”Kougelhopf is a conventional bread from the Alsace area of France and is just like a brioche however made in a particular, fluted tube pan and with extra mix-ins. The true origins of the bread are arduous to hint, however it’s well-liked throughout Germany, Switzerland, and France. While it’s made in many various variations, the preferred is made with almonds and dried fruit. My small-batch model sticks to raisins for the dried fruit and provides a splash of rum for a kick. While many variations of the bread are completed with a beneficiant dusting of confectioners’ sugar, I prefer to brush these mini loaves with a bit melted butter after which coat them in granulated sugar, giving them an nearly doughnut-like crust.” —Edd Kimber
Edd Kimber’s Small-Batch Kougelhopf
Makes 6 breads
Kougelhopf Dough:
- ½ cup (64 grams) raisins
- ¼ cup (60 ml) rum
- ¼ cup (60 ml) water
- 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour, plus extra for flouring
- ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 2¼ teaspoons (7 grams) lively dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon (3 grams) kosher salt
- ¼ cup plus 1 teaspoon (65 ml) entire milk
- 1 giant egg (57 grams)
- 5 tablespoons (70 grams) unsalted butter, cubed, room temperature
- Zest of 1 giant orange (about 10 grams/1 tablespoon)
Coating:
- ¼ cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
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For the dough: Add the raisins, rum, and water to a small saucepan over medium warmth, and prepare dinner till nearly all of the liquid has cooked off and the raisins are plump. Take away from warmth, and let the raisins with liquid cool to room temperature. (In order for you extra of a boozy observe, you’ll be able to merely cowl the raisins within the rum and depart for a day or so to permit them to take in the rum slowly.)
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Add the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer, and whisk collectively to mix. Pour within the milk and egg, and beat on medium-low velocity utilizing the dough hook till a shaggy dough is shaped. Scrape dough hook and backside and sides of bowl. With the mixer on medium-low velocity, knead the dough for 12 to fifteen minutes or till the dough is easy and elastic.
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With the mixer nonetheless working, add the butter one piece at a time. Proceed beating the dough for as much as one other 10 minutes or till the butter has totally been integrated and the dough is as soon as once more easy and elastic.
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Tip within the orange zest and the soaked raisins with liquid, and knead simply till evenly distributed all through the dough. Tip the dough out onto a calmly floured work floor, and type right into a ball. Place the dough right into a calmly greased bowl, cowl, and put aside for about an hour or till doubled in measurement.
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Tip the dough out onto a calmly floured work floor, and divide into 6 parts (about 100 grams every). Type each bit of dough right into a neat ball, cowl, and depart while you put together your pan.
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Evenly grease a 6-well mini Bundt pan with a bit softened butter or baking spray with flour.
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Utilizing your fingers or the tip of a wood spoon, poke a small gap by means of the center of every ball of dough, as if making a bagel, and place within the ready pan. Loosely cowl the pan with plastic wrap or a moist kitchen towel, and put aside till doubled in measurement, 30 to 45 minutes.
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Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
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Bake for about 10 minutes or till golden brown. Enable to chill within the pan for a couple of minutes, after which rigorously invert them onto a wire rack to chill sufficient so you’ll be able to deal with them.
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For the coating: Brush the kougelhopfs with melted butter, after which roll in sugar to coat them fully. Finest served heat. These will hold for two to three days in a sealed container.
