Memories from a past lent - Faschtewaije
Years ago I came across these buns when I went to Basel a lot.
They are sold only during lent, and only in Basel area.
The taste and texture were very memorable - unlike anything I had tasted before.
Next Saturday I will participate in a pop-up market and thought these Faschtewaije might be an interesting candidate.
I found a few recipes and saw what made them special. Lard.
I wouldn't be able to sell a lot of goods containing lard on this occasion (I am going with Hot-Cross Buns)
But my fingers itched and I tried out the recipe.
They came out very nicely, a bit denser than what I remember, but nevertheless a great taste and texture.
I am very happy with this first try.
The recipe is from
http://www.baselinsider.ch/enzyklopaedie/basler-rezepte/basler-rezepte/faschtewaije-fastenwaehe.html [1]
Some more background info is here:
http://www.foodnews.ch/x-plainmefood/30_produkte/Fastenwaehe.html [2]
Here it is in Bakers % and with English ingredient names:
Flour (AP / strong white) 100% (200g)
Salt 1.5%% (3g)
Malt Extract 1% (2g)
Instant Dry Yeast 2% (4g)
Milk (lukewarm) 62.5% (125g)
Lard (or Butter) 37.5% (75g)
Yield 204.5% (409g)
This amount makes 4 buns
I used lard - I think that butter turns it into something closer to Brioche.
With lard this tasted just as I remember.
Mix the dry ingredients and milk, and work to develop some gluten.
Add the melted fat and work until you have a very smooth, supple dough. This is the more challenging step.
Proof for about 1 hour at 23C
Divide into 50g - pieces. Preshape and roll them out (with a rolling pin) into oblong pieces.
(This is the step I yet need to figure out - the pieces should have pronounced tips so that the finished bun has roughly a circular shape with two knobbly bits, not unlike the shadow of a lemon.)
Let rise for another hour (while the oven preheats to 190C), cut them in this specific pattern, like -=- (have a look at the pictures of the cutting tool in the links), glaze,sprinkle with caraway seeds, and bake for about 25 minutes,until golden brown. Don't let them go too dark.
The recipe uses an egg yolk and water mix for the glaze, I used plain water.
Happy Baking,
Juergen