TWD ~ Kugelhopf

It’s Friday and you’re reading my blog so that must mean it’s Tuesday! Yeah folks, I’ve been a bit of a slacker this week and didn’t get this post out until now. I PROMISE I will do better next week!

Dorie brings gifts of breakfast treats this week through our friend Yolanda at The All-Purpose Girl with the Kugelhopf. Here’s another recipe to add to the list of recipes that I’d probably would have never tried if it weren’t for all the great people at Tuesdays With Dorie helping me break out of my proverbial baking box.  

For those of you who like to learn a little of the historical background, sit for a spell and I’ll tell you a tale, otherwise look for the next pic for details on my journey into yeasted-cake goodness. As you may have noted from Dorie’s book, the Kugelhopf reportedly originated in the Alsace region of France. Some stories stem from the tale of the same Austrian bakers who conjured up Rugelach in celebration of victory over the Turkish siege of Vienna, hence the Turk’s-head Kugelhopf mold. It’s rumored that Marie Antoinette, an Austrian herself, brought the yeasted confection to France when she married Louis-Auguste. This story should be filed away as a colorful legend of the cake’s history though, since there are some references to the cake being introduced during an earlier period in France’s history.

As with many other recipes, you can find a variety in many European and Eastern European countries. I came across one article that felt that the Polish version of Kugelhopf was Babka and I’d have to agree, at least as far as the crumb texture goes. Traditionally Kugelhopf is baked in a special circular mold that is reminescent of the Bundt, yet still has its own unique character. These molds were customarily made from enamelled pottery, but now you can find non-stick aluminum and even silicone versions. After a number of searches using a variety of keywords, I finally came across one online source that is offering a traditional ceramic Kugelhopf mold. I love the red one and regardless of whether I was planning on making another Kugelhopf, I’d love to get this pan just to have on display in my kitchen it’s so pretty. (I know there has to be other sources out there. If anyone has another let me know!) Soak your raisins in kirshwasser, a cherry brandy, if you want to go for a more authentic recipe. Or wait one day before serving to achieve the right texture to better soak up coffee as the Alsatians do.

I ended up using my $6 copper colored bundt pan score from ebay. There is a historical connection between the bundt and kugelhopf pan so I don’t feel like I’m betraying the tradition too much. I agree with Mimi Sheraton, the author of this article, that the Kugelhopf is closer to a bread than a cake. If you want to read more about the traditions of the Kugelhopf I strongly recommend taking a look at that article.

Here’s my dough all wrapped up and ready to rise. I made the mistake of not proofing my yeast before dumping the flour in. Not that I think it was bad yeast, but it just seemed to take forever to rise and I thought maybe it was due to older yeast. Maybe this is a characteristic of this recipe, but when I make Babka rising takes half as long. Here is the texture before the first rise:

Oh, and just to let all of you who are standing mixer-less who think you can’t make something like this or brioche – you can! You have to have perseverance and stamina, but it can be done by hand. I’ve made a couple of recipes of brioche (way harder, at least in terms of mixing) and now this. Granted I was stirring for close to twenty minutes, but the way I look at it is that I’m getting in some exercise.

I can’t remember how long I waited for the first rise. I’m glad I took a bunch of pictures before, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to tell that the thing rose or not. I didn’t put my dough in the fridge right away per instruction after the first rise. The idea of that made me uneasy. Everything I’ve read about yeasted dough says that the cold actually retards rising, and according to the recipe you’re supposed to let it rise several times, punching it down every thirty minutes. Sticking it in the cold just didn’t seem to jive. I did end up throwing it in the fridge for maybe an hour, but even before I stuck it in the fridge it hardly rose a bit and nearly not at all in the cold. After the fridge I dumped the dough into my pan sprayed with Baker’s Joy. I know some swear by butter, but I’ve never had any problems with Baker’s Joy. I turned my oven on for a bit and set the pan on top of the oven to rise the last time. I’ve read about this trick when you’ve got a problematic dough that just won’t seem to rise. I repeat, I put the pan on top of the oven NOT in it. It took a couple of hours and only got about halfway up the pan. I’m not sure if I didn’t this right by a long shot, but I was still happy with the results.

After reading some of the comments about a bland taste on the Tuesdays With Dorie website I decided to try a browned butter soak to add a little flavor. I was pretty liberal with the sugar coating as well, just check out that glistening crust:

I’m not sure how it would have tasted without the browned butter, but it was pretty delish with it. I probably used a bit too much sugar in the crust at least in regards to the display of the cake because while it was glistening at night, it looked like it had a coating of ice in the daylight. Tasted great though, so I probably wouldn’t change anything!