question about yeast in a recipe

The yeast belongs there if the dough is meant to be sweet buns that cradle the filling and puff up around it in cooking, as opposed to other recipes for flat cookie-like kolachke which don't rise and work more like tulipe baskets to hold fillings.

I have a collection of recipes from my grandmothers, greatgrandmothers, aunts, great aunts, great great aunts... One thing that impresses me greatly about them is how much important information was left out of them! It wasn't that they wished the next generation of recipe users ill luck or anything like that. It was because a great deal of paper, ink and time could be saved by not reiterating directions which were at the time common knowledge to every housewife and housewife in training*. In my grandma's day, everybody knew that yeast dough had to rise twice before baking. I suspect that is the case with your grandmother's recipe for kolachke.

The yeast belongs there if the dough is meant to be sweet buns that cradle the filling and puff up around it in cooking, as opposed to other recipes for flat cookie-like kolachke which don't rise and work more like tulipe baskets to hold fillings.

I have a collection of recipes from my grandmothers, greatgrandmothers, aunts, great aunts, great great aunts... One thing that impresses me greatly about them is how much important information was left out of them! It wasn't that they wished the next generation of recipe users ill luck or anything like that. It was because a great deal of paper, ink and time could be saved by not reiterating directions which were at the time common knowledge to every housewife and housewife in training*. In my grandma's day, everybody knew that yeast dough had to rise twice before baking. I suspect that is the case with your grandmother's recipe for kolachke.

In my grandma's day, everybody

But my grandmother used to make these with us, and we never let them rise at all, that's why I can't figure out why the yeast is in them. It's not that it doesn't say to let it rise, but that when she was "teaching" my dad how to make it, she never had him let it rise. Just doesn't make sense to me. Jenn.

Hmmmmm. When your grandmother made them, did they come out crisp and cookie-like or puffed and bread-like?

There are versions of kolacky that contains yeast. Maybe your grandma got confused with the other recipes and knowing other recipes contain it she just have to add it to her recipe without understanding its purpose. Have a look at these:

-- If we do not change direction, we'll end up where we're headed.

-Lao Tsu

They're not bread like, more like a cookie, but not quite crisp. Like I said, when I get to making them again, sometime here in the next few days or so, I'm going to try them w/o the yeast and see how it works out. It just doesn't make any sense to me to have it in there! Jenn. W.

I looked at these recipes, thanks. And I've seen other w/o yeast, too. I don't know why my grandmother didn't let them rest if there was yeast in them. Just doesn't make any sense to me, but oh well. I have a few other recipes for them I thought I'd try, too, at some point. I don't know where she got her recipe from, if it was an old family recipe that she was just "remembering" at the time she gave it to my parents, or what! Anyway, thanks for the help! Jenn. W.

-- If we do not change direction, we'll end up where we're headed.

-Lao Tsu

grandmother

Maybe it was just for flavor. Your grandmother probably used fresh yeast. It has a distinct flavor.

Ok, that could be, too, I suppose. I know it's got that good smell! (I LOVE the smell of bread rising!) Jenn. W.