Knieküchle (Auszogne)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Kitchen scale
• •Large mixing bowl or stand mixer
• •Clean kitchen towel
• •Wide heavy pot or Dutch oven
• •Deep-fry thermometer
• •Spider skimmer or slotted spoon
• •Wire rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Wake the yeast

   Warm the milk to lukewarm, about 35 to 38C, then stir in the yeast and a spoon of the sugar. Let it stand until creamy and lively, about 10 minutes. Hot milk kills yeast before it can lift the dough; cold milk makes it slow and sulky, and this pastry needs a clean rise before it ever sees the fat.

2. 2

   Knead the dough

   Mix the flour, remaining sugar, salt, and lemon zest if using, then add the yeast milk, eggs, and rum if using. Knead until the flour has taken the liquid, then work in the cooled butter and knead 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough is soft, smooth, and just a little tacky. Butter goes in after the flour is wet because fat coats dry flour and makes a weaker dough; you want strength in the rim, not heaviness in the center.

   Use the softer dough. A stiff dough is easier to handle, yes, and then it fries dense. Flour your hands lightly instead of burying the dough in more flour.
3. 3

   Let it rise

   Cover the bowl and leave the dough in a warm place until doubled, about 60 to 75 minutes. The dough is ready when a floured finger pressed into it leaves a slow dent; if it springs back at once, the yeast has not built enough gas to puff the rim.

4. 4

   Shape and rest

   Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board, divide it into 12 equal pieces, and shape each piece into a smooth ball. Cover them with a towel and rest 20 to 30 minutes. This rest is not laziness. It relaxes the dough so the middle stretches thin without tearing and the rim stays thick enough to rise in the fat.

5. 5

   Pull the centers

   Flatten one ball slightly, then lift it over your knuckles and work around the rim, pulling the center thinner and thinner while keeping a fat ring around the edge. The center should be almost transparent, 1 to 2mm thick, with a rim about 2cm wide. Do not use a rolling pin; it crushes the rim flat, and the rim is the part that gives you the proper shape.

   If a dough piece fights you and snaps back, set it down for 5 minutes and move to the next one. Dough that rests stretches; dough that is bullied tears.
6. 6

   Heat the fat

   Heat 5 to 6cm of oil or lard in a wide heavy pot to 170C. Use a thermometer if you have one. Too cool, and the pastry drinks fat before the crust sets; too hot, and the rim browns while the middle is still thick and leathery. Runter mit der Temperatur if the fat races.

7. 7

   Fry in batches

   Slide one or two stretched rounds into the fat, center first, and fry until the rim is golden underneath, about 60 to 90 seconds. Turn carefully and fry the second side another 45 to 60 seconds, spooning a little hot fat over the rim if it needs help puffing. Crowd the pot and the temperature drops; cold fat walks into the dough, and then no sugar can save it.

8. 8

   Drain and sugar

   Lift the Knieküchle onto a wire rack, not a flat stack of paper towels, so the underside stays crisp instead of sweating soft. Dust with powdered sugar while still warm enough for it to cling, then serve the same day with coffee. The first bite should crack lightly in the center and give way to a soft rim. That's the dish.

Chef Tips

• •Type 550 flour is right for this if you can get it. It has enough strength for the stretched rim without making the pastry tough; plain unbleached all-purpose flour is the honest substitute.
• •Lard gives the old flavour, neutral oil gives a cleaner finish, and a little clarified butter mixed into the fat gives a good dairy note. Do not fry in whole butter; the milk solids scorch before the dough is cooked.
• •Stretch over clean knuckles or the backs of your hands. The old cloth-covered knee is a good story and a real method, but your knuckles are easier to keep controlled in a home kitchen.
• •Eat them the day they are fried. If one survives until morning, tear it up and make Arme Ritter, German fried bread, with egg and milk. Weggeworfen wird nichts.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be mixed the night before and left covered in the refrigerator after the first short rise of 30 minutes. The cold slows the yeast and gives better flavour; bring it back toward room temperature before dividing and shaping, or it will fight your hands.
• •Shape and fry close to serving. Stretched raw dough does not wait well; the thin centers dry out and tear, which is exactly the part you worked for.
• •Fried Knieküchle keep a few hours uncovered at room temperature. Do not seal them in a box while warm, because trapped moisture softens the crisp center.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 85g)