The Return Migration of Jewish Food to Europe + Hamantashen For Ukraine

Our unintentional theme of chatting with folks from places I’ve lived continues! Laurel Kratochvila, the owner of Berlin’s Fine Bagels and the author of New European Baking, joins me to discuss the return migration of Jewish cooking and baking to Europe and how you, dear listener, can support this year’s Hamantashen For Ukraine fundraiser.

Fine Bagel's Hamantashen Recipe

Ingredients:

For the dough:
Butter or Margarine (cold, cubed): 240g
All-purpose flour: 440g
Finely ground almonds or almond flour: 130g
Powdered Sugar: 120g
Table Salt: a pinch (about 1/4 tsp)
2 eggs, beaten
Vanilla or almond extract (1 tsp)
Optional: grated zest of 1/2 an orange

Poppyseed Filling:
Ground Poppy Seeds 150g (1 1/2 cups)
Granulated Sugar: 75g (1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp)
Milk or Non-dairy Milk: 210g (3/4 cup plus 3 tbsp)
Butter or Margarine: 2 tsp
1/2 lemon, juiced
Honey: 2 tbsp

To make the filling:
In a thick-bottomed medium-size saucepan, bring the ground poppy seeds, sugar, milk, butter, and lemon juice to a gentle boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until thickened. Remove from the heat, stir in the honey, and let cool completely before using. Cover airtight and refrigerate up to a week. To use in hamantashen, wait until cool or else it will melt the dough.
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To make the dough by hand:
In a bowl, toss flour and butter until well coated. Then using your fingers, rub butter and flour to create a sandy texture. When there are no more visible bits of butter, add the almond flour and powdered sugar and continue the rubbing motion until the mixture is homogenous. Add the salt, egg, and vanilla and stir with a wooden spoon until there are no dry bits. Press the dough into a thick disk and wrap airtight. Refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 4 days.

To make the dough by stand mixer:
Using your paddle attachment on low speed, mix flour and butter until sandy in texture and no bits of butter remain. Add the almond flour and powdered sugar and mix until homogenous. Add the salt, egg, and vanilla and stir with a wooden spoon until there are no dry bits. Press the dough into a thick disk and wrap airtight. Refrigerate for 2 hour or up to 4 days. 

To use:
To use the chilled dough, "break" it. Do this by folding it in half and rolling it out once. It will crack. Then fold the dough back up and roll out a second time. The second time you do this, the dough should be easier to work with and less prone to cracking.  Next, roll the dough out to about 1/3cm thickness, or about 1/8-1/4 inch, depending how thick you like your cookie. Use a water glass or cookie cutter to cut out as many circles as possible. Set aside dough scraps to re-roll and use again.

Place the cut circles on a parchment paper lined baking sheep. Place a small amount of filling in the centre of each. To shape, fold three sides inward to make a triangle, either overlapping or pinching where the edges meet. Once all the cookies are formed, chill in the fridge for 20 minutes or the freezer for 10 minutes. Bake at 180c/350f with convection settings if possible for about 10 minutes, or until the cookie is golden.