Alsatian Kugelhopf Sweet Bread
A French specialty from the Alsace region often made as a holiday treat: slightly sweet yeasted bread with raisins or cranberries, baked in a ring pan with almonds on top the bottom and glazed with a simple syrup. Simply delicious!
A Christmas vacation! Not just a Christmas vacation but one with the entire family. Not just a Christmas vacation with the entire family but a Christmas vacation in the Alsace region of France. Not just a Christmas vacation with the entire family n Alsace, France, but in a magical walled medieval village, singing Silent Night in the town square at midnight as the nearby church bells rang. Okay, enough said. (Did I mention there were endless crepes involved?)
Well, on that trip we were introduced to Kugelhopf. Being so near to the German border and having been part of Germany at various times in history at the whims of war, Alsace is now decidedly France. But it is not surprising that the foods are a melange of the cuisines of both cultures.
Kugelhopf, a German word which indicates this sweetened bread flavored with raisins and almonds, is a perfect example. Similar to the Italian Panetonne, it is just sweet enough to make one wonder if it is a dessert or bread. Whatever you decde is fine - as you like. And I like mine with butter on it, as though it needs it. But I do take exception to the raisins and though there are only a few, raisins and I are not friends. However dried cranberries and I are. So that is an easy substitution I make.
Kugelhopf pans, are made specifically with a little divet in the bottom of each swirl in the pan, in which a whole almond is to be placed and the pan creates the perfect crown shape to be French! But the bread can easily be made in a tube pan or bundt pan. Just place slivered almonds in the bottom, and as many as you like. An easy bread to make, don’t let the yeast scare you. The trick is to be sure that the water you use to help the yeast rise is just tepid. The resulting crown of sweet bread is dramatic, tender and delicious. A slice is nice. Two are even better.
Alsatian Kugelhopf Sweet Bread
For the Dough:
2/3 cup raisins or dried cranberries
1/3 cup dried cherries - optional
1 ½ tablespoons apple juice or orange juice
3 ¼ cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 ¾ teaspoon instant dry yeast
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons milk, heated to lukewarm
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk
2/3 cup butter at room temperature, cut into pieces
12 - 20 whole blanched almonds
Hot Glaze
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup water
¼ teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
-Soak the raisins, cranberries and dried cherries with the apple (or orange) juice while preparing the dough.
-Stir the flour, sugar, yeast and salt by hand in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment. Add the milk and eggs and mix on low speed until most of the flour has been incorporated, then add the butter a few pieces at a time. Increase the speed by one level and knead the dough for about 5 minutes, until it becomes smooth and elastic.
-Add the soaked fruit and any excess juice and mix again until the fruit has worked in (you may have to pull the dough from the hook once or twice to better blend the fruit in.) Place the dough in a clean, ungreased bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave on the counter to rise until doubled, about 90 minutes, punching it down once halfway.
-Grease a Kugelopf pan or 10-12 cup bundt pan. Arrange the blanched almonds in a nice pattern at the base of the pan (often there are divots where the almonds fit in.) Turn the dough out onto a flour-dusted work surface and shape the dough into a smooth round ball, adding flour to your hands and the work surface as needed. Use your fingers to press a hole in the center and stretch it enough that it fits into the Kugelopf or bundt pan. Cover this with a tea towel and let rise until it rises up to two-thirds of the pan, about an hour.
-Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Bake the Kugelhopf for about 45 minutes, until there is a rich golden brown on the surface. While the Kugelhopf is baking, prepare the hot glaze. Bring the sugar and water to a full boil and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla or almond extract. Keep the glaze warm to use.
-As soon as the Kugelopf comes out of the oven, turn it out of the pan onto a cooling rack set over a baking tray. Spoon the hot glaze over the Kugelopf, getting it to completely drizzle over the bread – you can also use a brush to dip and brush the glaze in hard-to-reach places. Allow the Kugelhopf to cool completely.
-Slice into 1 inch slices to serve. Kugelhopf is best served within a day of baking. Serves 12 - 15
Once yeasted dough has risen, form into a loose ring.
Place ring of dough in a greased Kugelhopf mold or in a bundt pan and press in gently.
Once baked, allow bread to cool, then turn out of ring-mold so that almonds are on the top and glaze with the simple syrup.
Once bread is completely cool, slice into 1 inch slices to serve.
Kugelhopf is best served the same day it is baked. A lovely holiday bread for breakfast or brunch!
PERSNICKETY NOTES:
*Though Kugelhopf originated in Austria it has become a speciality of the Alsace region of France. Variations are also popular in Germany, Switzerland, Croatian and several other parts of Central Europe.
*Raisin are the traditional dried fruit, though some recipes call for dried cherries as well. I prefer dried cranberries, particularly for the holidays, which g so well with the hint of orange.
*Bundt pans work just fine for this bread, but if you are interested in using a traditional mold they are easy to find on Amazon and other online marketers, usually under the name of Kugelhopf Mold or Tin.
