Mandelbread
by Arthur Schwartz
from Jewish Home Cooking: Yiddish Recipes Revisited
(Ten Speed Press, 2008)
Makes two 15-by-4-inch loaves

This is from my mother's recipes files, in her own handwriting. I don't really know where she got it, but I suspect it was from a New York Post Passover section. The newspaper, when it was owned by Dorothy Schiff, from 1939 to 1976, was the favored paper of liberal-minded, middle-class Jews, and every Passover the paper had a huge special recipe section. Other New York City and suburban papers followed suit; there was so much Passover advertising available that it was irresistible to package the ads in a special section. But the Post's was always the biggest and best. I have several in my library, although I can't find this recipe in them.

Frankly, this mandelbread is not as satisfying as the mandelbread one makes with flour. It is particularly firm and crumbly, even though it is baked only once, not twice like regular mandelbread. But it is very welcome as a Passover treat, when observers often feel deprived of baked goods.

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1. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

2. To prepare the batter, in a small bowl, combine the cake meal, salt, potato starch, and cinnamon. Mix well. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the sugar and margarine on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce the speed to low and add the blended dry ingredients.

4. By hand, stir in the chocolate and nuts. Divide the dough in half and, on the baking sheet, form each into a long loaf about 2 inches wide.

5. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until firm. It will not be browned very much. Remove to a rack and let sit on the baking sheet until completely cool. When thoroughly cool, use a serrated knife to cut the loaves into 1/4-inch-thick slices.