Mennonite Girls Can Cook (23 page)
Read Mennonite Girls Can Cook Online
Authors: Lovella Schellenberg,Anneliese Friesen,Judy Wiebe,Betty Reimer,Bev Klassen,Charlotte Penner,Ellen Bayles,Julie Klassen,Kathy McLellan,Marg Bartel
Paska
(Easter Bread)
Cheese Spread
Raisin Bread with Apple Filling
...............................................Yields 32 buns
- 2 cups / 500 ml very warm water
- ¼ cup / 60 ml instant mashed potato flakes
- ½ cup / 125 ml sugar
- 1 tablespoon / 15 ml salt
- 2 eggs, beaten
- ½ cup / 125 ml butter or margarine, softened
- 2 tablespoons / 30 ml instant yeast
- 6½ cups / 1500 ml flour
- Stir together the water, potato flakes, sugar, and salt.
- Add eggs and butter, then yeast mixed with 3 cups / 750 ml flour. Beat with mixer on high speed.
- Add remaining flour, ½ cup / 125 ml at a time, until the dough can be easily handled. Knead well.
- Place in a greased, covered bowl in the refrigerator to rest for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Divide dough into 4 equal portions; roll each piece into a circle on a buttered surface.
- Cut each circle into 8 wedges; roll each wedge to form a crescent shape.
- Let rise until doubled in size, at least 1 hour.
- Bake at 375° F / 190° C for 12-15 minutes.
Tip:
You can also use this dough to make cinnamon buns.
—Judy
These buns have been a family favorite for more years, than I care to count! My mom-in-law made excellent Zwieback, and since I couldn’t compete with Grandma’s Zwieback, I made these refrigerator rolls as my trademark recipe. Now I’m a grandma and though I bake Zwieback as well, it’s these melt-in-your-mouth rolls that the grands request.
I always make a double batch, often making cinnamon buns with a portion of the dough. It’s the perfect recipe for those times when you are expecting overnight guests. You can have freshly baked buns for breakfast with little or no fuss. How handy or efficient is that?
Judy says
(Double-decker Rolls)
...............................................Yields 4 dozen
- 1½ tablespoons / 22 ml active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon / 5 ml sugar
- 1 cup / 250 ml warm water
- 3 cups / 750 ml warm milk
- ¼ cup / 60 ml instant mashed potato flakes
- 3 tablespoons / 45 ml oil
- 2 teaspoons /10 ml salt
- 1 cup / 250 ml soft butter (no substitutes)
- 7½-7¾ cups / 1.7-1.8 L all purpose flour, plus a little more for dusting
- Add yeast and sugar to warm water in a small bowl. Let rest for 10 minutes.
- Heat milk until it is just warm or at room temperature.
- Add the potato flakes to the warm milk; stir, then blend in oil and salt.
- In a large bowl, cut the butter into 3 cups / 750 ml flour using a pastry blender.
- Stir the yeast and milk mixture into the flour and butter mixture.
- Add another 4½ cups / 1 L of flour; turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Add sprinkles of flour as needed to make a soft dough. Place the dough into a large mixing bowl. Cover and let rise until double in bulk, about 1 hour.
- Grease 3 large cookie sheets or line them with parchment paper.
- Take a piece of dough the size of an orange and hold it in your left hand with a part of it between your thumb and forefinger. With your right hand, squeeze a bit of dough between your thumb and forefinger, about the size of a walnut; pinch your thumb and forefinger together to squeeze it off. With your right hand take the dough and place it on the pan. Again, squeeze the dough between your thumb and forefinger, this time a smaller piece to make the top bun. Squeeze it off and place it on top of your first bun. With both index fingers, press down through the top and bottom buns to seal them together. Repeat with all the dough.
- Cover the buns with a clean tea towel and let rise until double in size, about 1 hour.
- Bake in a preheated 400° F / 205° C oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
—
Lovella
Zwieback
are small white double buns typically served at our Sunday evening meals; the meals are commonly referred to as Faspa. They are most often eaten with fresh churned butter and homemade jams and cheese.
My beloved’s maternal grandmother, Agatha, secured the love of her grandson by tucking a bag of fresh
Zwieback
in the car with him before his family headed home. For a grown man to remember her so fondly motivated me to duplicate her
Zwieback
recipe, so that he could remember her sweet ways. Agatha and co-author Judy’s mother-in-law, Nellie, were sisters. When we became blog friends, we realized very quickly that many of our family recipes were similar.
When company left after Faspa on Sundays, the remaining
Tweiback
(Low German spelling) were set aside to make
Reistche
the next day. To do this, the
Tweiback
would be taken apart and set on a cookie sheet to toast slowly in the oven. These rusks (the Mennonite version) were made by the thousands when the first Mennonites emigrated from Russia. Since these buns have a very long shelf life, the women made enough for their families, storing them with their few belongings to be eaten over the several months it took to cross the ocean and settle into their new homes.
Our grandparents survived on little else but
Reistche Tweiback
in those difficult times. Our generation now enjoys them dunked in hot coffee, then dabbed with a touch of butter before popping them into our mouths.
Lovella says