Alsatian Kugelhopf Bread
This classic Alsatian Kugelhopf recipe is flavored with raisins and raw almonds. It's a lighter brioche style bread popular during Christmas season, baked in special Kugelhopf pan.
Belula
November 03, 2021
This classic Alsatian Kugelhopf recipe takes some time to make, as do all good things, am I right? It is flavored with raisins and raw almonds, has a double fermentation process, plus an overnight stay in the fridge to properly develop all the flavors. It is then shaped and baked in a special Kugelhopf pan that gives this spread its beautiful shape. It finished off with a light almond syrup. This bread is popular in the Alsace region in France, as well as in many other central European countries such as Germany and the Czech Republic. This special bread is enjoyed all year round but its most popular around Christmas time! Hope you love it and make it over and over.
Ingredient & Utensils Notes
- Raisins: dried raisins are used in this recipe.
- Raw almonds for topping the Kugelhopf bread.
- Baker's yeast. It can be replaced by dry active yeast.
- Kugelhopf pan: a special pan for baking this bread to get that unique design.
How to make this recipe
To make this bread I recommend a stand mixer. Making Kugelhopf bread follows the principles of brioche making. According to them you need to knead your dough for no more than 15 minutes, usually in 3 stages:
- Develop the gluten in the dough to give it strength: knead all the ingredients (except of the butter) for 5 minutes.
- Add the first half of the butter: knead for 5 minutes.
- Add the second half of the butter: knead for 5 minutes. Until it starts to unstick from the sides of the bowl. Once the dough is done add the raisins and mix to combine.
Notes on the fermentation process
This recipe calls for 2 different fermentation stages:
- "Pointage" is the first step: transfer the dough into a plastic bowl with a little flower in the bottom. Cover with film wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
- Final Fermentation/proofing in the Kugelhopf pan: Shape the dough into one big ball. You can see how to shape bread in this video: Shaping Round Bread Loaves. Make a hole at the center of the ball, then place it in the pan with the smooth part side down. Let it ferment at 29 C°/84.2 F for 1.30 hours.
Baking tips
Bake at 170 C°/340 F for 40/45 minutes, until golden.
Don't open the oven door even if you really want to!
Remove from the pan immediately after removing from the oven by inverting the pan onto a wire rack. Brush with the light syrup and let it cool down at room temperature.
Recipe notes
- First rule of thumb in bread baking: salt and yeast must never touch directly. Add them in different sections of the mixing bowl.
- Butter must be added cold cut into small cubes.
- Temperature of the dough must not be higher than 22 C°/71.5 F at the end of the kneading process.
- If the room temperature is cold, the "pointage" time (first fermentation) should be longer, about 20 more minutes. Considering, that if you would this step in real fermentation chamber the temperature you need is 23 C° (73.5F).
- Second fermentation can take up to 2 30 hours, depending on the temperature of the room and the dough.
Experts Notes
- Fresh baker's yeast can be replaced by dry active yeast. To do so, multiply the fresh yeast by 0.44.
- To simulate the perfect conditions for proofing this Alsatian bread you can:
- Let the hot shower of the bathroom running for bit until there is steam in the room, then turn it off and place the Kugelhopf pan covered with a damp kitchen towel inside the bathroom.
- If you have an oven that has low temperatures, then you can place the pan, covered with a damp towel inside.
- You can also turn the oven on in the kitchen and make the room hot enough (use a thermometer to measure the temperature), then cover the pan with a humid kitchen towel and let it proof.
Storage tips
Keep at room temperature in a hermetic container. It keeps fresh for 2 days.
Freezer instructions
Let it completely cool down, cover in 2 or 3 layers of film wrap, place in a freezer container or bag and place in the refrigerator. It keeps for up to 1 month.
Let it completely cool down, cover in 2 or 3 layers of film wrap, place in a freezer container or bag and place in the refrigerator. It keeps for up to 1 month.
To defrost: Let it sit at room temperature, covered in film, overnight. You can pop in a 200 C°/400 C° oven for 5 minutes before serving.
Variations to this recipe
You can replace the raisins with chocolate chunks if you are not the raisin kind of person!
The ingredients used in all recipes on this site are measured using the metric system. I use a
scale to be precise with my measurements and ensure good results. If you would also like to use a scale, here are some:
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UK,
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Prep Time: 4 hours
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours 40 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Nutrition: 375 cal
Cuisine: French
Kugelhopf Bread
-
Bread Flour
250 g
-
Table Salt
5 g
-
Granulated Sugar
30 g
-
Baker's Yeast
15 g
-
Eggs
150 g
-
Butter
150 g
-
Dried Raisins
100 g
-
Lemon Zest
(the zest of 1 lemon)
1
-
Water
15 g
-
Almonds
50 g
Syrup
- 1. Make the Kugelhopf bread dough: Place the raisins in a small pan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then strain and cool down rapidly. Set aside. In the bowl of the stand mixer, dissolve the baker’s yeast into the water, add the flour and the lemon zest. In a bowl, mix the eggs, the salt, and the sugar. Add this mixture into the bowl of your stand mixer and mix using the hook attachment at low speed for 2 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl and then knead for an extra 3 minutes at medium speed, until the dough has come together. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add half of the butter (cold cut into small cubes) and knead at low speed for 5 minutes, until the butter has been incorporated into the dough. Once again scrape the sides of the bowl and then add the remaining half of the butter and continue to knead at medium/high speed until the dough starts to unstick from the sides of the bowl. Lower the speed and mix in the raisins.
- 2. Ferment the Kugelhopf bread: Transfer the dough into a plastic bowl with a little flower in the bottom. Cover with saran wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
- 3. Shape the Kugelhopf bread: Butter the pan and add 1 raw almond in each whole of the kugelhopf pan. Transfer the Kugelhopf dough onto a lightly floured surface and press it down with the palm of your hands to remove the air from the dough. Bring the edges of the dough onto the center, and then turn it around. Shape the Kugelhopf bread into a tight ball, make a hole at the center and place it inside the pan with the smooth side facing down. Let it proof for 1 hour and 30 minutes covered with a damp kitchen towel. Until the dough has risen to ¾ of the rim.
If you made this recipe I would really appreciate it if you leave a rating or comment below! Also, if you share on social media please use #cookwithbelula, I would love to see what you create!
