Baking with Armin: Bremer Klaben, Scottish Shortbread and Soda bread

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Klaben and Shortbread Bremer Klaben, Scottish Shortbread and Quick wholemeal bread (Soda bread)

One of the things I enjoy doing during my spare time is baking. Some people asked me for the recipes, so I decided to put some of them on the web. When I first wrote this page it was early December, the perfect time for baking. At least the shortbread can be enjoyed the whole year; Bremer Klaben is something for Christmas time though, you wouldn't eat it during summer. Since then I've added the recipe for the Soda bread.

If you use one of the recipes, please send me a mail using my feedback form and tell me what you think. This is how it should look:

In the picture you see 2 Bremer Klaben fresh out of the oven on the left, some shortbread in the bowl on the right.

First the recipe for the Bremer Klaben, an old family recipe my mother gave me. It's originally in German, so I'm going to give you both German and English versions. (if there are any errors in the English translation please let me know via my feedback form)
Zutaten/Ingredients:

Measure	Deutsch/German	English
750 g	Mehl	Plain flour
225 g	Butter	Butter
150 g	Schmalz	Lard
450 g	Rosinen	Raisins
75 g	Korinthen	Currants
75 g	Mandeln	Almonds
75 g	Sukkade	Candied Lemon peel (at least that's what I think this is)
75 g	Zucker	Sugar
90 g	Hefe	Yeast
60 ml	Milch	Milk
1.5 g	Kardamom	Cardamom
20 ml	Rosenwasser	Rosewater
etwas/pinch of	Salz	Salt
"1"	abgeriebene Rinde einer Zitrone (bzw fertiges Pulver)	finely grated rind of a lemon

Step	Deutsch/German	English
1.	Kueche sollte schoen warm sein und Sie sollten viel Zeit haben	Kitchen should be warm and you should have set enough time aside
2.	Hefe in der lauwarmen Milch mit etwas Zucker aufloesen	Dissolve yeast in lukewarm milk with some sugar
3.	Fett (Butter und Schmalz) am Rande einer grossen Schuessel verteilen	Put chunks of butter and lard around the outside of a large bowl
4.	Mehl in die Schuessel geben und so verteilen, dass das Fett bedeckt ist und in der Mitte eine Vertiefung entsteht	Give flour into the bowl so that the butter and lard are covered, making a well in the centre
5.	Aufgeloeste Hefe in die Vertiefung geben und mit dem Mehl bedecken (Hefe sollte noch nicht mit dem Fett in Beruehrung kommen)	Give the dissolved yeast into the bowl and cover with some of the flour (Yeast should not get into contact with the fat yet)
6.	Warm (nicht heiss, nicht ueber 50 C) stehen lassen bis sich die Hefe gehoben hat	Leave warm (not hot, not above 50 C) until the yeast has risen
7.	Alle anderen Zutaten zugeben und gruendlich zu einem Teig verkneten	Add all remaining ingredients and knead well into a dough
8.	Fuer 50-70 min bei ca 150 C backen	Bake for 50-70min at ca 150C/300F
9.	Langsam erkalten lassen	Let cool down slowly
10.	Geniessen. Am besten schmeckt er wenn er einige Zeit gelagert hat (1-2 Wochen)	Enjoy. I think it tastes best if you let it rest for a while (1-2 weeks)

Shortbread with chocolate chips Second the recipe for the Scottish shortbread, I'm using one I found in the excellent book "A Year in a Scots Kitchen" by Catherine Brown (Neil Wilson Publishing, ISBN 1-897784-51-1). I've modified it slightly and use double as much as originally suggested:

Ingredients:
200 g plain soft flour, 100 g cornflour (starch), 200 g butter and 100 g icing sugar

Method:
Put butter into bowl and knead in the sugar. Add the flour and knead until a firm ball of dough. Roll into a cylinder shape and chill. Slice into round biscuit shapes (that's why you have to chill it: It's easier to slice). I've done another modification here in this picture and added chocolate chips. Probably not the real thing but I sometimes like it. Bake slowly at 170C/325F until an even golden brown. Enjoy.

Finally the recipe for a Quick wholemeal bread (soda bread). I found the recipe in an article by Michael Bateman in the Independent on Sunday about making soda bread. He travelled to Ireland to learn how to make it, I had to survive on the recipes he brought back...

Ingredients:
450 g wholemeal flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, 300 ml buttermilk, 2 tablespoons sunflower oil, 1 egg

Method:
Preheat oven to 200C/400F/Gas6. Take a large bowl and mix all ingredients together, first the "dry" then the "liquid" ingredients. Pour into a lightly oiled loaf tin. Bake for about 55 minutes (according the recipe. In my fan assisted oven 45-50 minutes seem to be enough, so be careful). Enjoy, preferably still warm from the oven.