Bear claw
Pastry with almond paste filling
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A bear claw is a sweet pastry originating in the United States during the mid-1910s.[1][2][3][4] The name bear claw as used for a pastry is first attested on March 13, 1914 by the Geibel German Bakery,[1] located at 915 K Street in downtown Sacramento.[5][6] By the next year, bear claws were on the breakfast menu at German-owned Hamburger's Los Angeles, which was then the largest department store west of Chicago.
 | |
| Type | Pastry, doughnut or fritter |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | United States |
| Main ingredients | Dough, almond paste |
| Ingredients generally used | Raisins |
In Denmark, a bear claw is referred to as a kam[7] and in Germany as Kamm. France also has an alternate version of that pastry: patte d'ours (meaning bear paw), created in 1982 in the Alps.
Ingredients and shape
Most Danishes include the same basic ingredients such as eggs, yeast, flour, milk, sugar, and butter.[7] The bear claw is also made with "sweet dough" which is "bread dough with more shortening than usual".[8] One of the differences between most Danishes, besides taste, is seen in their shape.[7] A bear claw is usually filled with almond paste,[9] and sometimes raisins, and often shaped in a semicircle with slices along the curved edge, or rectangular with partial slices along one side.[10] As the dough rises, the sections separate, evoking the shape of a bear's toes, hence the name.[11] A bear claw may also be a yeast doughnut in a shape similar to that of the pastry.[11]
Production
A bear claw can be made by hand or by machine.[12] Bear claw can be hand-made by using a bear claw cutter that was invented in 1950 by James Fennell.[13] A 1948 patent describes the process of assembling the bear claw as rolling out the dough, layering filling onto it, folding the dough over, cutting small incisions to create the claw-like look, and finally cutting the dough into separate pastries.[12] The pastry can be curved into a half-circle at this point, which causes the "toes" to separate.[14]
Health and nutrition
Similar to other pastries, the bear claw is typically high in carbohydrates and fats. Example nutrition information can be seen from a version produced by the restaurant chain Panera Bread.[15]
See also
- Banket, an almond-stuffed pastry from the Netherlands
- List of almond dishes
- List of pastries
- List of regional dishes of the United States