It's Harvest time and all kinds of wonderful fruits are ready to
be preserved for the winter and
to make tasty Fruit Kuchens
Kuchen Timeline
This just shows how far the Kuchen has come, when our ancestors made them with coarse dark flour, hand ground and cooked
on rocks and sticks over a campfire to making it a traditional afternoon snack, Baking with all kinds of fine ground flours
in conventional ovens, and now being able to cook individual kuchens in an Air Fryer.
Ancient Kuchen,
Dough roasted on a Stick
Ancient Times
Medieval Kuchens
Coarse Rye Flour, Levened with Beer
1500
Kaffee Klatsches
Coffee and Kuchen becomes a tradition
1700s
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A Quick History of How our Ancestors Baked Kuchen's
Your ancestors in ancient Germanic lands created the very first kuchens using methods that would seem almost magical to us today. Imagine your great-great-grandmothers, countless generations back, grinding grain between heavy stones or pounding it in wooden mortars carved from tree trunks.
They worked with what the land provided—barley, spelt, and rye from their fields—mixing these coarse flours with water or milk in wooden bowls worn smooth by generations of hands. When they could, they'd sweeten their cakes with wild honey that the men risked bee stings to gather from forest hives, or they'd fold in berries and wild apples that the children collected.
Your ancestors used animal fat, usually lard, to give their cakes moisture and richness. These weren't the light, fluffy cakes you know today—they were dense, hearty flatbreads that could sustain a family through long winters. Your foremothers shaped these cakes into circles, perhaps honoring the sun and the turning of seasons, and baked them for the great pagan festivals that marked their year—celebrations your family observed for centuries before Christianity arrived.
Often, entire villages would share large outdoor ovens or communal baking stones, and your grandmothers would gather together, sharing not just the heat of the fire but stories, wisdom, and the work itself. They knew their cakes were done not by timers, but by the rich smell filling the air, the golden-brown color, and the hollow sound when they tapped the crust with their knuckles.
. These ancient baking skills, refined over centuries in the forests and villages of Germania, are the foundation of every streusel, every torte, every kuchen your family has treasured. When you bake today, you're continuing a tradition that stretches back not just hundreds, but thousands of years.
The History of Coffee and Kuchen
(Kaffeeklatsch)
Things got a little more refined when Coffee was introduced into Germany,
and Kuchen went perfectly with coffee.
FIrst it was for the rich and aristocrats
and then as coffee became more affordable
it spread to a daily routine for all Germans.
The tradition of Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake)
has deep roots in German culture,
though its origins evolved gradually over several centuries.
The routine is called
a Kaffeeklatsch
that translates to
Coffee and gossip!
During medieval times, communal gathering around food and drink already existed in Germanic lands, but these centered on ale, wine, and simple breads.
The concept of afternoon social gatherings was present, but coffee wouldn't arrive in Europe until much later.
Flours in Ancient and Medieval times our
Ancestors Used.
Commoners: Poorer people relied on coarser, denser, whole-grain flours, rye, barley, spelt, some wheat,with rye being a staple grain, especially in regions with harsher climates.
Geography: Rye is a hardy crop that grows well in poor soil and cold temperatures. For this reason, it was a staple grain throughout Central and Eastern Europe, including large parts of Germany. Wheat was more common in more temperate regions.
Flour milling: Compared to modern flour, the flour of the 15th century was darker and grittier, as the milling process left more of the bran and germ in the flour. Even finely sifted flour for the wealthy was not as pure white as the refined flour we have today.
German Strawberry Kuchen recipe from 1598
Take eggs, the yolks alone or all together as you wish, beat and whip them well, then take good thick cream that is sweet, stir in as much as there are eggs, add rosewater if you wish, grind of almonds what is right and pass it through (a cloth) with the cream, but in that case take a little more of the milk (cream) than of the eggs.
Hold it over a bright fire, but far away, stir it diligently until it begins to thicken a little, but do not let it boil. Then the dish (pastry) should be ready, and it should not be too high, half as high as another tart is. Then pour the mix into it and place nice strawberries or gooseberries in it so that they are half in the mass and half sticking out, and strew it well with sugar so that you neither see the mass nor the berries.
The strawberries should be washed in rosewater and not too ripe, for then they turn to mush immediately, but the gooseberries are fine and right when they are already yellow and clear. They need much sugar. Bake them well and give a lot of heat below, but not too much above so that they stay nicely white. It is enough quickly. If you bake them in an oven, lay a piece of paper on top.
Coffee first reached German-speaking regions in the 17th century through Venetian merchants and Ottoman trade routes. Initially, it was an expensive luxury consumed primarily by the wealthy in major trading cities like Hamburg and Bremen. The beverage faced resistance from both religious authorities, who called it "Satan's drink," and rulers who worried about its stimulating effects on the populace.
The 18th century marked the true beginning of German coffee culture. Frederick the Great initially tried to restrict coffee consumption to protect local beer production, but the beverage's popularity proved unstoppable. German hausfraus began developing elaborate cake and pastry recipes specifically to accompany coffee, drawing from existing regional baking traditions but creating new confections suited to the afternoon ritual.
By the 19th century, Kaffee und Kuchen had become deeply embedded in German social life.
The industrial revolution made both coffee and sugar more affordable, allowing the tradition to spread beyond the upper classes. This period saw the development of many classic German cakes still associated with the tradition today - Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, Apfelkuchen, and Streuselkuchen.
The "Kaffeeklatsch" aspect - the social gathering and conversation that accompanied the refreshments - became particularly important for German women, who used these afternoon gatherings as opportunities to maintain social networks, share news, and conduct informal community business when formal public participation was limited.
German immigrants brought this cherished tradition to America in the 19th century, where it adapted to local ingredients and customs while maintaining its essential character as a social ritual centered on hospitality, conversation, and the pairing of coffee with homemade sweets.
The Invention of Baking Powder
Yeast was often hard to come by, and a sourdough culture could take hours and hours to properly raise,
I use to think it was blasphemy to make a kuchen with baking powder as my grandma never did,
But I find them very nice, tender and easy to make, especially with self rising flour.
With my desire to encourage everyone to be able to make a kuchen "On the Fly" the use of self rising flour makes it even easier and faster,
to have a dough in minutes and a kuchen in an hour or so, between doing other things.
The indusrial revolution also brought in
Baking Powder that made making Kuchen easier.
Shortly after the invention of baking powder,
came the next step to pre mix it with flour so that you can pop it in a bowl,
quick mix with eggs, butter or milk and your dough is ready.
In 1893, Dr. Oetker introduced its signature baking powder under the brand name "Backin." This product became highly successful, providing home bakers with a reliable and convenient leavening agent. Dr. Oetker's Backin baking powder quickly gained recognition and became a staple in German households.
Kuchens on the fly just got easier with Self Rising Flour, and I know I always thought it was like using a pre-prepared
product ,
like Campbells soup or Betty Crocker cake mix, which just seemed like it was flour with a bunch of chemicals in it.
However it is merely the baking powder and salt mixed with the flour so they have just eliminated a step for you.
So you can just
cream your butter and sugar together, and blend in
egg a bit of milk or water and the dry ingredients and you got it.
Basic Kuchen Mix
One step further is to make an actual Kuchen
Mix by adding the sugar to the mix
I start out with 2 bowls.
I like to see things in my mind
Then I add the Dry ingredients in one bowl
and the wet ingredients in the other
Dry ingredients
1 cup Flour,
1/4 cup Sugar,
1 1/2 teasp. Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
sometimes I omit the sugar
Or I just use
Self RIsing Flour
or
Basic Kuchen Mix
Wet ingredients
2-4 Tablespoons Milk or yogurt
1/4 butter or 1/4 cup Oil
sometimes an egg instead of milk
Sometimes butter instead of oil
Separating it this way I can see it in my mind easy.
Now we can go ahead and pat this into the Springform Pan
or other baking pans
Of your choice
In a rectangular baking dish, sheet pan, pie pan
Or just spread it out and make a Fruut Pizza Kuchen
Easy to keep in your mind, so you don't have to run for the recipe.
I keep my "go-to" Rules of Thumb on one of my cabinet doors
for easy reference.
Also develop your favorite measuring devices.
so you can see the measured ingredient clearly
Get extra measuring cups
and spoons to keep in your
containers of flour and sugar for quick measuring.
You can use either a yeast dough or baking powder dough
Baking it on a pizza stone at a high temp, makes this a quick treat,
with the crispy crust, with that nice hint of lemon.
A recipe book and short biography of my Grandmother Emma Block. Her recipes, culture and cooking styles that were brought over from Germany. How they evolved when she came to America in the early 1900s and settled in Portland, Oregon on the west coast of the United States. Over 100 recipes
Bonus Recipe CD with the Ebook and recipes with step by step pictures
Biography of my grandma
Emma Block From Germany with Love tells the story of my grandma, Emma Block, growing up in a little town in Baden/ Würtemberg, Germany near Heidelberg named Steinsfurt. Then at the age of 15 immigrating to the United States, taking a train with one of her sisters and brothers to Hamburg and sailing the Atlantic with other hope filled Germans wanting to make a life in the "New World". It was not easy but with good values learned in her German upbringing made a full life, had a wonderful family with lots of fun and celebration including the great German meals.
Through modern technology we can enjoy music from Germany at the touch of your computer, there are many venues now, Pandora, Amazon music, and Youtube is free.
I love my noise canceling headphones that are completely wireless and give incredible sound!
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