Knieküchle is a traditional Austrian/German fried dough pastry that is very popular in
Old Bavaria
Altbayern ( Bavarian: ''Oidbayern'', also written Altbaiern, English: "Old Bavaria") is the territory and people of the three oldest parts of the Free State of Bavaria, which were earlier known as Kurbayern (English: "Electoral Bavaria") after the ...
,
Franconia, Western
Austria,
South Tyrol and
Thuringia. Depending on region it has several other names, including ''Auszogne'', ''Krapfen'', ''Küchl'', ''Nudel'' or ''Rottnudel''. In Austria its name is ''Bauernkrapfen'' or ''Kiachl''.
Preparation
As a general rule they are made of
yeast dough but some recipes vary slightly. Very common for example is the addition of
raisins. The dough is then shaped in a way so it is very thin in the middle and thicker on the edges. They are then fried in boiling
lard
Lard is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig.[Lard]
entry in the o ...
and dusted with
confectioner's sugar
Powdered sugar, also called confectioners' sugar, or icing sugar, is a finely ground sugar produced by milling granulated sugar into a powdered state. It usually contains between 2% and 5% of an anti-caking agent – such as corn starch, ...
. In
Austria and in
South Tyrol it is eaten with
apricot
An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''.
Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...
marmalade,
lingonberry
jam
Jam is a type of fruit preserve.
Jam or Jammed may also refer to:
Other common meanings
* A firearm malfunction
* Block signals
** Radio jamming
** Radar jamming and deception
** Mobile phone jammer
** Echolocation jamming
Arts and entertai ...
or
sauerkraut.
Knieküchle
(kirchenweb.at)
In the past, the pastry was mostly eaten during the harvest and on holiday
A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...
s, especially for Kermesse or Dult.
In Franconia, people also differentiate between "catholic" and "protestant" Knieküchle depending whether it is dusted with confectioner's sugar or not.
Name etymology
According to legend, the name derives from the practice of baker women from Franconia that stretched the dough over their knees very thinly so they could read love letters through it.
References
External links
Knieküchle (Krapfen, Kiechla)
(frankentourismus.de)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kniekuchle
Austrian pastries
Austrian cuisine
Bavarian cuisine
German pastries
