Stauffbier
Well-Known Member
Every year for the holidays I bake a bunch of traditional German treats to give as gifts to my family. One of the most requested treats is a type of cookie called Lebkuchen. It's basically a type of gingerbread, but with a lot more flavor complexities. Being of German origin I take great pride in giving my family something that they consider authentic. The origins of Lebkuchen go as far back as 600 years. The basic foundation of the recipe has changed over the years, but the complexity remains the same. In olden times a person had to be certified by law to sell his baked Lebkuchen, and chances are Lebkuchen is all the baker would have made. In varying forms, of coarse. The Germans took purity and refinement very seriously as we all know, since these same standards were upheld for beer with the Reinheitsgebot.
I designed my recipe by researching the history, and by studying many other recipes. It has taken me about 5 years of tweaking to get it just right. I'm not posting my recipe at this time, as it is very intensive. If anyone is interested I might consider taking the time to put it in written form to share in this thread.
Enclosed are some photos of the process of making the dough, which I just did tonight.
First I grind a bunch of hazelnuts with my Corona mill. I also use these ground nuts for other recipes, but that'll have to be another thread.
This is what the nuts look like after grinding.
Then I make some candied orange peels and process them in a food processer.
Then I assemble and weigh all the ingredients. All of these ingredients go into this one recipe. Like I said... It's complex!
I designed my recipe by researching the history, and by studying many other recipes. It has taken me about 5 years of tweaking to get it just right. I'm not posting my recipe at this time, as it is very intensive. If anyone is interested I might consider taking the time to put it in written form to share in this thread.
Enclosed are some photos of the process of making the dough, which I just did tonight.
First I grind a bunch of hazelnuts with my Corona mill. I also use these ground nuts for other recipes, but that'll have to be another thread.
This is what the nuts look like after grinding.
Then I make some candied orange peels and process them in a food processer.
Then I assemble and weigh all the ingredients. All of these ingredients go into this one recipe. Like I said... It's complex!