsp. sugar
375 ml lukewarm water
sesame seeds, for sprinkling

Mix the flour and salt well. Combine the yeast, sugar, and 125ml of the water until dissolved. Let the yeast bloom 10-25 minutes, or until foamy. Stir in the rest of the water. Put the flour in a mixer (presumably with dough hooks) and gradually mix in the water-yeast mixture. Add more water as needed if it gets too dry. Mix until it forms a ball, then mix a minute longer. Put the dough in an oiled bowl and turn so all the surfaces are well-oiled. Cover with a wet kitchen towel and let rise 1 1/2 hrs. in a warm place. Let rise until doubled, then knead briefly on a lightly floured surface. Form into a long roll and slice into 12 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball and place on a floured baking sheet, cover again with a towel and let rise 30 minutes more, until doubled.

Form each dough ball into a round with a diameter of 12-15 cm and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake 3-4 rounds at a time on a baking sheet in a 430F oven. Bake approx. 3 minutes until brown, then flip loaves and bake 2 minutes more. Eat fresh.

Hope that helps!

[buttertart]

Brava Christina! Thanks. Fladenbrot mavens, is this it?

[ChristinaMason]

Thanks. I think to get the shape and size Bada Bing is after, one should form the dough into just one or two rounds and use a razor blade to make criss-cross cuts across the top (like a tic-tac-toe chart), then sprinkle with seeds and bake. I see from the photos that some bakers did this.

[Bada Bing]

Sounds terrific! Thanks. And boy do I wish I could be back in Berlin for a visit. Spent the summer of 1986 there (West Berlin) and a couple of weeks in 1992. I LOVE Berlin.

[BarbRolek]

Rigo Jancsi is chocolate mousse cake cut into bars. It's easy to prepare and delicious. Good luck!

[buttertart]

Thanks - it's the astonishing quantity of chocolate in it that's held me back all these years!

[ChristinaMason]

Sounds like my kind of cake. Please post pictures!

[emily]

Well, I love the recipe for Ischl Tarts in the Kaffeehaus book. I haven't had much success with the few other recipes I've tried. Here's a thread over on egullet about the book with some lovely pictures:
http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/...

[buttertart]

I made the Milennium Torte out of it for a friend's birthday - it was very good - but that's as far as I've gone. Thanks for that link, the pics are very nice indeed.

[roxlet]

I have a good friend who is Hungarian and I've been carrying around a copy of a Rigo Jansci recipe ever since she gave it to me in grad school a million and a half years ago. I've never made it, but I have made strudel many times, which is one of my favorite German/Austrian pastries.

[CathleenH]

I love Kaffeehaus.

The apple squares were very good - I used 1/2 granny smith and 1/2 golden delicious.

I also liked the Gerbaud slices, though they are so rich that I think the best use for them is to cut them very small and serve them as Christmas cookies. Use good preserves and doctor them with a little lemon juice and rum.

I enjoyed the Palacsinta Gundel, but the basic crepe recipe is not that good - It needs more sugar and vanilla or rum.

I loved the Esterhazyschnitten, but it is a time-consuming and fussy recipe. Here are the notes I made in the book:
1. Don't overbake the layers or they dry out. They're only slightly golden when done.
2. Add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. almond extract to the layers.
3. The icing should be barely warmed in the saucepan.
Good quality kirsch is also important.

[buttertart]

Thanks for the recipe pointers!