Every Saturday morning my Grandma Elsa, who lived on the farm next door, baked her bread, rolls and Kuchen. The Kuchen was our favorite. She made her Kuchens using canned apricots, fresh apples or fresh Italian plums. Of course I went to visit her Every Saturday morning!! It was one of the highlights of my week!

For our Laemmlen Family Reunion today, Leslie Laemmlen made Kuchens to remember Grandma. Leslie found a simple recipe in a Fresno newspaper that uses frozen bread dough. In the video clips below, she demonstrates how to do it.

I’ve included Grandma’s original topping recipes at the end of the photos below.  She always made a big batch of dough and let me help her knead it.  She filled her cinnamon rolls with raisins she’d stemmed and walnuts she’s shelled from our farms.  Her kitchen smelled like HEAVEN on Saturday mornings!

Here’s how Grandma made her Kuchen toppings.  There are 2 different types of toppings.  The traditional one is written in the blue pen on the left. It calls for using dry bread crumbs and this makes a much nicer topping than using all flour. The other topping Grandma used on Apfel Kuchen. It’s more of a custard-type topping. Also very delicious! The recipe in the blue pen on the right is from Erika Hauff, one of our cousins in Grossgartach, Germany.

Here’s Grandma’s kitchen where all her baking took place:

We’d fill this table with sheet pans full of kuchen, dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls, then when they came out of the oven, they’d fill the counter space below the cupboards.

My dear Grandma Elsa: