½ cup (125g) sugar
2 tablespoons (30g) cold, unsalted butter
¼ cup (65ml) honey
½ cup (125g) flour
1 tablespoon (5g) ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground star anise
1 teaspoon anise seed (optional)
Using two forks or a pastry cutter, rub the ingredients together in a work bowl to form large, coarse crumbs. Do not handle. Keep the crumbs cool until needed. Use a spoon to scatter the crumbs over the fruit as directed in the recipe.
Cinnamon Rolls or “Snails”
Schnecke
These simple breakfast rolls are sometimes called cinnamon buns but they are not the same thing as Philadelphia sticky buns; rather, they are coils of slightly crisp-crusted “snails” perfect for that morning wake-up call or afternoon coffee break. Our recipe has been adapted from the original of Lancaster Mennonite Della C. Diffenbaugh (1875-1948). It is plain, the way Mennonites make the rolls, and thankfully not overly sweet. For a change of pace, use the poppy seed filling for the Easter Cake on page 47. The amount given for that cake will also make enough to fill these rolls, and the Pennsylvania Dutch name then changes to Mohnschnecke (poppy seed snails).
Yield: 18 to 20 rolls
2 tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons (30g) sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (250ml) hot milk
½ oz. (15g) dry active yeast
½ cup (125ml) lukewarm milk (98F/37C)
2 large eggs
5 cups (625g) bread flour
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 oz. (65g) soft unsalted butter
4 oz. (125g) brown sugar
Dissolve the butter, sugar and salt in the hot milk. Proof the yeast in the lukewarm milk. In a separate work bowl, beat the eggs until lemon color and frothy. When the hot milk is tepid, beat it into the eggs, then add the proofed yeast. Sift in 2½ cups (315g) of flour and work into a soft sponge. Cover and set aside to rise in a warm place until double in bulk.
Once the dough had doubled in bulk, work in the remaining flour and knead until soft and spongy. Roll out the dough on a clean work surface to form a large rectangle ½ inch (1.25cm) thick. Make a paste by creaming together the cinnamon, soft butter and brown sugar, then spreading this evenly over the dough. Starting on the long side of the rectangle, roll up the dough to create a long coil; slice the roll into 1-inch thick (2.5cm) pieces. Lay the slices slice side down in greased baking tins so that they barely touch. Cover and let the dough rise for about 30 minutes or until puffy.
Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and bake the rolls for 25 minutes. Cool on racks and serve with strong black coffee.
Dutch Bread or Light Cake
Deitscher Brod odder G’gangene Kuche
This iconic Pennsylvania Dutch recipe was preserved by Anna Bertolet Hunter (1869-1946) of Reading. Mrs. Hunter and her son, Wellington, were deeply involved in organizing the Bertolet Family Association; she more or less took charge of the women’s committee, which handled the refreshments for the various reunions. Her heirloom Dutch Bread was first served at a reunion held at Mineral Springs Park in Reading on August 5, 1900 and at many Bertolet family events thereafter. Like the Gerhart’s Reunion Cake on page 42, Pennsylvania Dutch heritage was thus verified through the medium of food.
Recommended utensils: two 8 to 9 inch (20 to 23cm) cake tins at least 2 ½ inches (6 cm) deep.
Yield: Approximately 20 to 30 servings
Crumb Topping:
½ cup (60g) pastry flour
3 tablespoons (45g) cold unsalted butter
3 tablespoons (45g) sugar
Bread Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (125g) unsalted butter
¾ cup (185g) sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (100g) mashed potatoes
1 cup (250ml) whole milk
1½ teaspoons (about 15g) dry active yeast
1 cup (250ml) lukewarm milk or potato water
2 large eggs
4 to 5 cups (500g to 625g) bread flour
Before starting the bread, make the crumb topping by rubbing together the flour, butter and sugar until they form evenly sized crumbs. Set aside.
Put the butter, sugar, salt and mashed potatoes in a deep work bowl. Scald the milk and pour it boiling hot over these ingredients. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and all the sugar is dissolved. While this is cooling, proof the yeast in the lukewarm milk or potato water. Once it is foaming vigorously, combine with the milk mixture. Beat the eggs until frothy and lemon color, then add them to the liquid ingredients.
Sift the flour into the liquid mixture one cup at a time, stirring as you sift, until thick, sticky dough is formed. Cover and set aside in a warm place to triple in bulk.
Stir down with a spoon. Grease the cake pans and dust with bread crumbs. Divide the dough into two equal parts and spoon or ladle it into the cake pans. Sprinkle the prepared crumbs
