Obatzda or Obatzter is a traditional Bavarian dish that begins with a soft ripe Camembert combined with a spreadable cheese, butter, onions, a few spices, and of course beer.  This popular appetizer also sometimes called Gerupfter Käse (which translated is barley cheese) can be found in most any restaurant or beer garden in Bavaria.  It is also know as the official cheese dip of Oktoberfest, however I think it would also make the perfect game day snack here at home.

I know I have said it before but fall has to be my favorite time of year.  There is something I just love about cool crisp mornings and bluebird skies, even my coffee seems to taste better.  Fall also begins what is in my opinion, the most wonderful time of the year and brings some of the best celebrations.  And speaking of celebrations, it was this time a year ago we were in Munich for the last weekend of Oktoberfest, the Großvater of them all.  The weather in Munich is very similar to the weather here in Denver, and fall is an exceptional time to experience Bavaria.  It is easy to see how they chose blue for one of the colors for the Bavarian flag.

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Obatzda ~ Bavarian Soft Cheese Dip

Obatzda is the signature beer cheese dip of Bavaria also
known as Gerupfter. A traditional Oktoberfest favorite that is perfect for game day too!

Course Appetizer

Cuisine German

Keyword appetizer, Game Day Treats

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Chill 4 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Christoph

Cost 10.00

Ingredients

• 8 ounces Camembert Brie or other soft ripe cheese
• 8 ounces spreadable cheese Laughing Cow or Cream Cheese
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons caraway seed toasted and ground
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 - 4 tablespoons Weißbier or Dunkel lager
• 1/3 cup sweet onion finely diced
• 3 tablespoons fresh chives chopped

Instructions

• Allow the Camembert, spreadable cheese, and butter to come to room temperature.
• Mash together the Camembert (rind and all), spreadable cheese, and butter, with the paprika, caraway seeds, salt and pepper until combined.
• Add beer a tablespoon at a time and mix until the dip is spreadable but not soupy.
• Cover bowl and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.
• When you are ready to serve take the dip out of the refrigerator and let stand for 30 minutes.
• Add the diced onion and chopped chives to the dip and fold until well incorporated. Garnish with chives.
• Serve with pretzels or rye bread, radishes, carrots, celery or other fresh vegetables.

Notes

Traditional Obaztda is made with sweet paprika however we also had it with hot and it was fantastic!

 

I must confess, I really enjoy a good pastry with my coffee.  Flaky layers, crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, with a bit of sweet but not overly sugary.  Now it is not very often that I actually act on this love affair with breakfast baked goods, but every once in a while there is no fighting the urge.  I first learned of this pastry on a trip to Munich a few years ago.  The hotel had these wonders nestled in with other delightful breads on a breakfast buffet, and the interesting shape of the croissant-like cinnamon roll caught my attention.

Like many European pastries, the Franzbrötchen (French roll) is not overly sweet, the star of the roll is the soft layers of the croissant.  This roll originated in Germany after Napoleon’s troops had occupied Hamburg in the early 1800’s, and most likely got its name from the French croissant or Französisch in German.  Originally found only in Hamburg, the popularity of this roll spread and it is now enjoyed all over Germany.

I had kind of forgotten about his delight until just recently.  I have been taking German language classes and to aid my pronunciation I have been streaming German television programs.  The other morning I was watching “Guten Tag Deutschland”, the German equivalent of Good Morning America.  The show had a segment called Essen & Trinken (food and drink) and the hosts were making this easy version of Franzbrötchen which caught my eye.  The traditional way to make this roll is done in the same fashion as croissants.  Layers of dough laminated with butter and folded and rolled and allowed to rise, a rather lengthy project.  This recipe however used prepared puffed pastry and for a twist they added some apple.  It was particularly fun because I actually understood part, not all, of what the hosts were saying, and I realized how easy this would be.  So the other morning I busted a move and put these together to enjoy with our coffee.  I will say they were quite delicious, not as good as the real thing of course, but for a quick and easy breakfast pastry, these rolls are a definite winner.

Two sheets of pastry dough are required.  Roll the sheets rather thin and as close to the same size as you can.  I used Pepperidge Farms puff pasty and rolled it to about 14″ x 20″.  Set one aside while you begin to build the roll.  Brush the first sheet from edge to edge with melted butter and dust evenly with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar, I added cardamom.  The cinnamon and sugar should not be too thick just.  Squeeze as much liquid as you can from the shredded apples and spread them evenly over the dough, again not too thick.  Top this with the second sheet, patting it down to remove air gaps and to flatten it for easy rolling.  Brush the second sheet with melted butter followed by another sanding of the sugar and cinnamon.  And be sure to enjoy that fresh squeezed apple juice!

Roll the pastry up to form a roll without any air pockets.  Then carefully slice the log into pieces about 2½” – 3″ long.  After trimming the ends I got 8 rolls out of the log.  Then using the handle of a wooden spoon press down in the center of each piece about three quarters of the way through.  Don’t break the roll in half but you do want to press hard enough to form a butterfly looking roll.

Place the rolls 3″ – 4″ apart on a parchment lined baking tray, be sure not to crowd them.  You will want to use parchment, melted sugar is a tough one to clean up and might also cause your rolls to stick.  Silpats do not work because they will not allow the rolls to brown on the bottom.  Bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes or until they have taken a nice golden brown color.  Be sure to let them cool a bit before devouring.  Remember apple and sugar fillings are hot.

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Franzbötchen mit Apfel

A very easy version of a beloved German pastry makes this a favorite breakfast treat. Croissant-like cinnamon rolls with bits of apple are perfect with your morning coffee.

Course Breads, Breakfast

Cuisine German

Keyword bread, Breakfast pastries, Franzbrötchen

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Christoph

Ingredients

• 2 sheets Pepperidge Farms puff pastry dough
• 1 stick unsalted butter 8 Tablespoons melted
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 2 apples grated

Instructions

• Position rack in the center of oven and heat to 400°F. Line 2 baking trays with parchment.
• Melt butter in a small sauce pan. Mix sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom in a small bowl.
• Shred the apple into a large bowl with a course grater, stop at the core and be careful not to get any seeds.
• Thinly roll the sheets of puff pastry on a lightly floured board to about 14” x 20”. Fold one in half with a towel and set aside.
• Brush the first dough sheet with butter, completely covering the entire sheet. Spread half of the sugar mixture evenly over the dough. 
• Taking handfuls of the apples squeeze out as much juice as you can and spread them thinly over the dough.  You may not use all of the apple depending on the size and how much your grated.  
• Top with the second sheet of dough and pat to remove air and seat the apples. Brush with the remaining butter and sand with the sugar. Roll up into an even log taking care to not leave air pockets.
• Trim the ends and cut the log into pieces about 2 ½” – 3” long. Using the handle of a wooden spoon press down through the center about three-fourths of the way through the dough. Place on a baking tray 3” to 4” apart. Bake for about 25 – 30 minutes or until the pastry has a deep color. Allow to cool on a wire rack before enjoying. 

Notes

*** Remember fruit fillings can be hot! ****

 

The traditional rolls are filled only with sugar and cinnamon; however it is not uncommon to find them with fruit or shaved chocolate too.

Dresden Stollen goes by many different names; Stollen, Strutzel, Striezel, Stutenbrot, or Christstollen.  This traditional German Christmas bread, is a flavorful combination of rum soaked raisins and currants, almonds, candied citrus peel, spices such as cinnamon and cardamom, and of course lots of butter.  Legend says that the shape of Stollen with the white layer of powdered sugar symbolized the swaddled Christ Child.

For probably the last five years I have stated that I wanted to have Stollen for Christmas, but for some reason have never done so.  Last year we were in Munich at Christmas and I still managed to not savor any of the traditional treat.  Part of the reason has been that no one else in my family has seemed remotely interested and I really don’t need one to myself.  It seems that others equate Stollen to fruit cake  (which I am also the only one to claim a fondness for) and while there are some similarities, they are not the same thing.

So this year I decided that I would go it alone if I had to and make my own holiday bread.  I began searching for a recipe to try and found that there probably are as many versions of Stollen as there are Großmutters.  I was not inspired by much of anything I was finding, then it occurred to me to change my search words to Deutsch.  I replaced the word recipe with rezept and the results were much more what I was hoping for.  I found incredible recipes from many German bloggers (remember you can always use Google translate if you need) and finally came across this one that particularly interested me.  It was shared by a woman whose mother had worked in Dresden before the bombing at a bakery that was famous for making the Christstollen.  Her mother claimed that this was the original recipe, whether or not this is actually true, it doesn’t matter, I love the story.

The dough for this bread is very heavy because of the large amount of butter and lard.  After combining the dry ingredients and fruit it is best to just roll up your sleeves and mix in the milk, butter and lard by hand, it is much to heavy to stir.  Due to the large amounts of butter in the bread, it requires very long rise times and will not double in volume like other breads.  Because of the high fat content you need very little flour to keep it from sticking to your board or hands.

While the ingredients in the recipes I looked at varied somewhat, there was a consistency for the shaping.  To form the loaves or ‘lugs’, turn the ball of dough out on a lightly dusted board and flatten it by hand into disc that is easy to divide in half.  Then roll each half into an oval shape about 1″ thick using your hands to tighten up the edges as needed.  Then fold the oval in half lengthwise allowing the bottom of the fold to stand out about an inch past the top.

I brushed these loaves with butter before baking, about half of the recipes I looked at instructed to do so.  It did help to get a nice even golden color however I did need to tent them with foil after 45 minutes as they were getting too dark.  I think on another round I would skip this step, there is enough butter in the dough and the added butter coating made a slightly crisper crust than I want.  I also baked these lugs on a parchment lined sheet pan as recommended.  Because of the long baking time and the high fat content the bottoms of the loaves did end up a bit dark.  I would suggest baking the loaves on silpats or doubling up sheet pans to prevent this.

The completely cooled loaves are heavily dusted with powdered sugar then wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and should be held for several weeks before you enjoy them.  I did cut into one of the two loaves of my experiment to see how things worked.  I will tell you it is a bit denser that I would like but the flavor is amazing.  I did not soak the citrus in the rum but I think I would do that another time, some of the bits seem a bit hard.  It will be fun to see how this bread develops over the next couple weeks.

I find baking is always a fun challenge and experimenting with new recipes is very interesting.  The techniques for making this kind of bread is one that will certainly require some practice.  Overall I am pleased with my results, and remind myself that the Germans have been baking these breads for hundreds of years in order to perfect.

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Dresdner Stollen

I found this recipe shared by a woman whose mother had worked in the bakery famous for making Christstollen before the bombing of Dresden during WWII. This traditional German Christmas fruit bread is also known as Striezel or Weihnachtsstollen.

Course Breads

Cuisine German, Holiday

Keyword Christmas recipes, Stollen

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Rising 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 4 hours hours

Servings 2 Loaves

Author Christoph

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups raisins
• 1 ¼ cups current
• ½ cup spiced rum
• 7 ½ cups flour
• 4 ½ teaspoons instant yeast
• ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup sugared lemon and orange peel fine diced
• 1 ½ cups almonds chopped
• 2 - 3 drops bitter almond oil
• 1 1/3 cups unsalted butter room temperature
• 2/3 cup lard room temperature
• 1 cup lukewarm milk
• 1/3 cup butter melted
• 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar
• ½ cup confectioners’ sugar more if needed

Instructions

• Soak raisins and currents in spiced rum overnight in a non-reactive bowl with a lid
• In a large bowl combine flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Mix to combine. Add the soaked raisins, citrus peel, and almonds. Mix well.
• Add almond oil, butter, lard, and milk. Mix with hands until a dough is formed. Turn out on to a lightly floured board and knead for about 5 minutes. Return dough ball to bowl and cover with a tea towel. Allow to rise for 1 hour.
• Knead well again and let rise for another hour.
• Slightly flatten the ball of dough into a circle and divide in two. Working with one half at a time roll the dough into an oval about 1" thick. Use your hands to tighten up the edges if necessary. Fold the oval in half the long way (like a taco shell) bending it so the top is held back and not even with the bottom. Transfer the lugs to a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with a tea towel. Allow dough to rest for 30 minutes.
• While the dough is resting heat the oven to 350°F. Bake for one hour, cover with foil if necessary to prevent burning. Stollen should have a nice dark color but not be burnt.
• After baking, allow to cool slightly on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack. Brush warm lugs with the melted butter and sprinkle with vanilla sugar.
• When lugs are mostly cooled, brush again with melted butter and heavily dust with powdered sugar. When loaves are completely cool, wrap tightly in plastic wrap or foil.
• Stollen should be held for 2 weeks before serving.

Notes

This dough is very heavy almost like cookie dough. The bread does not rise very much during the resting periods but the sugar and flour become completely absorbed.

Very little flour is needed to prevent sticking.

I baked the loaves on a parchment lined sheet pan and the bottoms got a bit dark. I would suggest using a silpat or doubling up the pans to prevent this.

An iconic dark brown crust sprinkled with coarse salt envelopes a soft slightly spongy center giving these rolls the same flavor and texture as a big soft pretzel.  Serve burgers and sandwiches on these pretzel rolls for an added flavor sensation, or simply enjoy them with a dollop of butter with dinner.  Easier than you might think, pretzel rolls are fun to make and will certainly impress your family and friends.

I really enjoy making bread.  Of all the things I cook and bake I would have to say I find bread one of the most rewarding things to produce in the kitchen.  I like the fact that bread is the one common food of all people.  Every culture and nation on earth has some version of bread.  So taking flour and water and watching them develop into a delicious thing of beauty is something I not only find fascinating, but truly enjoy.  For those of you who have not ventured into bread baking I would highly encourage you to do so.  It does take a bit of practice but fortunately the ingredients are not expensive and are things you most likely have in your larder.  Like anything else you will have successes and some failures, but with time you will find that there is nothing to be afraid of and the sense of accomplishment is tremendous.

The dough for these rolls is rather simple and requires less kneading that other types of bread.  I start by mixing all of my dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  I use rapid rise or bread machine yeast which eliminates having to bloom the yeast separately before starting.  The instant yeast can be mixed in with the other dry ingredients and will not start to work until the liquids are added.  Warm water is used in this recipes as well as a small amount of butter.  A temperature of about 90 – 95°F for the water is what you want, slightly warm to the hand, but not hot.  If the water is too warm it will kill the yeast, a thermometer is most helpful.

Mix the wet and dry ingredients until all of the flour is absorbed.  This dough should be slightly sticky.  Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface.  Use only enough additional flour to prevent sticking, adding more flour will make the dough tougher.  Dust your hands with flour and knead the dough only enough to form a ball.  Place the dough in a bowl lightly sprayed with non-stick spray and cover the bowl with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming.  Place the dough in a warm spot, around 90°F is ideal.  Dough will rise is a cooler temperature but will take longer and a hotter spot will cause the dough to rise too fast and fall, so it is better to error on the cool side.  I find placing the bowl a cold oven with the oven lights on works very well.  The goal is to have the dough double in size which usually takes about an hour, but rely on the size of the dough more than your clock.

When the dough has doubled, turn it out on to a lightly oiled board.  We do not want to add any more flour at this point.  Just drizzle a little canola or olive oil and the board and rub it around with your hands.  This also will keep the dough from sticking to your hands as you work with it.  Flatten the ball of dough some with the palm of your hand, this will remove excess air pockets.  Don’t poke the dough with your fingers as this tears the gluten’s that were formed during the rise, just use the flat of your hand.  Once the dough is flattened roll it to form a log, this will make it easy to divide.  I mark the dough with my bench knife before I actually cut it, this makes it easy to adjust if any pieces look bigger that the others.  Once the pieces are cut roll each one into a ball then cover them with a cloth and let them rest on the board for 15 to 20 minutes.

Commercial kitchens use lye to get the brown color and thin crust on pretzels and rolls but baking soda will do the trick.  While the dough is resting bring two quarts of water to boil in a large pot.  Add the salt and baking soda to the boiling water.  Use caution when adding the soda as it will foam up, I add it a tablespoon at a time and that prevents the pot from boiling over.  Drop 2 or 3 rolls in the water at a time and allow them to poach for 30 seconds, then flip them over for another 30 seconds.  Remove the rolls with a slotted spoon draining them as you go.  Place the rolls on a parchment lined baking tray.  Be sure not to crowd the rolls they need room around them to brown evenly.  The poached rolls will look kind of lumpy and bumpy, a bit soggy even but fear not.  Score the top of the rolls with a sharp knife or lame, scissors will also work if you find that easiest.  Cut a cross or several lines about 1/2″ deep in the top of the rolls and sprinkle them with coarse salt.  There is a pretzel salt on the market but kosher sea salt will work.  If you find you like making these rolls a lot you might invest in some pretzel salt.  Bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes or until the rolls are dark brown in color.  Place the rolls on a wire rack to cool.

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Pretzel Rolls

Pretzel rolls are soft tender and slightly spongy on the inside with a thin browned crust sprinkled with salt. Perfect for sandwiches and burgers or just enjoy with some butter.

Course Breads

Cuisine German

Keyword Pretzel Rolls, Sandwich Rolls

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Rising time 1 hour hour

Total Time 2 hours hours

Servings 10

Author Christoph

Ingredients

Dough

• 4 ½ cups flour
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup nonfat dry milk
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 ¾ cups warm water
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened

Topping

• Pretzel salt or coarse sea salt

Water Bath

• 2 quarts water
• 1 tablespoon salt
• ¼ cup baking soda

Instructions

Rolls

• Mix together all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
• Add butter and warm water and mix in to a smooth slightly sticky dough.
• Cover dough and allow to double in size about one hour.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface.
• Knead the dough several times to deflate. Divide into 10 pieces.
• Roll each piece into a ball. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
• Position rack in the center of oven and heat to 400°F.

Water Bath

• Bring water to boil, add salt and baking soda one tablespoon at a time.  Soda foams up when added so only add in small increments. 
• Drop several balls of dough at a time in to the water bath. Cook for 30 seconds then turn and cook an additional 30 seconds. Remove dough with a slotted spoon and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Topping

• Using a sharp knife, scissors or lame cut ½” deep crosses in the center of the rolls. Sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake

• Bake the buns for 25 – 30 minutes or until they are a deep-dark brown.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Notes

Add the baking soda to the boiling water a Tablespoon at a time.  The soda foams up when added.  

Oktoberfest celebrates much more than just beer, it embraces the German culture and of course the delicious food.  Kartoffelsalat is one of the traditional dishes that I truly enjoy.  Properly prepared the texture and flavors are unparalleled to any mayonnaise based American salad I have had.  The recipe is rather quite simple with few ingredients making the potato the star of the dish.  So why not celebrate the season with a batch of Grußmutters salad, some sausages, and a stein of bier and relax and enjoy an easy old world dinner.

This past weekend we decided to take the train downtown and meet up with some friends at the Denver Oktoberfest.  It had been a number of years since we had attended and in anticipation of our trip to Munich next week to visit the mother of all Oktoberfest’s,  we thought it would be fun to check it out and really get in the spirit of things.  For some reason Denver Oktoberfest is one of the largest celebrations in the country hosting some 350,00 people over six days.  While these numbers are small compared to the real deal, that’s a lot of folks, and any time you throw that many people together with beer, music, and food…… well it is just bound to be a good time. 

People watching at any event of this size is always fun, and this festival seemed to have it all.  This evening also happened to coincide with the Great American Beer Festival, a Colorado Rockies Game, and a Tim Burton Nightmare before Christmas celebration.  So between people in lederhosen and dirndls, skeleton and ghoul costumes, Microbrew aficionados, and Rockies fans it was quite the mix.  We enjoyed “several” brews while we mingled and listened to a band or two, and also found the beer keg bowling quite entertaining.  We decided upon a vendor selling brats and weisswurst for a snack.  You don’t commonly see weißwüst, which is one of my favorites, so we grabbed one and enjoyed it in the beer tent.  I was a bit disappointed at the limited offerings of German food.  Of course there were giant soft pretzels and strudel, but other than that, brats were about it, and no kartoffelsalat to go with the sausages!  So there was only one thing to do, go home and make some.  So I did, and it was delicious!  Maybe next year I should get a booth……

Making the salad is really rather easy and requires very few ingredients.  One of the keys to an authentic dish is the preparation of the potatoes.  Normally you would peel, dice and boil, however traditional German salad requires a different approach.  The potatoes need to be boiled whole, then peeled and sliced.  This method creates a completely different texture to the potato which allows it to soak up the marinade giving the salad a deep rich flavor.

I use a stock pot and fill it two thirds of the way with water so the potatoes are well submerged.  Because of the length of time it takes to boil the spuds, quite a bit of water will evaporate so you need to start with plenty.  It can take anywhere from 30 to 50 minutes to boil the potatoes depending on their size.  The potatoes need to be cooked “fork tender” but I find a skewer is the best way to test the potatoes.  Whole potatoes hold quite a bit of heat, so make sure to let them cool until you can easily handle them.  Running them under cool water will speed up the process a bit.  Gently scraping the skin with a paring knife will remove it and it will often peel in rather large strips leaving the surface with the desired rough texture.

Allow the potatoes to soak up the marinade for at least an hour.  Drain any excess marinade off before adding the chives and salt and pepper.  Go easy on the salt as the vinegar tends to amplify the flavor.  The salad is traditionally served at room temperature or while slightly warm.  For an authentic German dinner serve the kartoffelsalat with some steamed wieners, a bit of mustard and horseradish and you are set.  That’s it!  So simple.

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Kartoffelsalat mit Speck – German Potato Salad

Traditional German potato salad with bacon recipe, just like Grußmutter used to make!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine German

Keyword German Potato Salad, Kartoffelsalat

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Marinate 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 8

Author Christoph

Ingredients

• 2 pounds small Yukon Gold potatoes boiled whole
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2-3 strips bacon small diced
• 1 medium onion finely diced
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 bunch of chives chopped and garnish

Instructions

• Wash potatoes and place whole and unpeeled in a large pan of water. Boil until fork tender, 30 – 40 minutes, time will depend on size of potatoes.
• Drain potatoes and allow to cool until safe to handle. Peel boiled potatoes with a paring knife. Slice cooled potatoes in ¼ slices and place in a large heat resistant bowl.
• Cut the bacon into small cubes.
• Peel onion and finely dice.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add bacon and cook until beginning to crisp, then add onions and continue cooking until onions are translucent. Add broth and vinegar and stir, heat until mixture begins to bubble.
• Pour hot marinade over the potatoes and toss to mix. Allow the potato salad to stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour to absorb the marinade. Strain off an excess marinade.
• Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
• Reserve some long chives for garnish, and cut the remainder into small pieces. Mix the chives in the salad and taste. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
• Serve salad at room temperature.

Notes

Cooking the potatoes whole and then peeling them is key to this dish.  It creates a different texture than the usual peel, cut, and boil that allows the marinade to absorb in to the potatoes. 

 

For a traditional German meal serve the room temperature salad with some steamed wieners or bratwurst, that's it!  Genießen!