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The debate about some New Year's Eve traditions is particularly heated this year.
Fortunately, one thing remains untouched: The pancake, also known as donut, crepe or ... Berliner.
The turn of the year in Berlin, large parts of the north and many other areas of the country is conceivable without them.
But why?
There are, however, two questions that remain unsolved.
The first, discussed every year at least in Berlin: Why aren't there pancakes with plum jam
and
glaze?
If there is plum sauce in it, they are powdered.
To get glazed plum jam pancakes, there is only one solution: do it yourself.
And that's not that difficult at all.
More on that in a moment, including tips from science as to
why
it works.
Why Berliners aren't Berliners
But first, briefly, on the second question.
It's about the name.
Berliners flatly reject the name Berliner, the rest of the country doesn't understand why they should be called pancakes?
Where does the name dissent come from?
The explanation lies: in Prussia.
It is from there that the lard pastries come from, even if there was something similar before.
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1756 was not a particularly peaceful year in Prussia;
All of Europe was seething, people were preparing for fighting, the line ran, roughly speaking, like this: Austria, France, Russia against Prussia, which could count on the support of England.
In the summer, Prussian King Frederick II marched into Electoral Saxony, Austria's ally, in a calculated escalation, as he had not even declared war.
Which should then take seven years.
This required staff, and that is why the local population was recruited, i.e. everyone who was over 1.69 meters and had intact teeth (was needed for biting cartridges).
A Berlin baker's apprentice did not sufficiently meet these criteria and was not allowed to serve, at least not with a weapon.
But he stayed with the army and was responsible for cooking.
He invented a cannonball made of dough that didn't need an oven to be baked because he threw it in boiling oil over the fire.
The "Berlin pancake".
And with the Berlin hype of the following decades, it also became increasingly popular.
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The much discussed question of name is therefore primarily a question of where to abbreviate.
Of course, everyone can decide for themselves.
But it's also called Stollen, and not Dresdner, right?
Schnitzel and not Wiener?
In any case, one thing is clear: no New Year's Eve without her.
Especially not in Berlin.
The recipe
Round, airy and with an even edge: This is how the Berlin pancakes should come out of the oil bath (and then be powdered)
Source: Jennifer Wilton / WORLD
Can you make pancakes yourself?
Absolutely.
That can be prepared well.
And sell well as a New Year's Eve game (we're all home anyway!).
It's fun to watch them pop up.
And you don't need a deep fryer.
Or any special tool.
Basically it's just a slightly sweet yeast dough (general information here) that it starts with (enough for 12-15, depending on the size).
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INGREDIENTS
400 g of flour
180-200 ml milk
20 g fresh yeast
50 grams of sugar
3 egg yolks
40 g butter
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1 pinch of salt
At least 0.5 l of oil for frying
For the filling:
300 g plum must
Powdered sugar for dusting (or for the glaze)
PREPARATION
1. Put the flour in a bowl, make a small hollow.
Crumble the yeast into it, add some warm (but not hot!) Milk and a pinch of sugar, mix, let the dough rise in a warm place for about 10 minutes.
2. Add the rest of the sugar, the rest of the milk and the egg yolks and knead, then the salt and finally the butter.
Let rise again in a warm place until the dough has enlarged significantly, about an hour.
Roll out (approx. 1 cm high), cut out round pieces with a glass.
Let this rise a little again (approx. 20 minutes).
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3. In the meantime, heat the oil - it should be at least 160 degrees, but not more than 180 degrees.
You will have to try a little, the first pancakes often get a little dark.
Put the dough pieces in the oil with a slotted spoon, put the lid on the pan (!), Open after a good 3 minutes and turn the parts over.
After three minutes, remove from the oil and drain.
4. Mix the plum jam (or any other jam or filling) and pour into a piping bag.
Who has a long spout - wonderful.
What else also works: a sturdy straw.
On the side in the middle of the pancake, drill into the light-colored sleeve, inject about 2 teaspoons of the filling.
Finished!
Now dust with icing sugar - or glaze it!
Classic plum jam: The Berliners can also be filled with many other jams and creams
Source: Jennifer Wilton / WORLD
How do the pancakes turn out exactly as they should be, i.e. round, fluffy and with a clear, light cuff?
Here are the tips from the science of Professor Thomas Vilgis from the Max Planck Institute in Mainz:
The dough is very simple, a classic yeast dough. The proteins in the flour, milk and sugar are responsible for the rapid browning of the dough on the contact surface with the fat, which is heated to 180 ° C. The fat does not penetrate because the warming gases in the dough (air and CO2 formed from the yeast) push outwards and prevent this - as does water, which evaporates as soon as the temperature rises close to 100 ° C.
Fat has a density of around 0.9 g / cm3, while the leavened yeast dough has an even lower density. The pancake floats in the hot fat, bakes on the bottom. The temperature is lower on the surface, so the browning is not too high there. As water escapes from the dough, the density decreases even further: if the pancake is turned, it continues to float. The ring stays light.
Therefore it is important: The dough pieces should be even.
Otherwise they will start to totter in the oil and the ring will disappear in place.
Good succeed!
There is even more about the science behind baking and recipes in the cake formula newsletter that the author writes with Thomas Vilgis