SC - lebkuchen was leberkuchen

[Huette von Ahrens]

- --- Cynthia Bucheger <dragonlair at mail.wireweb.net>
wrote:
> Hello All,
> I just realized what was missing to make this
> holiday season start off properly is some
> leberkuchen.  Unforunately I am no longer in Germany
> where I can run down to the local bakeri and pick
> some up.  So that means I need to make my own. 
> Anyone have a good recipe and/or know if it's
> pre-1600?
> 
> Thanks
> Alexandria

Yes, Lebkuchen is pre-1600.  Sabina Welserin has
several recipes in her 1553 cookbook.

151 To bake good Lebkuchen 

Take first a pound of sugar, a quart of clear honey,
not quite a third quart of flour, take two and a half
ounces of cinnamon, one and a half ounces of cloves,
two ounces of cardamom. Cut the other spices as
small as possible, the cinnamon sticks are ground as
coarsely as possible. Also put ginger therein and put
the sugar into the honey, let it cook together, put
the flour in a trough, pour the cardamom into it
first,
afterwards the ginger and the other spices. 

63 To make Nürnberger Lebkuchen 

Take one quart of honey, put it into a large pan, skim
it well and let it boil a good while. Put one and a
half pounds of sugar into it and stir it continually
with a wooden spatula and let it cook for a while, as
long as one cooks an egg, pour it hot into a quarter
pound of flour, stir it around slowly and put the
described spices in the dough, stir it around slowly
and not too long; take one and a half ounces of
cinnamon sticks, one and a half ounces of nutmeg,
three fourths of an ounce of cloves, three ounces of
ginger, a pinch of mace, and chop or grind each one
separately so that they are not too small, the
cinnamon sticks,
especially, should be coarsely ground. And when you
have put the spices in the dough, then let the dough
set for as long as one needs to hard boil eggs. Dip
the hands in flour and take a small heap of dough,
make balls out of it, weigh them so that one is as
heavy as the others, roll them out with a rolling pin,
and spread them out smoothly by hand, the smoother the
prettier. After that dip the mold in rose water and
open it up. Take four ounces of dough for one
Lebkuchen. Be careful and get no flour in the molds or
else they will be no good, but on the board you can
put flour so that they do not stick to it. Let them
set
overnight. And when you take them to the baker, then
see to it that you have another board that is
thoroughly sprinkled with flour, so that it is very
thickly covered. Put the board with its covering of
flour into the oven so that the board is completely
heated, the hotter the better. Take it out afterwards
and lay the Lebkuchen on top, so that none touches the
other, put them in the oven, let them bake and look
after them frequently. At first they will become soft
as fat. If you take hold of them you can feel it well.
And when they become entirely dry, then take them out
and turn the board around, so that the front part goes
into the back of the oven. Let it remain a short
while, then take it out. Take a small broom, brush the
flour cleanly away from the underside of the Lebkuchen
and lay the Lebkuchen, in the mean time, on the
other board, until you have brushed off the Lebkuchen,
one after the other, so that there is no more flour
on the bottoms. Afterwards sweep the flour very
cleanly from off the board. Lay the Lebkuchen on top
of
it again, so that the bottom is turned to the top.
Take a bath sponge, dip it in rose water, squeeze it
out
again, wash the flour from the bottoms of the
Lebkuchen. Be careful that you do not leave any water
on the board, then they would stick to it. Afterwards
put the board with the Lebkuchen again in the oven,
until the bottoms rise nicely and become hard, then
take the board out again. See to it that two or three
[people] are by the board, who can quickly turn the
Lebkuchen over, or else they will stick. Afterwards
take rose water and wash them on top with it as you
have done on the underside. Put them in the oven
again, let them become dry, carry them home and move
them around on the board, so that they do not
stick. And when they have completely cooled, then lay
them eight or ten, one upon the other, wrap them
in paper and store them in a dry place, see that no
draft comes therein, then they remain crisp. 

164 To make a large Nürnberger Lebkuchen 

Take a quart of honey and a quarter pound of sugar,
prepare it as for the smaller Lebkuchen, take one
quarter pound of flour and then the spices as follows:
one half ounce of cinnamon, one ounce of cloves,
one and three fourths ounces of nutmeg, four ounces of
ginger, one fourth ounce of mace. Stir it carefully
around, afterwards roll the dough out somewhat. Bake
it as for the smaller Lebkuchen. 

Here are some modern recipes for Lebkuchen:

1) Christmas Lebkuchen

Ingredients: 

2 eggs whole
4 egg yolks
1 lb sugar
1/3 lb butter
1/2 lb almonds
8 oz. citron sliced thin
1 and 1/2 lb flour
1/2 oz cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp grated lemon rind

Instructions: 

Melt butter over low heat. Stir it into the sugar,
spices, chopped almonds, and well beaten eggs and
yolks. Add flour slowly, the baking powder
having previously been mixed with the flour.
Roll out the dough thin and cut into shapes as
desired. Place half of one almond in the center of
each cookie and brush top of each cookie with egg
white. Bake in a moderate oven (350F) until brown.

2) Lebkuchen

For the cookies:

     3 whole eggs 
     1 egg yolk (white is used in icing) 
     2 cup brown sugar 
     1 tsp. cinnamon 
     3/4 to 1 tsp. ground cloves 
     1 tsp. ground allspice 
     1/2 cup finely chopped almonds or hazelnuts 
     1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cup of flour 
     1 tsp. baking powder 

For the icing:

     1 egg white 
     1 cup powdered (10X) sugar 
     1/4 tsp. vanilla or almond flavoring 

Directions

Grind nuts in food processor until very fine. My
little food processor takes a bit under a minute to
grind to the right consistency.

Beat eggs and sugar on medium speed until well blended
and the mixture is light. Mix spices, flour, baking
powder and ground nuts together, and add to egg
mixture. Mix on a lower speed until blended. Line a
small jelly roll pan (12x16 inches) with parchment
paper, pour mixture into pan and smooth.

Bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove from oven
and let cool for about 10 minutes. Flip pan, remove
pan, remove parchment paper from back of Lebkuchen,
and flip Lebkuchen upright.

In a small bowl, whisk egg white until foamy (not yet
the soft peak stage). Whisk powdered sugar two
tablespoons at a time into the egg white. Whisk in
vanilla or almond extract. Icing will be fairly stiff
but spreadable. Spread on cooling Lebkuchen and allow
to cool for another 20 minutes.

Cut into bars about 3 inches by 1 1/2 inches. Store in
the ubiquitous airtight container.

Notes: You can omit the nuts and add a bit more flour.
Or you may wish to add some (about a half cup?) finely
chopped candied fruit. The fruit should probably not
be as finely chopped as the nuts.

3) Grandma's Lebkuchen 

Serving Size: 16 servings 

Ingredients: 

1 egg 
3/4 cup brown sugar 
1/2 cup honey 
1/2 cup dark molasses 
3 cups sifted flour 
1/2 tsp. baking soda 
1 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg 
1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon 
1/2 tsp. ground cloves 
1/2 tsp. ground allspice 
1/2 cup slivered almonds 
1/2 cup mixed candied fruits and peels, finely
          chopped 
Lemon Glaze (below) 

Instructions: 

1.Preheat oven to 400. 
2.Beat egg. 
3.Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. 
4.Stir in honey and molasses. 
5.Sift together dry ingredients and add to
    honey/molasses mixture. Mix well. 
6.Stir in nuts, fruits and peels. 
7.Chill several hours or over night. 
8.Roll out 1/4 inch thick on floured surface.
    Cut in 3 1/2x2-inch rectangles. 
9.Bake on greased cookie sheet at 350F for
about 12 minutes. Cool slightly and remove from pan. 
10.While still warm, brush with lemon glaze. 

Lemon glaze 
Combine one slightly beaten egg white, 1 tablespoon
lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel and 1 1/2
cups sifted powdered sugar. 


=====
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves for they 
shall never cease to be amused.

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