Streuselkuchen

By Addie

How can one NOT bake something called Streuselkuchen?? I mean, isn’t it fun to say? So it must be fun to eat – that’s my theory. The same one I apply to Snickerdoodles.

Only half of the German yeast dough is used in the recipe, so you can either cut it in half or use it again on the next day (see note). I made blackberry jam pull aparts with it and they tasted amazing – the only “but” was that a bit of the filling leaked out while the bread was in the oven. By the taste and consistency of this wonderful dough, I don’t think you’ll have a problem coming up with something to make with it.

Ingredients

• Streusel:
• 1/2 recipe German yeast dough (recipe follows), risen, deflated, shaped into a ball and allowed to rest for 10 minutes
• .....................................
• 3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick/84g) cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
• Vanilla confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling – I used regular confectioners’ sugar

Preparation

Step 1

Butter a 9-inch square baking pan* (do not use cooking spray – the dough must adhere to the pan). Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to the size of the pan. It will be about ¼ inch thick. Transfer the dough to the pan and pat it onto the bottom and into the corners. Do not make a rim; the dough should be flat. Cover with a kitchen towel.

To make the streusel, put the flour, powdered sugar and butter into the work bowl of a food processor (I used my Kitchen Aid mixer with the paddle attachment) fitted with the metal blade. Pulse 5 or 6 times, then let the machine run just until the ingredients begin to form small crumbly masses, about 30 seconds. Do not process beyond the crumb stage.

Uncover the dough. Press the crumbs to form clumps the size of large peas, and sprinkle on the top of the dough. Continue making larger lumps of streusel and sprinkling them evenly all over the dough. There will be a generous layer of streusel covering the dough. Cover the streuselkuchen with a kitchen towel and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Adjust an oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Uncover the kuchen and place the pan in the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the kuchen has risen almost to the top of the pan and is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into its center comes out clean.

Remove the pan from the oven and immediately sprinkle the top with a generous layer of vanilla confectioners’ sugar. Cool completely on a wire rack. This is at his best when very fresh. Cut into portions with a sharp knife.

* I used a 20cm (8-in) square pan and it worked fine.