knäckerbrot

this “swabian” (schwabisch) recipe is from black forest cuisine by walter staib, a relative of some kind whom i’ve never met.

i guess this recipe is also called crisp bread, Näkkileipä, knäckebröd, hårt bröd, hårdbröd, spisbröd, knækbrød, knekkebrød, näkkileipä, hapankorppu, hrökkbrauð, Knäckebrot (knackebrot) or Knäcke (knacke,) and can be rye, airy, dense, or any number of ways. (thanks, wiki! haha)

i don’t understand why this flat cracker bread (which does look simple and amazing) calls for yeast. i’d imagine it has to be stretched really thinly so it doesn’t get chewy. i haven’t tried this yet, but wonder about using my sourdough starter instead of yeast…

1 1/4c water
1 1/2T dry active yeast
2T honey
6T olive oil
3c bread flour
1 1/2t salt
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2 eggs 1 egg
1T water
1T caraway seed
1T poppy seed
1T kosher salt

preheat over to 375. grease the backs of two 11×17 baking sheets.

combine water, yeast, and honey. add olive oil, flour, and salt. mix until a stiff ball. add more flour if dough is too wet.

divide in half and stretch over baking sheets.

beat eggs with water and glaze breads. sprinkle with seeds and salt.

bake 25 mins; cool on baking sheets. break into pieces.

+

EDIT 6/16/11.

just made it last night for the first time! WHOA! so easy! no rise; the yeast was definitely for flavor only, but tasted great. i’m not typically into a super-yeasty taste, but it definitely worked with the honey-and-seeds taste. one got stretched over a smallish cookie sheet, and became flatbread (which was delicious) and the other, stretched over a giant cookie sheet, became crisp and delicious! so if you want crackers, make sure to stretch it super thin.

let me know if anyone tries this, how it turns out, and also let me know if you try it with a sourdough starter. i think that’d be amazing!

gefüllter weißkohl

this “swabian” (schwabisch) recipe is from black forest cuisine by walter staib (a relative of some kind)

STUFFED CABBAGE  (say: gefilte vye’ss-coal, or filled white cabbage)



stuffing:
1 T unsalted butter
1/2 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
6 oz ground pork
6 oz ground beef
3 egg yolks
1 scallion, finely chopped
1 T chopped fresh parsley
1 c cooked rice
salt and pepper

assembly:
1 head green cabbage
6 slices bacon, cut in half widthwise

sauce:
2 T unsalted butter
1 T finely chopped garlic
1/4c finely chopped bacon
1/4c finely chopped onion
1/4c finely chopped green pepper
3 T hungarian paprika
2 T flour
1 c full-bodied red wine, such as burgundy
1/2 t ground cayenne
1/2 t dried red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
1/3 c sour cream

make stuffing. saute onions in butter. set aside to cool completely. combine cooled onion and other stuffing ingredients, mix well.

preheat over to 350.

bring saucepan of lightly salted water to boil, reduce to “hearty simmer” at medium-high. core cabbage and simmer until outer leaves are slightly softened, ~2-3min. remove outer leaves and drain on towel. continue this process until you have at least 24 leaves.

place two leaves slightly overlapping and add ~1/4c stuffing to middle. fold and set seal side down in a greased baking dish.

place half a slice of bacon over each cabbage and bake until bacon is crisp, ~20mins.

to make sauce, saute garlic, add bacon and saute til crisp. add veggies and saute ~2mins til softened. stir in paprika and flour. add wine to deglaze, loosening the browned bits at the bottom. simmer 5 mins. add cayenne and s&p and simmer 5-10 mins. remove from heat and add sour cream.

add sauce to baking dish. stick it back in the oven for 10 mins. serve hot.