I have to admit, baking has taken a back stage at my home right now. It is after all Summer and we spend more time out than in. Grilling food and eating on the patio or packing a picnic is what we enjoy doing. So this Savory ( Savoury for the rest of the English world ) Kugelhopf came at the right time. I hadn’t baked in a while so it was a good project to work on. And since summer is also a time when I do tend to rise earlier than usual, making this bread early in the morning to bring it to hubby’s work buddies to enjoy with coffee was a bonus.
When you hear the term Kugelhoph, a sweet, tall, raisin and nut filled yeast cake comes to mind. But this one is a bit different. It is a savory Kugelhopf. And it is as good as the sweet one and in my opinion actually better because as you know – I do have a thing or two for savory.
So I baked this from start to finish one morning and packed some for hubby’s work buddies, packed a little to enjoy with my daughter at the neighborhood lake. It was almost divine. Baking a fresh bread does that. It feels completely satisfying to have made and shared a good loaf of bread.
Savory Kugelhopf – We knead to Bake #7
Ingredients
- 3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 75 gm butter at room temperature
- 3/4 cup milk
- 2 eggs beaten lightly
- 1 tsp oil
- 1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1 /2 cup onions finely chopped
- 1/2 cup diced Gouda
- 1/3 cup walnuts
- 1 1/2 tsp coarsely crushed black pepper
- 2 Tbs fresh Thyme
- 1 C Turkey Bacon crisped up and chopped
Instructions
- Put 3 cups of flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl of the stand mixer
- Stir to mix.
- Add in the butter, a little at a time, and process till all butter is incorporated.
- Add the warm milk , gradually and mix well.
- Add the eggs and stir in to mix.
- You will now have a soft and sticky dough. Knead some more, adding more flour, a little at a time and just enough till the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Do not add more flour than absolutely necessary.
- Once the dough is soft, elastic and just short of sticky, transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover and let it rise until double in volume. ( about 1 - 2 hours)
Make the filling
- Heat the oil in a pan. Add the chopped green bell pepper, onions and salt and stir-fry till tthe onions are transparent. Keep aside.
Assemble the Kugelhopf
- Grease an 8” kugelhopf mold or bundt pan well especially around the center. Place some of the chopped walnuts in the bottom of the mold.
- Once the dough has risen, punch it back.
- Then add the cheese, stir-fried onions, bell pepper, bacon and the remaining walnuts, black pepper and thyme into the dough.
- The easiest method is to just knead it into the dough. After that roll the dough into a log, long enough to fit into the mold comfortably.
- Place the dough log in the mold in a circular fashion and pinch the ends together
- Cover and let the dough rise for about an hour or so, until it reaches the edge/ rim of the mold.
- Bake the Kugelhopf at 200C (400F) in a Pre-heated oven to 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and sounds hollow when it is tapped.
- Wait a few minutes before unmoulding, then let it cool ( as with any bread) before slicing.