(German) To bake Spritzgebackenes - Fried Dough

 Originally published Sep 17, 2022

Das Kochbuch der Sabina Welserin, 1553

To add to the festivities of Apolonia's Vigil Dayboard, I made Spritzgebackenes, which appears to be a choux-type dough that is fried, and would be quite familiar to modern-day fairgoers! I first came across this recipe in Sabina Welserin's book and I knew I had to further research it. If my suspicions were correct, this receipt would use a twice-cooked dough to create something similar to a churro--which I love! Further research on the techniques used in the receipt, led me to the recipe I used for this event. The author took the same steps I would have and used similar ingredients and quantities. Ergo.....

As with the Precedella, this is not my recipe. The original interpretation can be found at Kitchen Historic, an excellent reference site I enjoy using. If you want to learn more about Spritzgebackenes, the author has provided excellent background on their process and references along with the recipe. It is an intriguing read and I urge you to take a moment to follow the link and explore.

Original Recipe

<<162>>

Ain spritzenbaches zú bachen

Nim ain masß wasser oder milch aúff ain disch vnnd thú

es jn ain pfannen, lasß sieden, rier ain schen mell darein/

das er woll drúcken wirt/ nim jn aús der pfannen, well jn

woll, doch mit mell darein/ thú jn dan jn ainen morser,

stosß jn woll mit airen, bis er zech vnnd gút wirt/ thú jn/ jn

die bix, bach jn langsam.

Interpretation

162 To bake SpritzgebackenesTake one quart* of water or milk for a meal and put it into a pan. Bring it to a boil, stir good flour into it, so that the dough becomes fairly dry, take it out of the pan, roll it out well, but with additional flour, put it into a mortar, blend it well with eggs, until it becomes good and sticky, put it in a pastry bag, fry them slowly.

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk

5 ounces flour

4 large eggs

OPT: cinnamon & sugar, powdered sugar, honey, chocolate, kirschen ;-)

Instructions

1. In a saucepan, heat the milk to boiling. When it has boiled, take it off the heat.

2. Beat in the flour (using a strong spoon or a stand mixer) until it comes away from the spoon and pan and makes a ball.

3. When you can handle it, knead the dough to make it smooth, and elastic, using a bit of flour.

4. Let the dough cool to room temperature and then add the eggs one at a time.

Note: This is a sticky mess and I would advise using a mixer if you have it instead of your hands.

5. Heat oil in a pan. While the oil is heating put the dough into a pastry bag with your desired tip.

Note: If you are like me and you do not have a pastry bag, a ziplock bag does the trick beautifully. Also, I did not use a tip, I just cut a corner off the bag and squirted the dough into the oil.

6. Squirt the dough into the oil. Cook until one side is golden brown and then flip.

Note: These appear to be served without additional options, however, the cook has the prerogative to be as creative with this recipe as they choose. I served mine with chocolate and cherry sauce and it was delicious!

Sources

Das Kochbuch Der Sabina Welserin (C. 1553)". Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, 2022, https://www.uni-giessen.de/fbz/fb05/germanistik/absprache/sprachverwendung/gloning/tx/sawe.htm. Accessed 17 Sept 2022.

[HFF] To Bake Spritzgebackenes (1553)". Kitchenhistoric.Blogspot.Com, 2022, http://kitchenhistoric.blogspot.com/2016/02/hff-to-bake-spritzgebackenes-1553.html. Accessed 17 Sept 2022.