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Lebkuchen
For some known for some maybe unknown, Lebkuchen is for me the king of Christmas baking (ok, next to vanille kipferl). In the US it is known as gingerbread, but this is a real German Lebkuchen. It was actually my first attempt to make it and I am very satisfied with the result, so I`m sharing it with you! I really felt like a chemist doing this project, it was very interesting.
Imagine me mixing up my dough with special glasses, gloves, and equipment like gauge glass and what not! Hahaha, oh well, it wasn't that extreme, but it will get you almost there. Just you wait and see....
You will need:
210g All prupose flour
210g rye flour
50g sugar
10g vanilla sugar
30ml water
300g honey
2 egg yolks
6g ground cinnamon
pinch of cardamom, cloves and nutmeg (to taste)
Zest of one untreated lemon and orange
5g Ammonium
2 1/2g Potash
20ml milk
50g butter
Lets get going:
To make the dough, which you have to make the day before, sift both of the flours.
Combine both of the sugars with water and bring to a boil. Add the honey, stir untill it dissolves, and while it's still hot add to the flour. Paddle with the mixer or knead the dough until smooth. In the book it says if you make it by hand it could take you half an hour. About that...If you have time and strenght....Mixer would be the best option ;)
Combine the yolks, zests, spices and add to the dough.
Now comes the fun part. I took from work (you can ask in pharmacy) some Ammonium and Potash that we use for Lebkuchen as well, because you can do it without those two ingredients.Ammonium looks like sodium bicarbonate and Potash looks like small tapioca balls. If you are not familiar with them, it will be the best to google them ;) Basically, they are the leavening agents and very important for Lebkuchen.
Now you have to dilute those two powders. I have really used a gauge glass that I had here in the kitchen, because I was dealing with very small amounts. First, take a small glass and measure the Ammonium. Add 10ml of the milk and stir. To make it easier for you, 10 ml is just enough to dilute the powder so you don't have to measure it really.
After that, do the same with Potash, stir until dissolved. You can't mix both of them together, because acidity and base repel eachother. When you're done with the chemical work, you can add it to the dough!
BEWARE: Potash stinks like hell! Have you ever dyed your hair? Yep, that's what it smells like.
Place the dough in a bowl and cover. It will look sticky, but wait until tomorrow. You don't have to put it in a fridge, I left it outside, just covered.
Dust the working surface with good amount of flour (it sticks!), and roll out to desired thickness. Now do what you wish!
Bake at 160°C for about 15 minutes, or until slighlty brown on the top and bottom. Let cool.
I covered some with dark chocolate (70%), and some with a mixture of honey and a little bit of water that I heated up and then brushed them with it for a shine. Let dry out, and then store in an airtight container.
The longer they stay, the better they are!
Try this, if you dare, or maybe you have already. Don't think I am trying to poison you, I already ate a few and as you can see, I am still typing ;)
Post je objavljen 10.12.2007. u 20:10 sati.