Or Kougelhopf. Or Gugelhupf. There are so many regional names, and no one knows which was the original.
No one’s all that sure where the word “gugelhupf” even comes from (assuming for argument’s sake at the moment that it was the original word). This problem isn’t simplified by the fact that it’s spelled ten or fifteen different ways depending on where you are in central Europe — the twin epicenters of the cake apparently being the Rhine Valley and Austria. (Over the course of this posting I’m going to spell the name of the bread in every possible way… so pick the one you like best.)
The first part of the name may be derived from the Old High German word kugel, used for something ball-like or round, and related to the Yiddish/German word bugel for a round loaf of bread (maybe even, somewhat later, to the word “bagel”). Or it may have come from a similar middle-German word for a hood or headpiece. (This would connect in nicely with the legend that says the shape of the pan harks back to the ancient days when the Three Wise Men passed through Alsace on their way back from Bethlehem, and fascinated the locals with their strange new headwear style, the turban. Even now the gugelhupf is sometimes called “turban cake” in North America.)
Another legend suggests that the bread and its baking pan were invented in Austria, and were later brought to the French regions by Marie Antoinette. There may be something to this, because the bread and the baking pan or tin are known further east, across the lands of what later became the Austro-Hungarian Empire: the cake is called bábovka in the Czech Republic, babka in Poland, and kuglof in Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia. In any case, at least three centuries back, someone got the idea of baking sweet, brioche-like yeast breads in a deep fluted ring mold — possibly as a way of standardizing the size of the resulting loaves.
The original kugelhupf molds were made of glazed earthenware (and you can still find molds like this for sale in Alsace: the city of Strasbourg is a good place to find them, and many from the small town of Soufflenheim, where numerous potteries turn out the traditional design). But the most commonly found kougelhopf molds are made of metal: most big central European kitchen stores carry them. They are much deeper than their North American cousin the Bundt pan, which may be derived from them.
Wherever gugelhopf in any of its variations is baked, commercial bakers offer this bread in both the older sweet and newer savory versions every day. As a sweet bread, rich with eggs and butter and raisins, guglhupf is often served for breakfast or Sunday brunch, sometimes toasted. The savory version, usually featuring bacon, mildly hot spices, and sometimes cheese as well, is often served in cafés as a light snack with a glass of wine.
(By the way, other possible spellings for the cake include kuglof, kouglof, kougloff, kougelhupf, gouglof, and gouglhof. Just in case you felt the need for more…)
For the sweet Gugelhupf:
(Note: because this recipe produces a very soft dough, it works best if you make it using a mixer with a dough hook. It can still be made very nicely in a bowl and mixed by hand, but the kneading stage is going to be fairly hard work for a short time.)
Sift the flour into your mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Crack the eggs into this, add the yeast, and mix quickly until combined with the flour. Allow the whole business to rest for ten minutes.
After the resting period, sprinkle in the salt, add the milk, and mix with the dough. Add the softened butter and beat it into the dough. Beat with the dough hook or with a wooden spoon for about five minutes. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise for an hour in a warm place.
At the end of the rising time, beat the dough down slightly and stir the rum-soaked raisins into the dough until they’re evenly distributed. Butter the guglhupf mold very well, making very sure not to miss any of the ridges in the flutings (as those are always the places where a loaf will stick and tear if you miss a spot). Sprinkle the buttered mold with the chopped nuts. Carefully scoop the dough by spoonfuls into the mold, evening out the top, and allow it to rise in a warm place for another 30 minutes to one hour. The dough should rise to the edge of the mold before you bake it.
Preheat the oven to 200° C / 400° F (slightly lower if you have a fan oven). Bake the loaf in the center of the oven for approximately 40 minutes. When done, remove and allow to cool for 15-20 minutes before turning out on a rack to cool.
When cooled, shake powdered sugar / icing sugar over the kugelhupf to garnish.
Serve sliced at breakfast, plain or toasted. This also makes wonderful French toast.
For the savory gugelhupf:
Put the flour in your mixing bowl, make a well in the center, and put in the eggs and the yeast. Mix them quickly with the flour and allow to rest for ten minutes.
Add the salt and the milk, and mix well. Beat in the softened butter, then add the chopped bacon and chopped nuts. Beat with the dough hook or with a wooden spoon for about five minutes. Cover the bowl and allow to rise for about twenty minutes.
Butter the guglhupf extremely well, again being careful not to miss the deep grooves in any of the flutings. Spoon the dough into the mold, even out the top, and allow to rise for about an hour and a half, or until even with the top of the mold.
Preheat the oven to 200° C / 400° F (slightly lower if you have a fan oven). Bake the loaf in the center of the oven for approximately 40 minutes. When done, remove and allow to cool for 15-20 minutes before turning out on a rack to cool.
Serve slightly warm as an appetizer or snack with wine, beer or a sparkling wine.
