Tuesdays with Dorie: Kugelhopf (or Kugel-loaf??)
November 11, 2008 at 2:59 am | Posted in groups, sweet things, sweet yeast breads, tuesdays with dorie | 47 Comments
Yolanda, The All-Purpose Girl, chose Kugelhopf for TWD this week. Kugelhopf is made from a yeast dough, and I don’t have my KitchenAid– ack! In the absence of a dough hook, I knew I’d have to make a wooden spoon do the trick…something I was not looking forward to, trust me. Turns out, it was pretty easily do-able by hand, especially since I made half a recipe. Barely even broke a sweat. The kitchen in this place is pretty warm, so the dough rose nicley without me having to stress too much about what was (or wasn’t) going on inside the bowl.
Kugelhopf is traditionally baked in a special turban-shaped tube pan. I actually looked in several shops for a kugelhopf pan that would hold a half recipe, but I couldn’t find the right size…everything was too big. I decided that the half-sized loaf pan I already own would make a fine substitute.
Dorie says that kugelhopf is “part bread, part cake.” That may be true, but I definitely think that bread is the dominant gene here. Soft, sweet bread, with a beautiful golden sugary crust. I used dried cherries instead of raisins in mine. A little pat of butter, a sprinkle of powdered sugar, and yum-yum.
The recipe, of course, is in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. You can also find it here and in Yolanda’s post. Check out the TWD Blogroll to see what the rest of the group had to say!
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a whisk and a spoon 
I like your loaf version, it’s the cutest! I really wished I’d had some red fruits in the pantry to add to my kugelhopf, but alas I did not.
Comment by Mari— November 11, 2008 #
It looks good in a loaf shape. Nice to have you back in the States.
Comment by Heather Peskin— November 11, 2008 #
wow.. ur kugelhopf looks so good !! yummy !!
Comment by Jin Hooi— November 11, 2008 #
I agree about bread being dominant. It only looked like cake to me.
Glad you enjoyed it. Your loaf sure is pretty! 🙂
Comment by amanda— November 11, 2008 #
It looks wonderful! I’m envious! Mine didn’t turn out 😦 But, seeing successes, I am willing to try again.
Comment by HoneyB— November 11, 2008 #
Looks fabulous to me!! Love your dried cherry substitution – yum!!
Comment by VeggieGirl— November 11, 2008 #
Oh my, I can just imagine the smell hanging in the kitchen while this baby was baking!
Comment by nina— November 11, 2008 #
Your Kugelhopf looks beautiful! Love how you used a loaf pan–that is probably the route I should have taken, since my Bundt pan was way too big. And I agree–this was much more like a bread than a cake. Great job!!
Comment by HappyTummy— November 11, 2008 #
Oh this looks so yummy. I love how all your photos turn out.
Comment by Landa— November 11, 2008 #
Oh I like yours in a loaf pan! I used a bundt. Yours puts mine to shame and I HAD a mixer to use! Maybe I’ll try your tried and true way next time around.
Comment by Peggy— November 11, 2008 #
je n’ai jamais essayé avec des cerises séchées, mais ça devait être bon 🙂
Comment by isabelle— November 11, 2008 #
I am definitely going to try this with dried cherries next time! Yours looks beautiful- the loaf is actually quite practical!
Comment by Bria— November 11, 2008 #
YUM! Looks and sounds great! I loooooooooove dried cherries. My favorite are Archer’s Farms found at the beloved Target. 🙂
Comment by Janna from Honeyed Hashette— November 11, 2008 #
It looks wonderful.
Mine wouldn’t raise.
Comment by chocolatechic— November 11, 2008 #
ooh, dried cherries sound good! I did half the recipe by hand, too. Not as bad as I thought it might be! Yours looks great!
Comment by Jodie— November 11, 2008 #
Your loaf looks yummy! I may have to try that!
Comment by Kimberly— November 11, 2008 #
Your loaf looks good, but Dorie’s isn’t the real stuff 😉
Comment by Ulrike— November 11, 2008 #
I want to try this again with dried cherries…the raisins just didn’t give it enough of a kick. Yours looks gorgeous!
Comment by macduff— November 11, 2008 #
Looks very yummy! Nice job!
Comment by Jayne— November 11, 2008 #
I love the loaf idea, I had to improvise as well 🙂 And I totally want to try the cherries!
Comment by Stephanie— November 11, 2008 #
This looks great. Love the addition of dried cherries. And by hand! Wow! That’s great!
Comment by foodlibrarian— November 11, 2008 #
This looks delicious! I love your idea of making it in a loaf pan!
Comment by Leslie— November 11, 2008 #
What a trooper, mixing by hand! It must be either freeing? or unsettling to not have your ‘things’.
Comment by Lauren— November 11, 2008 #
It’s nice to know this works in a loaf pan, too. Good for you for making it without your mixer. I hope your kitchen stuff gets liberated from storage soon. =)
Comment by Di— November 11, 2008 #
I know what you mean – it was definitely more of a bread for me too, like a slightly sweet breakfast bread. I really like the loaf pan idea though – yours looks great! You are my hero for going old school on this recipe and not just passing – way to go!
Comment by Holly @ PheMOMenon— November 11, 2008 #
Wow, your loaf looks really delicious!
Comment by mybakingaddiction— November 11, 2008 #
The pat of butter on top is making my mouth water. Looks like it turned out great in the loaf pan!
Comment by Karen— November 11, 2008 #
that looks delicious! especially with the pat of butter!
Comment by Tammy— November 11, 2008 #
Your kugel-loaf looks yummy! I think a loaf shape works well with it. I loved this recipe. YUM!
Comment by pinkstripes— November 11, 2008 #
Maybe the turban BEFORE it is wrapped. Shape is nothing. Taste is everything. Glad you enjoyed it. Looks good.
Comment by teaandscones— November 11, 2008 #
OMW…this is gorgeous! It just goes to show you don’t need a lot of fancy pans to make great bread…yours is proof positive. Kudos to yours for doing that bread with a wooden spoon…it all turned out beautiful!
Comment by Kayte— November 11, 2008 #
You sure know how to make kugelhopfs look pretty! Yes, it does look more bready than cakey to me, perhaps even tastes as such. I was sick and decided to make banana cake instead . . less complicated and I was craving cake. Thanks for sharing your kugelhopf experience . . you are so dedicated, I love it. 😀
Comment by Sugar B— November 11, 2008 #
Agreed. This was a bread and maybe thats why I wasn’t a fan b/c I couldn’t get passed my cake deprivation. Your loaf looks lovely. Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Clara @ iheartfood4thought
Comment by CB— November 11, 2008 #
Ooh. Nice.
Comment by rainbowbrown— November 11, 2008 #
The loaf pan shape looks wonderful and makes the bread so much more French Toastable.
Comment by Carol Peterman— November 11, 2008 #
Oh, I envy your warm kitchen! The rising took FOREVER here.
Comment by Rebecca— November 11, 2008 #
That looks just phenomenal. 🙂 Dried cherries! How could you lose?
Comment by Milly— November 12, 2008 #
I think it works perfectly in a loaf pan! Makes the toasting (which I thought was the best part!) easier. It looks fantastic, and I love the addition of dried cherries!
Comment by Cathy— November 12, 2008 #
Love that big pad of butter!! The cake is amazing!
Comment by Maria— November 12, 2008 #
ooh, dry cherries in sweet bread, sounds divine.
Comment by annie— November 12, 2008 #
Beautiful, Steph… I feel so redundant when I come here!
Hey, when you got it… you simply got it.
Comment by Vibi— November 12, 2008 #
I love love love your loaf variation. I think it is way prettier than a bundt pan. Of course those “Special K” pans are beautiful. However, unless you are a bread fiend and Know that you like Kugelhopf, might be a good testing pan. Yes? Anyway, your photos are lovely.
AmyRuth
Comment by Amy Ruth— November 12, 2008 #
Your loaf sounds so fabulous. I wish I would have thought of this… way more practical than a bundt!
Comment by Melissa— November 13, 2008 #
That looks really yummy! Loaf sounds tasty.
Comment by Jules— November 14, 2008 #
WOW – this cake looks wonderful – my first visit to your site and I love it – i subscribed to your feed and cannot wait for more posts.
zesty
Comment by zestycook— November 17, 2008 #
My mother used to make kugelhopf regularly and without a bundt pan. In German a kugel is an orb, like a marble, and hopf was translated to me as a “hoop”.
I found this on line –
The origin is equally in dispute. In English we call the baking pan that forms this specialty a Turk’s-head mold, which is a clue. The kugelhopf is as popular in Germany and Austria as it is in Alsace, and one story says it originated in Vienna when the Hapsburg forces defeated the Turks at the city’s gates. In celebration, Viennese bakers supposedly made a cake in the shape of the sultan’s turban.
I think your loaf looks great.
Comment by pr— November 19, 2008 #
is it possible, you meant the German “Gugelhupf”?
the pictures look so delicious 🙂
Comment by elisa— December 29, 2008 #