Recipe: Kuchen - Authentic (with yeast dough crust)

Kuchen - Authentic (With Yeast Dough Crust)
rec.food.recipes/tomchek/2002
Recipe By: Tom Chekouras
Yield: 2 kuchens, Servings 12,

NOTES : The great mystery of kuchen (pronounced "koo gun") dispelled!

Kuchen is basically a fruit or fruit custard pie, except that the crust is yeast-leavened sweet bread rather than a piecrust --THAT'S IT!

The custard for the filling can be anywhere from slightly to decadently rich based upon the number of eggs yolks used and whether evaporated milk, heavy cream, sour cream or creme fraiche is used.

Kuchen was invented by the Germans from Russia. There is no 'standard' recipe -each family made it their own way and passed their version from mother to daughter via word-of-mouth and mentoring. Recipes (and more so techniques) wereseldom written down, so in most cases grandma has taken them with her to the grave, unfortunately.

As my mother-in-law is a still-living pure South Dakota German From Russia, I have extensively researched authentic kuchen. I constructed this recipe to include modern-day techniques and equipment and have made it highly detailed as most of us today (including myself) don't have the inherent skills/know-how of baking as an art rather than a science that our family predecessors had.

Few modern day people make authentic 'from scratch' Kuchen anymore, even the Germans From Russia, as it takes a lot of time to prepare. So when they do, they typically make 10+ at a time in assembly line fashion to take best advantage of the time and effort required - kuchen freezes well.

Equipment: 1 deep-dish pie pan for each kuchen
THE DOUGH:
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup shortening, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2/3 cup ice-cold water
1 14-oz. package active dry yeast
1 egg, room temperature, beaten
5 cups flour - more or less

THE FRUIT:
ice water
boiling water, poaching temperature
3 cups fresh fruit, your choice (SEE NOTE) - or your choice of dried, such as prunes, or canned - drained
1/2 cup sugar - more or less, depending upon natural sweetness/ripeness of the fruit
1/4 teaspoon salt

THE FILLING:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons cornstarch
6 egg yolks, beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla, (optional)
24 fluid ounces evaporated milk - (approx.) - unsweetened, or heavy cream or sour cream or creme fraiche or any combination of these
ground cinnamon, for topping
ground allspice, for topping

NOTE: USING FRESH FRUIT
Macerating leeches some of the natural fluids out of fresh fruit. This sweetens and concentrates the flavor in the fruit but also reduces its volume - the degree of 'shrinkage' depending upon how 'juicy' the fruit was to begin with. If using fruit with high water content, such as very ripe peaches - adjust the recipe amount upwards a bit to allow for shrinkage.

DIRECTIONS:
PREPARE CRUST: Place milk in saucepan; scald. Remove from heat; add melted shortening, sugar, salt, lemon juice and ice-cold water; stir to combine. Check temperature of liquid with an instant-read thermometer; microwave or cool liquid mixture until 110 degrees F. Stir in yeast; allow to proof for about 10 minutes; stir in beaten egg.

Install dough hook on stand mixer. Place flour in the mixing bowl. Start mixer on low speed; add liquid gradually, allowing flour to evenly incorporate with the liquid until a soft dough is formed (dough climbs the hook and is still slightly sticky) - if the dough won't climb the hook (too wet) add more flour 1 Tbsp. at a time until it does. Scrape down the dough hook and bowl sides a few times in the process; allow to knead for 10 more minutes on low speed, scraping down the dough hook about every 3 minutes, (this REALLY makes a difference in the quality of the dough).

Place dough in a greased bowl then flip over to coat all over. Cover with greased plastic wrap. Place in a warm draft-free place to rise until doubled in bulk (best to give it 1 1/2 hours, minimum) - tip: the unheated oven with the internal oven light turned on works great for this. Punch down dough, then rise again. While dough is rising the second time, proceed with next steps.

BLANCH AND SHOCK FRESH/DRIED FRUIT: NOTE: (If using canned fruit, skip this step.) Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice water. Briefly blanch fruit in just enough just-simmering boiling water to cover until heated though (if you are using dried fruit, such as dried prunes, simply allow to rehydrate/plump). Shock by dumping the fruit into ice water. When fruit has cooled to about room temperature throughout, skim off ice cubes, pour fruit intoa colander; drain, and then spread out on a large cotton dishtowel and pat dry. Once dry, peel (if applicable), slice or very coarsely chop fruit.

MACERATE FRESH FRUIT: (NOTE: This step applies only to fresh fruit - if using canned or dried, skip this step). Combine sugar and salt in another medium-size bowl. Transfer fruit to sugar/salt mixture and toss with the fingers to coat. You may also add a few Tbsp. of liqueur if you wish. Allow fruit to macerate for 45 minutes, tossing occasionally with the fingers.

ASSEMBLE FILLING: Place a colander in the sink. Dump fruit into colander; allowto drain. Using an electric mixer with whisk attachment, whisk the butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cornstarch together; reduce mixer speed; add egg yolks and vanilla; briefly whisk to combine until sugar is completely dissolved. Pour this mixture into a liquid measure; add evaporated milk (or alternatives) to equal a total of 2 cups of liquid per kuchen; stir to combine.

PREHEAT OVEN: Place oven rack in mid-oven position; preheat oven to 375 degrees F. While oven is heating, proceed to next steps.

FINAL ASSEMBLY: Punch down dough, then turn out onto a floured work surface. Divide into the number of kuchens you will be preparing. Roll dough out to uniform thickness (thicker than a piecrust, 1/4"+), to a diameter large enough to cover the bottom and sides of a 10' pie tin with excess to crimp around the rim. Place and form pie crust in pie tin. NOTE: unlike a piecrust, DO NOT build up or tuck excess dough under on the rim (should be the same thickness as the dough in the bottom of the tin), if excess, trim off and discard.

Spoon fruit into the crust and evenly distribute. Place oven rack in center-oven position and extend the rack to its full out position. Place filled crust on the rack; pour in custard up to the brim. Dust the top of the custard with ground cinnamon and/or ground allspice. Carefully push rack/pie into the oven, (this method minimizes spills). Immediately reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

BAKE KUCHEN: Bake kuchen for 30 to 35 minutes at 350 degrees F, checking frequently after 20 minutes until the custard is set (i.e. custard is wobbly textured when the kuchen is gently shaken). Do not over bake - if over baked, the custard will end up heavy and watery.

When done, transfer kuchen to a cooling rack and allow to cool 2 hours before serving.