TWD: Kugelhopf

Unlike many of the other TWD bakers, I did not have any problems with my kugelhopf this week. Even making only half a recipe, there were no difficulties – the dough came together nicely, dried sour cherries replaced the ubiquitous raisins, the first rise took less than 90 minutes, the stay in the refrigerator went fine (no partying over night), and the final rise went smoothly.

Well, more or less.

I had this brilliant idea, you see. Because I had a guild board meeting this morning, I figured it would be a perfect time to do the final rise, since I would be gone about 3 hours. Only, I was gone nearly 4, so the poor dough was basically overproofed by the time I arrived back home. As I walked in the door, I could smell a slightly yeasty aroma wafting through the air. Hmmm, I said to myself, I wonder what that’s from. (Duh, can we say ‘momentarily clueless’?) Oh, right, ack! the kugelhopf. The kugelhopf that should have been in the oven an hour ago.

Not to worry, though. I heated the oven, put it in to bake, and 25 minutes later I had a lovely kugelhopf. The major change I made was the pan. I don’t have the prescribed pan, and my bundt pan would have been too large, so I ended up using my Wasserbadform pan, which was only a tiny bit too large, but more contained than the bundt pan. Anyway, the end result was just fine.

I brushed the hot kugelhopf with melted butter and sprinkled on the granulated sugar. As it cooled, a nice crust formed on the outside. After dinner, I was finally able to cut a slice. I really liked the yeasty flavor, the tang of the sour cherries, and the open texture.

To me, this is more bread-like than cake-like, a definite cousin of brioche. Adding some lemon zest would really add a pop to the overall taste, I think. Maybe a bit more salt. So, now I will be on the lookout for a kugelhopf pan so I can make this again and do the full recipe with a few changes.

Thanks to Yolanda of The All-Purpose Girl for choosing such a challenging recipe. I know the other TWD bakers will have much to say about this one!