French Food friday - Kugelhopf

 

One of the stories about the origins of this brioche, states that this  Alsatian brioche actually comes from Bethlehem. 

A Wise Man, while exiting the nativity scene, had forgotten his hat, a turban in gold thread set with diamonds, and almond-shaped. This headgear would then have been brought back to Strasbourg by a crusader who  gave it to a local baker who used it  as a baking tin.

It is delicious and you can eat it for breakfast, as an afternoon snack or after dinner. If you are more savory than sweet you can replace  the sultanas with bacon pieces.

Kugelhopf

Ingredients 

500g flour

25g bread yeast

200 mls milk

125g butter

100g sugar

80g dried Sultanas 

2 eggs

50g almonds

10g salt

Directions

Crumble the bread yeast in 100 mls of lukewarm milk, add 100g of flour and mix until getting a slightly soft dough: this in called the levain or starter. Let it rise in a lukewarm place.

Soak your sultanas in lukewarm water or you could use rum or kirsch if you prefer.

In a bowl, knead vigorously the flour, the eggs, the rest of the milk, the sugar and the salt for about 10 minutes, until the dough doesn’t stick anymore.

Incorporate the softened butter and the levain, which should now have doubled in volume. Work on the dough a bit more,  cover it with a cloth and then let it rise for one hour in a lukewarm place.

 

After this time, knock back the dough and incorporate the drip-dried Sultanas.

Grease the Kugelhopf mould, put two almonds per groove at the bottom and pour the dough in the mould.

Let the dough rise a second time, until it rises above the edge of the mould.

Put in the oven at 180°C and bake it for about 40 minutes.

Bon appetit ♥

Leeann x