Savoury Kugelhopf

There are some recipes I am very glad I tried out and this is one of them. I saw this recipe on a fellow bloggers blog many years back and had meant to try it some day and boy am I glad I did.

Kugelhopf is traditionally a sweet bread or a yeasted cake from Europe. I have however made a savoury version following this blog post which inspired me. If I say so myself it was simply lovely, I can still taste it. Soon I will make the sweet version and I guess I will repeat this version too.

Let’s now see how I went about making it.

Ingredients

For the dough

3 cups refined flour,
2 teaspoons of instant yeast,
1 teaspoon of salt,
75 gms of butter at room temperature,
¾ cup of warm milk,
2 lightly beaten eggs

For the Filling

¼ a cup of chopped red bell pepper,
¼ a cup of chopped yellow bell pepper,
½ a cup of chopped onion,
½ a cup of shredded cheese (cheddar or any other sharp cheese),
½ teaspoon of red chilli flakes,
1 teaspoon of dried thyme or oregano,
1 teaspoon of crushed black pepper,
Salt to taste,
1 teaspoon of oil

Method

To make the dough

Take the refined flour, salt and instant yeast in a mixing bowl. Mix it well together. Add the softened butter and mix till the butter is well incorporated. Next add the warm milk and mix till it well blended.

Add the eggs at this stage and knead till it all comes together into a slightly sticky elastic dough. Transfer this into a well-greased bowl and keep covered till it doubles in volume.

To make the filling

Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and add the onions and the chopped bell pepper. Saute it around for a minute. Now add the required amount of salt and the spices and herbs. Stir fry until the onions and bell peppers are cooked. Turn off the heat and let it cool. Once cool mix in the cheese.  

To shape the dough

Grease the bundt pan with some oil.

Transfer the risen dough to a work surface. Punch it down to release the air and spread it with your fingers to form a square shape. Spread the filling mixture along the middle, fold the dough over the filling and then knead it. Knead it gently till the filling is well mixed into the dough. This step would be very sticky, but hold on there, the end product is worth all this.

Roll the dough into a long roll and fit it into your bundt pan like a large doughnut. Pinch the edges well to close the circle. Cover and let it rise again until the dough reaches the rim of the baking dish. The time for this will vary according to many conditions, like the temperature at your place and the quality of your yeast.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius and bake the kugelhopf for about 35 – 40 mins until the top is golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when tapped.

Unmold the kugelhopf from the pan and then let it cool on a wire rack. Slice and serve with breakfast or soup.