Simple German Yeast Doug – Nauroder Gänse

This Simple German Yeast Dough is prepared without eggs and butter. I used the dough to make the Nauerder Gins in standard German Nauroder Gänse, meaning geese from the village of Naurod, my birthplace. You can cut the dough in any shape you like.

I do remember the geese in the back of our garden when I grew up. They were very aggressive but for a good reason. We children didn’t leave out a chance to provoke them, which was one of the many courage tests (Mutprobe) at the time for us.

Ingredients for the Simple German Yeast Dough:

• 500 g (1.1 lbs) of flour, all-purpose
• 1 pouch of dry yeast, rapid rise
• 1 tablespoon of diastatic malt powder, optional (to find at King Arthur or Amazon)
• 4 tablespoons of sugar
• 4 tablespoons of sunflower oil
• 350-400 ml (11.83-13.52 oz) of milk, lukewarm
• ½ teaspoon of salt

For brushing:

• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons of milk

Preparation of the dough:

Add the dry ingredients to the flour in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer and stir. Warm up the milk and add to the bowl before adding the oil. Knead the ingredients for 6 minutes on low until the dough is combined and smooth. Place the dough in a bowl covered with a kitchen towel and let it rise for 40 minutes or until doubled.

Shaping of the Geese:

Knead the dough again using your hands. Roll the dough on a floured surface about 0.5 cm – 0.19 in thick and cut the geese using the cookie cutter. My goose cutter is 17.5 cm – 6.88 in, I found it on amazon.

Place the geese on a baking sheet covered with baking paper. Mix an egg yolk with the milk and brush the geese with it. Use a raisin for the eyes.

Baking of the Geese:

Knead the dough again using your hands. Roll the dough on a floured surface about 0.5 cm – 0.19 in thick and cut the geese using the cookie cutter. My goose cutter is 17.5 cm – 6.88 in, and I found it on amazon.

Place the geese on a baking sheet covered with baking paper. Mix an egg yolk with the milk and brush the geese with it. Use a raisin for the eyes.

Before preheating the oven to 175°C – 350°F, have a bowl with water on the oven’s bottom. When the oven has reached the temperature, place the sheet on the oven’s 4th rack and bake for 20-22 minutes. Let the geese cool down on a cooling rack.

To make the raisin buns click here, the Easter wreath, click here, and for the pretzel buns, click here.