Posting in group: Baking
Berliner is a German donut without a hole, which is deep-fried or oven-fried from yeast dough with filling according to the chef’s taste. Berlin donuts are distinguished by a large number of eggs in their composition, which reduce the amount of oil absorbed by the baked goods during production and reduce the number of calories to 200 - 400 per 100 g, depending on the filling of the product.
Classic recipe with plum jam in the oven
Berlin pastries have their roots in the 15th century, when bakers sold fried, unfilled donuts on the streets of what is now the German capital. Nowadays, Berliners are traditionally served in Germany on New Year's Eve and during the Cologne Carnival - Pink Monday and Fat Tuesday.
Berliners according to this recipe are in no way inferior in taste to deep-fried ones. They turn out soft and juicy. At the same time, the calorie content of such baked goods is low - about 250 kcal per 1 Berliner.
Ingredients
One of the main ingredients of a donut is wheat flour. When choosing a product, you need to check its expiration date - storage time should be limited to 6 months. The color and purpose of flour depends on its type.
Baking product category | Properties | Recommended baked goods |
Extra, or higher | The product is subjected to the greatest degree of grinding and purification, which is why there are practically no useful substances. The color is snow white. | It has the most suitable properties for baking. This flour produces airy and voluminous: lush bread and rolls; · cupcakes and biscuits; · yeast and puff pastry. |
First | The grind of the product is slightly coarser than that of premium flour, so inclusions of grain shells remain, making the product a little healthier than extra flour. The color is light cream with a grayish or yellowish tint. | Due to the coarser grinding of first grade flour, it should be used when preparing: · pies; · pancakes; · pancakes; · unhealthy buns and kulebyaki. |
Second | Second grade flour contains up to 10% grain shells, which is why even more benefits are retained. The color of the product is gray, cream and sometimes brown. The grind is coarse. | The product is suitable for making: · waffles; · dumpling dough; dumplings; · pizza dough; · cookies; gingerbread |
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- For Berliner it is better to use flour of the highest or first category. If you taste the Berliner ingredient, you may notice a slight sweetish taste. To make 8 donuts, you need to prepare 250 g of flour.
- Another ingredient you can’t bake without is milk. You should choose a pasteurized product, as it undergoes heat treatment that removes harmful microorganisms, but retains the beneficial substances contained in milk. The purchased product can be checked for the presence of starch, which is added to give the desired consistency when diluting milk with water. To do this, drop iodine into a glass of the Berliner component and stir. Blue color indicates the presence of starch in the liquid. You can also find out whether there is soda in the baking ingredient - add 5 ml of vinegar to 20 ml of milk. Increased foaming will indicate the presence of a foreign product that is added to low-quality milk to neutralize acidity. For 8 donuts you will need 70 g of milk. It needs to be warmed up a little before use.
- Berliner is a Berlin donut, which is prepared with the addition of a large number of eggs relative to other components. The product can be checked for quality using a special device - an ovoscope. The egg must be completely translucent in the light of the apparatus, otherwise putrefactive bacteria may be present. There should also be no pronounced spots that could be bloody clots. A bad sign is the presence of cracks. The size of the donut ingredient depends on the age of the chicken - the younger the bird, the smaller the product and the healthier it is. For 8 Berliners you will need 1 egg.
- Berliner dough also requires yeast. The recipe uses fresh product as it gives a pleasant yeasty aroma. This category of product has a short shelf life, so you should check when the yeast was produced. The fresher the product, the more active it is. It is also worth paying attention to the storage conditions of the goods. It should be placed in a breathable package, usually made of parchment paper. In addition, yeast will retain its characteristics if stored at 0 – 4°C. The color of the product is uniform. It can be pinkish-cream, grayish or dim yellowish. When pressure is applied to high-quality yeast, crumbs are formed. If there is no fresh product, you can use dry yeast - the amount of dry product is equivalent to the mass of fresh yeast reduced by 3 times. For 8 Berliners you need 15 g of fresh yeast.
- To prepare 8 donuts you will need 50 g of softened butter. When pressing the product, no crumbs should form. Melting of the product must occur without the release of water. When cutting chilled butter, kinks will form. The color of the oil is cream with a slight yellowish tint.
- Sugar adds sweetness to the dough. When selecting a product in a transparent bag, you can check it for the presence of foreign components. If you twirl a pack of sugar with impurities in your hands, the grains will slowly move, collecting in piles. If you feel the sugar, it should be crumbly, without lumps. The color of a quality product is white, which is convenient to check with a sheet of paper. For 8 donuts you will need 30 g of sugar.
- To prepare Berliners you will also need 3 g of salt. When choosing a product, you should pay attention to its color - it should be uniform. The lower the category of a product, the greater the benefit, since less thorough cleaning is carried out, which leaves useful impurities such as magnesium, potassium, calcium and others. Sea salt is not as healthy as is commonly believed, but it has a more delicate taste.
- To fill the donuts use 200 g of plum jam. The product is distinguished by its uniform distribution of fruit throughout the mass. Also, it should not drain from a spoon or on a plate, otherwise there is a possibility of non-compliance with storage conditions. A good jam should consist of fruits, sugar and pectin (E440), with a fruit content of at least 35%. In addition, you should not purchase a candied product - it is not suitable for consumption.
- To sprinkle the donuts you will need powdered sugar. The product must be placed in paper packaging. Slight caking of the powder is considered normal, but complete crumbling of the product indicates the presence of impurities. The amount of powdered sugar is determined by the cook according to his taste.
- To improve the taste of baked goods, you can use vanilla sugar. Preference should be given to those products that contain sugar, vanilla, vanilla extract or natural vanillin. This product has a delicate and natural vanilla aroma. For 8 donuts you will need 3 g of vanilla sugar.
Step-by-step cooking process
Berlin donuts are prepared over several days:
- Fresh yeast is dissolved in warm milk and stirred.
- Place flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. The mass is stirred until smooth. Break an egg into the dry ingredients of donuts, add 30 g of softened butter and pour in milk and yeast.
- Knead the dough using a food processor or mixer at low speed for 4 minutes.
- Afterwards the speed is increased to medium level. Knead the donut dough for 6 minutes.
- The dough is left in a warm place, covered, for 1 – 2 hours.
- Then the doughnut preparation is degassed. To do this, stretch the dough and fold it in half 2 to 3 times.
- Next, the semi-finished product is placed in the refrigerator overnight.
- Then the dough is taken out of the refrigerator. It is cut into 8 parts, rolled out and left for 75 minutes to rise.
- Preheat the oven to 210°C. Melt 10 g of butter. The dough balls are greased with the creamy component, which are then baked for about 12 minutes.
The remaining butter is melted. The finished donuts are greased with a creamy product and rolled in powdered sugar. Using a pastry bag or syringe, Berliners are filled with jam.
Mass production of donuts
The dough is made using the same composition. After which it is kneaded and rolled into koloboks. The dough balls are allowed to rest for about 7–8 minutes. Next, they are placed on a dough sheeter, splashed a little and rolled several times until they have a thickness of approximately 0.7–0.8 mm. The thickness depends on the final specified size of the donut and can reach up to 1 cm. Next, the rolled out dough can be molded. At this stage, its final form is determined. For example, he can become a Berliner or a Donat. The difference is that a Berliner is a solid round donut, while a donut is a donut with a hole in the center. In other words, the latter looks like a donut.
After molding, the donut blanks are placed on special fabric belts and placed in a cart. In order for the donuts to turn out fluffy and their pieces to quickly increase in size, they are placed in proofing. In a proofing cabinet, the temperature and humidity are approximately twice as high as room temperature, due to which the dough pieces increase very quickly, and the risen donuts are taken out of such a cabinet for subsequent frying. Next, they should air for 2-4 minutes. This is done so that after frying the donut has a good golden crust. Next, using huge fryers to fry the donuts, they are dumped into hot frying oil, the temperature of which is 160-170 degrees. Frying the donut takes about 5 minutes. The finished products are dumped onto parchment paper and cool slightly.
The donut is almost ready. But now it needs to be given taste and color. To do this, using a special installation that stuffs donuts with a needle, any of the required fillings is selected. The donut is starting. Now it can be sprinkled with powder or dipped in glaze, the color of which can be completely different. The donut is ready to eat. There are many ways to decorate donuts. For example, you can write an inscription on it or paint it with multi-colored glaze, which is very popular during New Year’s celebrations.
Also interesting: Mulled wine Gl?hwein (gluwein). German cuisine
Of course, we can’t handle mass production, but we can make Berliners at home. Go for it, and your New Year will become a little closer to the culture of Germany.
With condensed milk
Boiled condensed milk is a favorite treat for many people at any age.
Berliner (Berlin donut), recipe with condensed milk.
A sweet product from childhood perfectly balances the airy dough of donuts.
Ingredients
Berliner is a Berlin donut made from the following ingredients:
- 1st grade flour – 175 g;
- extra flour – 175 g;
- milk – 150 ml;
- sugar – 3 tbsp. l.;
- pressed yeast – 10 g;
- egg – 1 pc.;
- salt - a pinch;
- butter – 65 g;
- vanilla sugar – 9 g;
- powdered sugar - for sprinkling.
To fill Berliners you will need 90 g of boiled condensed milk. When choosing a product, you should pay attention to the nutritional value of the dumplings - proteins should be at least 5 g, and fats - 8.5 g per 100 g of product. The consistency of the sweet is dense, condensed milk should not drip off the spoon. The color of boiled condensed milk resembles iris. A product that is too bright or dark brown is a sign of a bad product. In addition, to check the product, you can drop a small amount of iodine on it - if the condensed milk turns blue, it was prepared using starch, which does not correspond to the production technology of the product.
Also, for filling the donuts you need 2.5 tbsp. l. Roma It is better to use a dark product - it has a rich spicy taste. Alcohol should be purchased from trusted and well-known chain stores, since in such a place there is less chance of buying a fake. Alcohol must be poured into glass containers without chips or cracks. The drink must have a clearly printed tax stamp and label, which are glued onto the bottle evenly and without any glue smudges.
Step-by-step cooking process
Preparing Berliners will take more than 3 hours:
- The milk is heated without boiling.
- Then add 1 tbsp to the milk. l. sugar and yeast. The liquid is mixed and set aside until it swells.
- Break the eggs into a bowl or food processor bowl. Salt, 5 g of vanilla sugar and 2 tbsp are also poured there. l. granulated sugar. Beat the mass.
- Next, sift the flour and melt 35 g of butter.
- As soon as the milk begins to foam, begin to knead the dough. To do this, beat the eggs at low speed and at the same time pour the milk and yeast into the bowl.
- Then the whipping speed is increased by one level and the flour is gradually added. When the mass becomes homogeneous, add non-hot oil. Knead the dough for 10 minutes.
- Use a spatula to form a bun. Cover the container with the dough with film and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Afterwards, knead the dough for 2-3 minutes with your hands and leave again for 30 minutes in a warm place under the film.
- The dough is divided into 24 parts and formed into balls, which should be left for 40 minutes on a baking sheet prepared for baking at room temperature.
- Berliners are baked at 180°C for 20 – 25 minutes.
- In the meantime, melt the remaining butter, to which add 4 g of vanilla sugar and boiled condensed milk. The mass is mixed.
- Then rum is introduced. The filling is mixed until smooth.
- Donuts are filled with filling and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
With chocolate
Berliner is a Berlin donut made from yeast dough, but many recipes use different techniques for working with the semi-finished product. The chocolate recipe uses the cold method, which requires minimal intervention from the cook.
Ingredients
To fill the donuts you will need 300 - 350 g of melted chocolate. Only vanilla can be used as a flavoring in chocolate. The presence of soy lecithin is not a sign of a bad product, but it is better to choose a product without this component, as it changes the taste of chocolate.
There should be no grayish coating on the surface of the product, which indicates improper storage conditions for the product. You should pay attention to the temperature at which chocolate is stored - it should be between 12 - 20°C. It is important to note that the shelf life of a quality product that is stored in the right conditions does not exceed 1 year.
Also for 8 Berliners you will need:
- flour – 250 g;
- warm milk – 70 g;
- pressed yeast – 15 g;
- butter – 50 g;
- vanilla sugar – 30 g;
- salt – 3 g;
- egg – 1 pc.;
- powdered sugar - for sprinkling.
Step-by-step cooking process
Berliners with chocolate are prepared using a cold method of working with yeast dough, in which the future donuts are left in the refrigerator overnight. Therefore, you need to set aside 2 days to prepare Berlin pastries.
Process:
- Warm milk is mixed with yeast. 30 g of butter is left at room temperature to soften.
- Meanwhile, mix flour, vanilla sugar and salt in a separate container.
- Break an egg into the dry mixture, add softened butter and pour in milk and yeast. Beat the mixture in a food processor or with a mixer at low speed for 4 minutes.
- Next, the beating speed is increased to medium level. Knead the dough for 6 minutes.
- The bowl with the semi-finished product is covered with film and left at room temperature for 1 – 2 hours.
- Then the dough is kneaded and placed in the refrigerator overnight.
- The workpiece is removed from the refrigerator and stored at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- The semi-finished product is divided into 8 parts, from which balls are formed. The workpieces are left for 1 hour until the size doubles.
- The oven is heated to 210°C.
- Melt the remaining butter and coat the Berliners with half of it. Donuts are baked in the oven for 12 minutes.
- The finished baked goods are coated with the remaining butter, sprinkled with powdered sugar and filled with chocolate.
Berlin donuts are the taste of the new year. Step-by-step recipe for Berliner Pfannkuchen
Berlin donuts play a major role on the New Year's table in the German capital. It doesn’t matter what the first course will be or whether there will be one at all, whether you go to visit or stay at home - when the clock strikes 12 times, you will take a sip of champagne and bite into a Berlin donut. Every year on December 31, the entire city diligently lines up at bakeries and pastry shops to get their portion of the delicacy, which outside the city and even the country is called “Berliner”. If you ask for Berlin donuts in their homeland and call them “Berliners,” you will be passing yourself off as a non-local. Only in Berlin they are called "Pfannkuchen".
It was Berlin donuts that gained worldwide fame, not Krapfen from Southern and Western Germany, and with their fame outside the city, the unpronounceable word “Pfankuchen” fell off, and only the geographical designation remained - Berliner. So they travel around the world like Berlin balls and pies.
Why did only Berlin donuts make such a career, and not Vienna or Cologne? Because they used to be baked for Carnival, i.e. on Maslenitsa before Lent. The Catholic Church prohibited donuts at other times. Luther abolished the fasts. And gradually, in Protestant Berlin, donuts could be enjoyed all year round, and not just at Carnival. Everyone who tried it said that such donuts are only available in Berlin. And he took the idea with him.
You don’t have to go to Berlin for donuts, but make your own. Moreover, it is very simple. There is another benefit to homemade donuts. In the confectionery they are sold with various fillings: from the classic one with plum jam to the festive one with cream flavored with egg liqueur. But no donuts with mustard. And according to tradition, on a large plate of donuts, which is passed around in a circle to everyone gathered at the table, there should be one donut with mustard. For what? Just imagine a noisy, cheerful holiday where people dear to each other gathered. Children run around the table, conversations do not stop. And then the donuts appear. Some lucky person will get the mustard version, and he, of course, will gasp when he bites into it, and everyone else will laugh.
So, if you make donuts for New Year's or any other holiday, don't forget to fill one of them with mustard. Not too spicy, but still fun and not sad.
With strawberry
This Berliner recipe is popular among chefs because, despite being cooked in the oven, the donuts turn out to be as soft and tender as possible, which is perfectly complemented by the strawberry filling.
Preparation next.
Ingredients
Berliner is a Berlin donut, the dough for which is prepared from the following products:
- flour – 500 g;
- yeast – 35 g;
- milk – 160 g;
- butter – 60 g;
- sugar – 60 g;
- salt – 1 tsp;
- egg – 1 pc.
To fill 10 Berliners you will need 280 g of strawberries. It is better to choose a medium or small berry, since large fruits contain a lot of water, which only spoils the taste. There should be no moisture on the surface of the package or container, which indicates that the product is not fresh.
Also needed for the filling:
- egg – 1 pc.;
- sugar – 50 g;
- wheat flour – 5 g;
- corn flour – 10 g;
- lemon juice – 40 ml;
- orange juice – 40 ml;
- cream 35% – 150 ml.
In addition, you need butter for coating and powdered sugar for sprinkling donuts.
Step-by-step cooking process
To prepare the baked goods, you need to allocate about 2 hours:
- Mix milk, yeast and sugar in a saucepan. Softened butter is added to the mixture. The mixture is heated to 37°C and transferred to the combine bowl.
- Next, place the remaining Berliner dough ingredients into the bowl and beat at low speed for 5 minutes.
- Grease a bowl with a small amount of oil, and then transfer the dough there, cover with film and leave for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, prepare the filling - the strawberries are peeled from the stems and blended in a blender to obtain a puree, which is then filtered through a sieve to get rid of the seeds.
- Add egg yolk, sugar and 2 types of flour to a bowl and mix thoroughly. The result should be something similar to breadcrumbs.
- Strawberry puree, orange and lemon juice are placed in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, pour into the egg mixture and beat thoroughly until smooth.
- Return the cream to the pan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly. The mass is prepared for 3–4 minutes after boiling. Cool the filling to room temperature.
- Then whip the cream to soft peaks and mix with the strawberry mixture.
- Then knead the dough again. A roll is formed from the semi-finished product, divided into 10 parts, from which they are rolled into balls.
- The baking sheet is covered with parchment, on which the dough balls are placed. The workpiece is covered with film and left for 20 minutes.
The oven is heated to 220°C. Berliners are baked for 12 - 15 minutes, filled with cream, greased with butter and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Differences between Berliners in different parts of Germany
In each part of Germany, Berliners are served with a specific filling. For example, in Swabia and Franconia they are filled with rosehip jam, and in South Tyrol and Bavaria with apricot jam. Custard and vanilla cream are used to fill donuts in the northern states of Germany. However, cherry and fruit jams are most often used, and the Berliner is sprinkled with powdered sugar on top.
In Germany and Austria, Berliners have long been a traditional treat at carnivals and New Year's events.
Useful tips and tricks
If it is not possible to wait for the dough to swell, the process can be accelerated. To do this, place 2 baking sheets in the oven: place a heat-resistant bowl with dough on the top one, and the same container with water on the bottom one. The oven heating temperature should not exceed 40°C. Berliners are made from yeast dough, which should be handled with special care. It is important to remember that this type of preparation for Berlin donuts does not like sudden temperature changes. If the recipe calls for the dough to sit in a warm place in the kitchen, you need to close the windows.