Allgäuer Krautkrapfen

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl
• •Rolling pin
• •Wide lidded frying pan, 28 to 30cm
• •Sharp knife or bench scraper

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dough

   Put the flour in a bowl with the salt, eggs, oil, and 2 tablespoons water, then work it into a firm noodle dough. Add more water only if dry flour remains, because a soft dough tears when it is rolled thin and turns heavy in the pan. Knead 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic.

2. 2

   Rest it

   Wrap the dough and let it rest 30 minutes at room temperature. This is not waiting for romance. The flour hydrates and the gluten relaxes, so the sheet rolls thin without springing back and fighting you.

3. 3

   Prepare the kraut

   Squeeze the sauerkraut well over a bowl and keep the brine. Wet kraut makes the dough slide apart, but the brine is useful at the end when the pan needs sharpness. Chop the squeezed kraut roughly so it spreads in an even layer instead of dragging long strands through the roll.

4. 4

   Cook the filling

   Melt 30g butter in a wide pan and cook the onions with a pinch of salt until soft and lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Add the sauerkraut, caraway, bay leaf, grated apple, and black pepper, then cook 12 to 15 minutes, stirring, until the kraut smells mellow and no wet patch sits under it. The apple rounds the acid without making the filling sweet.

   If your sauerkraut is very sharp, rinse it briefly, then squeeze it hard. If it tastes flat, leave it alone and wake it up later with a spoon of the saved brine.
5. 5

   Roll and fill

   Remove the bay leaf. Roll the dough on a floured board into a thin rectangle, about 45 by 35cm. Spread the cooled kraut filling over it, leaving a clear 2cm edge at the far side, because a bare edge seals against dough while a wet kraut edge opens in the pan.

6. 6

   Shape the spirals

   Roll the dough up from the long side into a firm log, tight enough to hold the spiral but not so tight that the filling squeezes out. Brush the bare edge with a little water and press it closed. Cut into 8 thick pieces with a sharp knife, wiping the blade as needed so the layers stay clean.

7. 7

   Brown the cut sides

   Heat the remaining 30g butter with the oil in a wide lidded pan. Stand the pieces cut side down and fry over medium heat until the bottoms are golden and set, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn and brown the second cut side. This fried skin is what keeps the rolls from swelling loose when the liquid goes in.

8. 8

   Cook gently

   Pour the broth or water around the rolls, not over the tops, then cover the pan and lower the heat. Cook 18 to 22 minutes, until the dough is tender and the liquid is mostly absorbed. The pan should murmur, not boil hard; hard boiling batters the spirals apart.

9. 9

   Finish the pan

   Uncover and let the last spoonfuls of liquid cook away, then let the bottoms catch again for a minute so the edges turn crisp. Taste and correct with salt, pepper, and a spoon of reserved kraut brine if the dish needs lift. Würzen, Fett, Salz zum Schluss. Scatter chives if you use them and serve from the pan.

Chef Tips

• •Use sauerkraut that tastes alive: sharp, clean, and cabbagey. A limp jar that tastes only of vinegar will give you vinegar noodles. Nicht aus dem Glas if you can get fresh barrel kraut from a butcher or market stall.
• •Keep the filling fairly dry before it touches the dough. Wet kraut is the reason Krautkrapfen open in the pan, and the cook blames the dough when the filling did the damage.
• •For a vegan table, make the dough with 300g flour, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and about 150ml water, kneaded firm and rested well. Use oil or vegan fat in the pan. It is a different dough, but it behaves honestly.
• •If you add Speck, bacon, use 80g diced and cook it before the onions, then reduce the butter. That is a common household version, but the vegetarian pan is not a compromise when the kraut is good.
• •Serve with a green salad dressed sharp with vinegar and mustard. The pan is rich with butter and dough, so the plate wants acid, not another heavy thing beside it.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be made up to 12 hours ahead and kept wrapped in the refrigerator; bring it to room temperature before rolling so it stretches instead of cracking.
• •The kraut filling can be cooked a day ahead and chilled. Use it cold or just barely cool, because hot filling softens the dough and makes the roll slack.
• •Cooked Krautkrapfen reheat best in a covered pan with a spoon of water, then uncovered with a little butter to refresh the browned sides.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 340g)