Beard on Bread (21 page)

This is supposedly a recipe that Marie Antoinette took with her from Austria to France, where it became increasingly popular. It is traditionally baked in a special Kugelhopf mold, which gives it a festive look. Thus it makes a delightful holiday bread. Kugelhopf is an excellent coffee cake or breakfast bread, especially with fresh butter and honey. It can also be served topped with fruit, and it makes delicious toast indeed.

[1 Kugelhopf mold loaf]

Dissolve the yeast with the sugar in the warm water and let it proof. Sift the flour, putting 2 cups in each of two bowls. Set one bowl aside. Work together 2 cups of flour and the soft butter (this may be done in the electric mixer). Mix in the salt and the eggs, one at a time, beating until very thoroughly incorporated. In alternate batches, add the remaining 2 cups flour and the yeast mixture. Mix in the electric mixer or with a wooden spoon until thoroughly blended and elastic, then stir in the raisins. Put in a large, lightly floured bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1½ hours.

Punch the dough down. Heavily butter a standard 10-inch Kugelhopf mold or a 10-inch tube pan and sprinkle half the sliced almonds around the bottom of the mold (the butter will make them adhere). Pour or spoon half the dough into the mold, sprinkle in the rest of the almonds, and add
the remaining dough. Let rise again until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Bake in a preheated oven at 475° for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350° and continue baking until nicely browned, about 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for 3 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a cooling rack.

A very special Norwegian sweet bread baked in round loaves,
verterkake
takes its name from
verterol
, or brewer’s wort, one of the ingredients, which is a nonalcoholic beer very popular in Norway.
Verterol
used to be imported into this country, but since it is no longer available, dark beer can be substituted in its place. The bread is densely textured and has a highly interesting, spicy flavor, but I will tell you at the outset that the dough is difficult to work with. Therefore it is best to prepare it for the special occasions when you want a showoff loaf. It keeps extremely well, and is different enough from run-of-the-mill bread to warrant your mastering it. Serve it thinly sliced and well buttered, along with marmalade or jam.

The recipe comes from the Norwegian Government School for Domestic Science Teachers.

[2 free-form loaves]

Proof the yeast in the lukewarm milk. Add 2 cups flour and stir to make a soft dough. Put in a warm place for 35 to 40 minutes, until the dough has started to ferment and shows some signs of rising. At this point add the lukewarm syrup and the
verterol
or beer, which has been mixed with the spices, salt, and sugar. Add the remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, until the dough becomes supple, but just firm enough to hold its shape. (This step is crucial, because too firm a dough will not rise well, and too
soft a dough cannot be formed into stable loaves.) Cover and place in a warm, draft-free spot and let rise until doubled in bulk.

Punch the dough down, turn out on a floured board, fold in the raisins, and knead for a few moments. Then form into two round loaves. Place on a buttered and floured baking sheet, cover, and let rise until about doubled in bulk. Brush with hot water and prick rather lightly. Bake in a preheated 375° oven for about 45 minutes, until the crusts have become quite shiny (because of the syrup) and the loaves sound hollow when rapped on the top and bottom. Cool thoroughly before slicing, and keep refrigerated until ready to use.

If the loaves are brushed with a thin paste made with about 2 tablespoons potato flour and a little water, just before they are taken out of the oven, they will acquire a fine, even shinier crust.

• For an interesting variation, use finely cut oatmeal for a third of the all-purpose and rye flours in the recipe.

This traditional Jewish bread has lightness and a nice color. The loaves are formed with either three or six braids, glazed with egg, and sprinkled with poppy seeds. They emerge from the oven a rich golden brown attractively flecked with the seeds. Challah is not a sweet bread but a delicate, well-textured egg bread of some richness.

[2 braided loaves]

Proof the yeast in the lukewarm water in a large bowl. Add the sugar, salt, butter, eggs, and 5 cups of the flour, a cup at a time. Beat thoroughly with a wooden spoon or with the hands. Gradually add more flour until the dough is very stiff. Turn the dough out on a board sprinkled with flour. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, approximately 10 minutes.

Place the dough in a very large buttered bowl, and turn to coat the surface with butter. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1½ to 2 hours. Punch the dough down and divide into six equal parts. Roll each portion into a rope about 1 inch in diameter on a lightly floured board. Braid three ropes together to make two loaves. Place the breads about 6 inches apart on a buttered baking sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in bulk. Brush the tops of the loaves with the egg wash and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake in a preheated 400° oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the loaves sound hollow when tapped with the knuckles. Cool on racks.