Traditional German Dinner Menu – 4 Authentic Recipes for a Complete German Meal
Michael and I have been exploring our German heritage by trying authentic German recipes in Cheryl’s kitchen. After looking through several traditional dishes, we selected four recipes to prepare for a homemade German dinner meal.
Our menu included:
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German Roggenbrot (German Rye Bread)
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German Beef Goulash (Rindergulasch)
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Traditional German Spaetzle
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German Apple Cake (Apfelkuchen)
Last Friday, we decided it was the perfect day to cook the entire meal from scratch.
After taking our grandkids to school that morning, we came home and got started. I began making the Roggenbrot bread dough while Michael started entering the recipe into our recipe app and taking photos of each step.
While the bread dough was rising, I began preparing the German beef goulash. As I worked through each step of the recipe, Michael continued taking pictures so we could share the full cooking process.
By the time the goulash was ready to simmer, the bread dough had finished its first rise and was ready to punch down and shape into loaves. While the loaves rested for their second rise, it was time to go pick up the grandkids from school.
After giving the kids a snack, we got back to work in the kitchen.
The bread went into the oven while we started prepping the apples for the Apfelkuchen (German apple cake). Once the apples were peeled, sliced, and sitting in lemon water, we started mixing the cake batter. The cake was ready to bake just as the bread was finished and the goulash was ready to come off the heat.
I removed the bread from the oven, put the cake in to bake, and transferred the goulash to a saucepan to keep warm until supper time.
Once the cake finished baking and was cooling on the counter, I started making the dough for the traditional German spaetzle. I put a large pot of salted water on to boil and finished mixing the spaetzle dough with a wooden spoon until it was ready to cook.
When the spaetzle was finished, it was finally time to eat. I brought the goulash back up to a gentle boil, sliced the fresh bread, and set the table.
Needless to say, we had a full day of prepping and cooking. For every recipe I made, Michael photographed the process and entered the recipes into the app so I could edit and publish them later.
By the end of the day we were tired, but we truly enjoyed the meal we had prepared together.
We also decided that next time we make a full meal like this, we might prepare some of it the day before. The bread and the cake could easily be baked ahead of time and warmed up for dinner, which would make the cooking day a little easier.
This was definitely a cooking adventure for both of us.
If you decide to try one or all of these recipes, let us know how you liked them!
Roggenbrot (German Rye Bread)
German Beef Goulash (Rindergulasch)
Traditional German Spaetzle
German Apple Cake (Apfelkuchen)
Have you ever tried cooking a full traditional German meal at home, and which of these recipes would you try first?
