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Rollkuchen


 
Rollkuchen are a tasty, deep fried pastry that are a wonderful accompaniment to cold watermelon on a hot summer day.  How well I recall childhood picnics with big tubs of fresh Rollkuchen.  Let's just say that eating them is rather like eating peanuts...you can't stop at just one! Sometime over the years, Rollkuchen became paired with Roger's Golden Syrup (definitely a Canadian thing) on my table; they make a great team!

My mother-in-law made the best flaky, crispy Rollkuchen. Mine never quite measured up, so I have always made the thicker, softer variety and they have become a family favorite. Hers were all uniform in shape; mine are rather 'free-form'. Each recipe seems to differ slightly but I've never met a Rollkuchen I didn't like!

Rollkuchen

  • 5 - 6 cups / 1150 - 1350 ml flour
  • 3 teaspoons / 15 ml  baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon / 5 ml salt
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup / 250 ml sour cream
  • 1 cup / 250 ml milk
 
  1. Combine 5 cups / 1150 ml  flour, baking powder and salt.
  2. Beat eggs, sour cream and milk together and add to dry ingredients
  3. Continue to add flour to form a soft dough ... usually about 1/2 cup more.
  4. Allow the dough to chill for an hour or two before rolling, for easier handling.
  5. Divide the dough in half and roll out quite thin on a floured board ... if you prefer them soft, then not quite so thin.
  6. Cut strips of dough about 2x4 inches / 5x10 cm ... with two slits cut in center of each.
  7. Stretch the pieces somewhat before dropping into the hot oil.
  8. Fry in deep hot oil over medium heat until golden on one side. Turn and brown the other side.
     

The rollkuchen puff up beautifully while cooking and are really mostly air pockets by the time they are ready to eat. A totally a healthy choice!  Who am I fooling?


Serve with cold watermelon and Roger's golden syrup.  Grilled farmer sausage is also a nice touch!

18 comments:

  1. yum yum...now all we need are a FEW sunny days here on the west coast to enjoy with this delightful recipe!

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  2. Will we ever have hot enough weather this summer to enjoy these .. OUTSIDE? The good thing is. . .Trish .. these are awesome with borscht.

    I will certainly try your recipe Judy .. they look great. I can almost feel their puffy softness.

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  3. Yum..rollkuchen, I just made them yesterday for our church picnic.
    My Mom often served them with soup.

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  4. We're waiting for some hot days when we can begin to think about making rollkuchen eh?
    It's coming up!

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  5. How interesting...my German grandma used to make these for us all the time. She called them something like "kuechles" (pronounced kee-kuls). We usually had them served with potato soup, and usually grape jelly (for filling those air pockets!). I have her recipe and used to make them all the time...my dear hubby adores them, but my waistline doesn't!

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  6. My German Gramma made something similar to these and she called them Keuchle (kee kul), like Vicki mentioned. She always served them with tomato or potato soup, especially on Fridays during Lent since they couldn't eat meat. It was also a good "fill 'em up" food for her six hungry farm children.

    I think Gramma's was fried yeast bread dough though. She stretched it and stuck her finger through the center and then deep fried it. We at them with peanut butter or sugar or honey. I also make Indian Tacos with the Keuchle (fried bread).

    I plan to try your Rollkuchen too.

    Jody

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  7. We always salt the top and then shove the watermelon in the pockets before eating.

    Funny, but my Mennonite/Dutch grandma always called them crullers

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  8. What Jody mentioned about it being a yeast dough, my mom made those when our bread was all gone and she was baking bread that day. She called those "yeetz kuchen" The Rollkuchen I like with gooseberry jam. I guess each family had thier own tradition what to eat with the rollkuchen. Thanks for the recipe, I'm going to try it.

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  9. That picture that you posted pretty much sums up Mennonite cooking at it's best!! I like filling up the pockets with rabus. Never salted the top though. It does taste so good with Rogers cory syrup, however I prefer gooseberry jam. My Grandma used to make your standard rollkuchen dough, rolled it out fairly thin, then made pockets with fresh picked gooseberries, and a little sugar, and flour for thickening. She would then deep-fry them. They're delicious, but you have to make them fairly small to get a nice syrupy texture inside the pocket. If they're too big, you'll end up with dry flour.

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  10. This picture brings me back to when I was a kids and Grandpa and Grandmas for a good ole watermelon and rollkuchen feast,right down to the mennonite sausage and Rogers syrup. I hope my attempt to make these turns out well!

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  11. I too remember the days when we were kids and going to Omi and Opa's house for Rollkuchen and Rubooze (watermellon) and sitting in the garage eating. Those were the best times. Thanks for bringing back the memories!

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  12. Had these again this summer when my sister and I went out to B.C. to celebrate my grandma's 90th birthday. My uncle made them and of course we had them with watermellon and Rogers syrup. Yummy !!

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  13. I saw watermelon at the store (it's still March) and got the itch to make some roll kuchen to go with it. My Omie's recipe uses lard or shortening (saturated or trans fat - pick your poison!), which makes it taste amazing, of course. Your recipe states oil - what oil would be best? I am keen to depart from the seriously artery clogging ways of the past (and I won't tell my husband that I've made the switch).

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  14. Try dipping them in icing sugar and sprinkle with Cinnamon. My sister and I ditched the watermelon all together that day.

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  15. As so many have stated, my grandmother served them for dessert with watermelon. IF there were any leftover, we would have them for breakfast, dipping them in heavy cream laced with a bit of sugar. I miss those days.

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  16. Just wondering if any of you have tried freezing the raw dough to thaw and fry at a later date.Thanks for your reply.

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    Replies
    1. I have never frozen the dough, but here's what my friend Bev had to say:

      Our church made rollkuchen for the MCC sale for many years. We mixed and rolled and cut them several weeks ahead of time...then laid then out between layers of plastic and froze them on pans. Then let them thaw(only takes a few minutes) and deep fry. They were always terrific.

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  17. Not Mennonite here...but I remember eating these as a kid, my best friend (who WAS Mennonite) mom used to make them. We ate them with a plum jam, and I am gonna spell it phonetically here..I knew as "plume-a mousse". And butter. Lots of butter, esp when they were hot and fresh.

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