Tuesday, November 11, 2008

It's a bread! It's a cake! It's Kugelhopf!



One of the things I love about Tuesdays with Dorie is that it makes me bake things that I might not otherwise try for a long time.  Who knows how long I would have been intimidated by brioche if it hadn't been for Peabody and the Brioche Raisin Snails? =)  And after making brioche (twice, since we also made Sticky Buns),  kugelhopf wasn't bad at all.  


Both brioche and kugelhopf are yeast breads enriched with butter and eggs.  But for the kugelhopf, I got to buy a cool new pan!  Dorie says that the cake can be made in a regular bundt pan in a pinch, but I'm not all that thrilled with the bundt pan I have, and I've been looking for a good reason to invest in a better one.  So on our way home from grocery shopping Friday night, Brianna and I stopped by Sur la Table.  We also came away with one of these for Brianna.   (Chocolatechic, that one's for you. =)  )


This recipe is definitely not a quick, throw-it-together-at-the-last-minute sort of thing.  First you have to mix and knead the dough, which can take a while (though at least your mixer can do most of the work).  Then it can take a couple hours to rise, which isn't surprising with an enriched dough like this.  Then into the fridge it goes for an overnight rest.  In the morning, you transfer the dough to a kugelhopf or other pan and let it rise again.  Since the dough is so cold to start, I definitely recommend finding a nice warm spot for it.  Warming up your oven just a bit then turning it off before placing the pan inside works quite well.  Once the dough has risen almost to the top of the pan, you take it out to preheat the oven.  The actual baking time isn't too bad--about 25 minutes for mine.  The only problem I had was that there wasn't really enough dough for my mixer to knead well.  I think I'd be better off doubling the recipe and then freezing half the dough for later.  

A few notes I forgot when I was writing this last night...  I used 4 1/2 ounces as my weight for a cup of flour.  I used instant yeast instead of active dry, and cut it back to about a teaspoon.  Since I was using instant yeast, I mostly ignored Dorie's mixing instructions.  I mixed the dry ingredients together in my mixer with the paddle.  Then I whisked the milk and eggs together and mixed them into the flour mixture.  I switched to the dough hook and worked in the butter, then kneaded the dough for about 10 minutes.  Then I stirred in the raisins.


The verdict?  I really enjoyed it.  Brianna tasted it, but didn't care for it; no surprise there.  Gillian liked it just fine.   Jamie liked it, but expected it to be sweeter.  Of course, maybe it would have been if I hadn't forgotten to put the powdered sugar on it.  Oops.  I'd like to try a few changes next time, though.  I think a bit of nutmeg in the dough would be tasty.  And it definitely needed more raisins (or other dried fruit, for all you raisin-haters =) ).  I did try Dorie's suggestion of toasting some leftover bread/cake and putting jam on it--that was really tasty.

This week's recipe was chosen by Yolanda of The All-Purpose Girl.  You can find the recipe on her blog.  And don't forget to head on over to the TWD blogroll to see how everyone else fared this week!


28 comments:

  1. Oh, the pan envy! Your cake looks perfect.

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  2. Your kugelhopf looks perfect. Nicely golden and crispy, it reminds me of a sugar doughnut (although not as sweet!).

    I loved this recipe. YUM!

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  3. It definitely took some effort to make this...well more like time, not effort. Fun that you bought the pan, I just used Brioche molds. Yours tuned out so very nice.

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  4. I've got pan envy too! The lines of your kugelhopf are gorgeous! I spiced mine up with cinnamon and cardemom, because it sounded plain, and added extra dried fruit too. It really improves the recipe.

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  5. It looks great, Di. I just know now that I'm going to be reading all of the blogs that I will feel guilty for not baking this. But, there are plenty of other recipes waiting for me in the future, right? Wonderful job.

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  6. il est maginifique :) j'aime beaucoup la forme!

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  7. Beautiful job!! My whole household liked this one. And now I need to get a real kugelhopf pan.

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  8. Pink spatulas....oh..my..goodness!!!

    Your cake/bread looks so great.

    Mine didn't turn out as well...maybe it is because I don't have pink spatulas.

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  9. In Austria a Guglhupf is a cake you eat for breakfast and in the afternoon with coffee

    Great pictures and a nice pan.

    Ulrike from Küchenlatein

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  10. It's not a cake in my book, but glad you liked it. I think it needed something as well.

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  11. I am jealous of your Sur La Table shopping excursion! I am with Brianna. It wasn't a favorite but glad you and the other kiddies enjoyed it!
    Clara @ iheartfood4thought

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  12. Wonderful pan! I love sur la table...an adult toy store. this looks great!

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  13. I agree about the pan envy! It really does look fun and pretty to bake it all tall and gorgeous in there. Great job!

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  14. Wow, that's stunning! I'm putting that pan on my Christmas list, and since Santa loved the cake I'll bet he'll agree that I need it! Mine was tall too, and I like that aspect. Next time I'm adding a LOT more sugar to the crust.
    Nancy

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  15. You FOUND a pan. Lucky you! Not the luck of us Southerners in small towns. The cake/bread looks beautiful!

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  16. Okay...I had decided that I really didn't NEED a new pan, that the bundt pan was lovely, that it would be a better use of resources just to have the one pan serve both needs, but then I came over here and saw YOUR Kugelhopf and it looks so beautiful from that pan and it slices so wonderfully with that mold, and well...I am just going to NEED one of those pans. Christmas. Christmas list is definitely going to have this on it. And, since I have boys here all the time, we have no pink, I am thinking I need one of those pink glittery spatulas also. Maybe two in different sizes. Your blog is costing me a fortune! LOL. Seriously wonderful Kugelhopf...yours is absolutely gorgeous. Great post.

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  17. Oh my - your kugelhopf looks spectacular. I may have to rethink getting a pan!

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  18. Your pan is way too cool. Glad you liked this one.

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  19. the pan is perfect! i am so going to have to get a bundt pan!!

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  20. Yours looks great! Very pretty.

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  21. What a beautiful pan! I wanted to buy a new pan, so jealous! Your kugelhopf looks perfect!

    PSSS I did the heat the oven up, turn it off and place the dough in it, still didn't rise!

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  22. I LOVE your new pan! And my goodness, your cake looks spectacular! So tall and regal! And a pink spatula for Brianna -- well, that sounds like a perfect day all around. I agree that it needs more raisins, and I LOVED this with jam.

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  23. Ohhhh the only way I would try this again is if I had your pan! How beautiful it turned out.

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  24. Oh now I want that pan. It's awesome and your kugelhopf looks great.

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  25. Can't remember if I commented here already but WOW I love the looks of that kugelhopffff. I've seen so much of it but it looks so yummy! Love the turban pan! :D

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  26. Vote number ? for Pan Envy.....Yours is soo beautiful.
    Glad you had positive responses. Thats so fun.
    Yep toasted with jam was my fav too.
    Happy Baking
    AmyRuth

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  27. i love the pan you got - worked great for this! glad you liked it, though i am with brianna...didn't really care for it

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  28. Talk about pretty! Yours came out perfect!

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