Kringel

Ingredients

Dough

• 600 gplain flour
• 10 ginstant yeast
• 1 tspsalt
• 100 gcaster sugar
• 250 mlwarm milk
• 2eggs
• 120 gbutter, softened
• 2 tspground cardamom, freshly ground

Filling

• 80 gbutter, softened
• 80 gcaster sugar
• 2 tspground cinnamon
• 150 graisins, soaked in warm water
• 50 gchopped almonds, if wanted

To finish

• 1egg, beaten
• 2 tbspflaked almonds
• pearl sugar, if you have it

Directions

1. Grind the seeds in a mortar just before you use them. Now the dough, which is enriched and soft. Warm the milk to blood temperature and no hotter. Put the flour, yeast, salt, sugar and ground cardamom in a large bowl.
2. Whisk them together so the cardamom is evenly distributed. Add the warm milk and the eggs and mix to a rough dough. Turn it out and knead it for five minutes. Add the softened butter a piece at a time. Knead each piece in fully before adding the next. The dough will go slippery and seem wrong for several minutes.
3. Keep working it and it will come back together, smooth and glossy. Adding butter at the start would stop the gluten developing. Knead for a further ten minutes after all the butter is in. Put it in an oiled bowl, cover it, and let it rise until doubled. This takes about an hour and a half in a warm kitchen.
4. Drain the soaked raisins and pat them dry. Wet raisins make the dough soggy and the roll slip apart. Beat the softened butter with the sugar and cinnamon. It should be a spreadable paste. Roll it into a large rectangle about fifty by forty centimetres.
5. Spread the cinnamon butter over the whole surface. Leave a bare strip along one long edge so it will seal. Scatter the raisins and almonds evenly over the butter. Roll it up tightly from the long side into a log. Pinch the seam closed along its length. Cut the log in half lengthways with a sharp knife. Cut right through so the layers are exposed on both halves.
6. Turn both halves so the cut sides face up. Lay one over the other to form a cross. Twist the two strands around each other, keeping the cut sides up. Work from the middle outwards to keep it even. Bring the two ends of the twisted rope together into a ring.
7. Press them firmly together and tuck the join underneath. Lift it carefully onto a lined baking tray. Use two spatulas, since it is fragile at this stage. Cover it loosely and prove it for forty-five minutes. It should look visibly puffed. Heat the oven to 180C while it proves. Brush it carefully with beaten egg, avoiding the cut faces. Scatter flaked almonds and pearl sugar over it.
8. Bake it for twenty-eight to thirty-two minutes. It should be deep golden and sound hollow when tapped underneath. Cover it loosely with foil if it browns too fast. Now cooling it, which needs a little patience. Serve it torn or cut into thick slices, with coffee. It keeps for two days wrapped and toasts well after that.

Technique

• Grind cardamom fresh from pods, since pre-ground loses its aroma within weeks.
• Add the butter after the first knead, or the gluten will not develop.
• Keep the cut faces upward when twisting, which is what shows the spiral.

Substitutions

• Sultanas or chopped dried apricot in place of raisins.
• Ground cinnamon alone if cardamom is unavailable.

Variations

• Made as a straight braid rather than a ring.
• With marzipan spread under the cinnamon butter.
• Plain, with no filling, as an everyday sweet bread.

History

Sweet plaited bread from Baltic German baking tradition, whose pretzel shape was once the guild sign hung outside a baker’s shop.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kringel?

Kringel is a bread & pastry from Estonia: braided cardamom-raisin birthday bread. Sweet plaited bread from Baltic German baking tradition, whose pretzel shape was once the guild sign hung outside a baker’s shop.

How long does Kringel take to make?

Kringel takes 40 min plus 2 hours rising of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1 large braid. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Kringel?

Yes, within limits. Sultanas or chopped dried apricot in place of raisins. Ground cinnamon alone if cardamom is unavailable.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kringel?

Spread the cinnamon butter over the whole surface. Leave a bare strip along one long edge so it will seal. Scatter the raisins and almonds evenly over the butter. Roll it up tightly from the long side into a log. Pinch the seam closed along its length. Cut the log in half lengthways with a sharp knife. Cut right through so the layers are exposed on both halves.