RFCJ RECIPE ARCHIVE
Posted by : Ruth Heiges Hamantaschen Pastry, Yeast - dairy
In Israel, there soon will be hamentaschen for sale everywhere you look. Whether freshly baked or packaged, what they all will have in common will be having been made with a cookie dough. Unfortunately, my favorite type of hamentasch will not be available. For the past few years, I'd been enjoying a really old-fashioned type made with a yeast dough. To my great regret, and not only on this point, the Sherman bakery/coffee shop on Kikar Milano has closed, and the shop is already being remodelled into some kind of a new trendy place. The owner died last year, and his demise is being followed by this one. Even if I'm not lazy and actually decide to make the following, I doubt whether anything will match my memory of what I used to buy at Sherman's. The small hamentaschen were about six or seven inches in size, each packed with several ounces of filling; poppy seeds, raisins, a hint of almond essence, and -- I suspect -- some orange zest.The least they could have done was warn me so I could quiz the baker. ;-) The most amazing, though, -- at least, visually -- were the large hamentaschen, which were about the size of a dinner plate! Small or large, they were well worth the heartburn which inevitably followed ... Ah, well. Here is a recipe for yeast dough from "The Art of Jewish Cooking," by Jennie Grossinger. 2 cakes or packages yeast 1/4 cup lukewarm water 3/4 cup milk 5 cups sifted flour 3/4 cup sugar 1-1/2 teaspoons salt 3 eggs 1 cup melted butter Soften the yeast in the water for 5 minutes, then add to the milk. Stir in 2 cups of the flour,the sugar and salt. Add one egg at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the butter and remaining flour. Knead for a few minutes, then place in a bowl; cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk. Punch down and knead on a lightly floured board for 5 minutes. Divide the dough in half and roll out to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into 4-inch squares. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling on each and fold the dough over into a triangle, sealing the edges. Let rise until doubled in bulk, and brush with beaten egg yolk. Bake in a 357 F oven 25 minutes or until browned. Makes about 3-1/2 dozen. Ruth
