story. That is the subject of the chapter at hand.
The original Pennsylvania Dutch term for cake was Siesser Brod (sweetened bread), which in local parlance among the non-Dutch became “cake bread.” Siesser Brod implied that the Fordeeg (foundation dough) was bread dough, the very same used for making common loaf bread, except that the foundation dough was then elaborated with any number of additional ingredients, such as eggs, honey, sugar, spices, saffron or dried fruit. These dressed-up breads took many forms, perhaps the oldest and most classic being Schtrietzel, which was a loaf of bread shaped like a braid, or as some culinary historians would suggest, a head of grain. Regardless of the symbolic meaning, these were special occasion foods and some were only made once a year. Many did not contain much honey or sugar since they were meant to be toasted and eaten with jam – the classic spread being Quince Honey (Qwiddehunnich) as presented on page 11. One of the basic recipes in this category, which became a fixture of many Sunday dinners, is so-called Dutch Bread, in some respects a study in simplicity because it is not very rich in terms of ingredients. Our heirloom recipe was preserved by Anna Bertolet Hunter (1869-1946) of Reading, Pennsylvania. The Bertolets are one of the oldest and most distinguished Pennsylvania Dutch families in Berks County and have always been at the forefront when it comes to preserving local culture.
Aside from farmhouse baking, there are period records from before the Civil War of bakeries in large towns that specialized in festive breads like the New Year’s Pretzel, large gingerbread figures and Hutzelbrodt – since these breads require an oversized oven. In rural areas, this task sometimes fell to local taverns, which possessed the bake-oven capacity and turnover of customers to generate extra money from seasonal sales. It was also common for people in the neighborhood to pitch in to help the taverns during the busy holidays – and get paid with Christmas baked goods in return for the work.
One of the earliest historical recipes for Siesser Brod surfaced in the 1813 account book of Lebanon County furniture maker Peter Ranck (1770-1851), who must have acquired auxiliary training in baking. Ranck called his recipe Zuckerweck (sugar buns) because he shaped the bread into small rolls for Christmas or New Year’s. In short, the same foundation dough was used to make Dutch Cake (Pennsylvania Dutch Gugelhupf), New Year’s Boys, Lebanon Rusks and Christmas dinner rolls called “Kissing Buns” (Kimmichweck).
Gingerbread mold depicting New Year’s Pretzel, Schtrietzel and Kissing Buns
The kissing buns acquired their name because they consisted of two round buns baked side-by-side so that they would “kiss” and stick together – they were sent to the table in pairs as shown in the old gingerbread mold above.
Plain bread rolls made in the same shape with the best sort of wheat flour were called wedding rolls because they were expensive and were only served on high occasions of that nature – of course the kissing bread was also symbolic of the wedding couple and the work cut out for them on their honeymoon. The earliest known Pennsylvania Dutch image of these kissing buns appeared in a carving on the 1745 case clock of Lancaster bread baker Andreas Beyerle. Thus, while the written record in cookbooks may be skimpy, other types of evidence attest to the important place such festive breads once held in traditional Pennsylvania Dutch culture. For this chapter, I have selected several iconic breads representing the major calendar events in the year.
Apple Bread or Schnitzing Bread
Ebbelbrod odder Schnitzerei Brod
This fulsome old-time recipe came to light in an 1856 Hagerstown almanac published in German for the Pennsylvania Dutch community living in western Maryland. Fall schnitzing parties were at one time a focal point of Pennsylvania Dutch country life. The abundance of apples in fall invited creative ways to use them. Mealy apples that were not fit for schnitzing were peeled and cooked down for apple sauce or apple butter. The cores and parings were boiled to make a “tea” that was also used in apple butter production or employed as part of the liquid starter for apple bread, one of the festive foods served when entire neighborhoods gathered in a local farmhouse to pare and slice apples for drying. While many hands lightened the burden of work, flasks of apple jack and rye whiskey and romantic rendezvous in the haymow more or less defined the evening.
Apple Bread is also one of the basic doughs used to make Christmas Hutzelbrod (page 12). While definitely spectacular as toast liberally spread with apple butter and rich, fragrant, melting Amish Roll Butter, the delicate fruit flavor of apple bread also complements the wonderful array of dried fruits stuffed inside this holiday treat. As a variation to our recipe below, you can add chopped apple, peach or pear Schnitz to the sponge right before adding the flour. If you want to try your hand at baking this bread the old way by proofing it in traditional rye straw baskets, refer to the special instructions in the sidebar.
Peach Schnitz
Yield: 2 loaves
3 cups (750ml) lukewarm apple puree (or warm unsweetened apple sauce)
7 to 7½ cups (940g) bread flour
1 cup (250ml) apple “tea” (see note)
1 tablespoon (15g) sugar
½ ounce (15g) dry active yeast
1 tablespoon (15g) plus 1½ teaspoon salt
Milk Glaze:
1 tablespoon (15g) unsalted soft butter
1 tablespoon (15ml) whole milk
Combine 3 cups (750ml) lukewarm apple puree with 3 cups (375g) bread flour and 1 tablespoon (15g) salt. Proof the yeast in the lukewarm apple water sweetened with 1 tablespoon (15g) sugar. Once the yeast is foaming vigorously, add it to the apple sponge. Cover and set away in a warm place until double in bulk and forming bubbles on the surface. Then stir down, add the remaining 1½ teaspoon of salt and approximately 4½ cups (565g) of the remaining bread flour and chopped dried fruit (optional). Use only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the fingers. Knead 5 to 10 minutes or until the dough becomes soft and spongy.
Divide the dough into two equal portions. Knead these again and shape into loaves. Place the loaves in two well-greased bread pans and cover (traditional loaves were raised in round rye straw baskets and turned out to bake, like French boules – see photo opposite and sidebar instructions). Set aside and let the bread raise above the tops of the bread pans or baskets, the higher the better. Preheat the oven to 450F (235C). Bake the bread at this temperature for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 400F (205C) and bake for another 15 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 375F (190C) and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the bread taps hollow on the bottom. As soon as the bread comes from the oven, remove it from the pans, combine the soft butter and milk until creamy, then brush the crust (in former times this was done with a piece of flannel or a goose feather). Otherwise, brush the crust with cold apple water or with cold applejack. Let the bread cool before slicing.
