The French Series : Kugelhopf

"Shed no tear! oh, shed no tear!

The flower will bloom another year.

Weep no more! oh, weep no more!

Young buds sleep in the root’s white core.

Dry your eyes! oh, dry your eyes!

For I was taught in Paradise

To ease my breast of melodies,—

Shed no tear.

Overhead! look overhead!

‘Mong the blossoms white and red—[...]"

Fairy Song, John Keats 

Sharing with you pictures from my weekend in Auvergne. This time, I decided to slow down. No Internet (except to study), no (unecessary) "phone time". Naps. Baths. Long strolls. 1-hour breakfasts. All the things I haven't got the time to do here in Paris (Versailles, same thing). Well I did take a lot of pictures with my phone...

It involved lots of trail running, cats and food. And friends. And art (actually only this painting). 

And this kugelhopf. Oh my. It tastes like the real stuff!

We love kugelhopf in my family. It's an Alsatian (Germand and Austrian too) type of brioche with raisins and flaked almonds. Perfect for the holiday season!

This kugelhopf marks the beginning of my new "French series". I would like to post more French recipes on the blog. Traditional recipes that would be vegan and gluten-free. I've put off doing it because the idea of vegan (no butter!) gluten-free food  is still  (unfortunately) very daunting for most French people. I've got a few recipes (only desserts...) on my list and would love to know which ones you would like me to post first. Or if you have any suggestions (especially for savoury dishes), please leave them in the comment section! Here's the list:

Financiers

Calissons

Creusois (hazelnut cake)

Madeleines

Lunettes de Romans

Pompe à l'huile

Clafoutis

Far aux pruneaux

My French recipes so far:

Tapenade

Socca

Palets de dame

Roses des sable

Ratatouille crumble

 on the road

 cats and the twin

 autumn food

trail running

trail running

 trail running

cauliflower crust pizza

trail running and sheep

 trail running, perfect weather

 this view...

November raspberries from the garden (thank you Nature!)

on the road

I've made this kugelhopf with a ready-to-use quinoa sourdough (not sourdough starter). If you can't find that, you can use one packet of GF dried yeast or (if you're very lucky) 20 g of  GF fresh yeast or your own GF sourdough (I've tried buckwheat and quinoa sourdough but I've killed them both...). You can use a bread machine too but you need to use a terracotta kugelhopf mould (no other options here... the pottery mould gives the cake a unique taste).

Kugelhopf
(vegan, gluten-free)

400 g brown rice flour
80 g arrowroot powder
50 g millet flour
20 g flax meal + 40 g water (leave to rest to form gel)
125 g vegan butter
4 g salt
50 g GF quinoa sourdough (I used this one)
40 g raw sugar
20 cl non-dairy milk (I used soy)

100 g raisins, pre-soaked in kirsch
80 g flaked almonds

In a small bowl, dissolve the quinoa sourdough into warm milk. Add 10g of raw sugar and allow to proof for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, sift the flours and mix them well.  Add the vegan butter, salt, 30 g sugar and your sourdough mixture and knead dough for 10-15 minutes. Cover bowl with a towel and let rise for 45 minutes (or more if you've got more time). Fold in the raisins and knead the dough again for 10-15 minutes. Butter a kugelhopf mould and sprinkle with flaked almonds. Place the dough in the mould evenly, cover and let rise for one hour. Preheat oven to 180°C, bake for 45 minutes or until browned. Let cool 10 minutes before unmoulding on a wire rack. Generously sprinkle with powdered sugar.

*20 g GF fresh yeast or one packet GF dried yeast.

Kugelhopf
(végétalien, sans gluten)

400 g farine de riz complet
80 g arrowroot en poudre
50 g farine de millet
20 g graines de lin moulue + 40 g eau (laisser reposer pour former un gel)
125 beurre végétalien
4 g sel
50 g levain de quinoa (j'ai utilisé ça)
40 g sucre complet
20 cl lait végétal (j'ai utilisé du soja)

100 g raisins secs, pré-trempés dans dur kirsch
80 g amandes effilées

Dans une petite tasse, dissoudre le levain de quinoa dans du lait chaud. Ajouter 10 g de sucre complet et laisser reposer 5 minutes.
Dans un saladier, tamiser les farines et les mélanger. Ajouter le beurre végé, le sel, 30 g de sucre et le levain de quinoa que vous avez préparé. Pétrir la pâte pendant 10-15 minutes. Couvrir le saladier avec un torchon propre et laisser lever 45 minutes (ou plus si vous avez du temps). Ajouter les raisins secs à la pâte et pétrir pendant 10-15 minutes. Beurrer un moule à kouglof (en terre cuite svp!) et parsemer d'amandes effilées. Mettre la pâte dans le moule et laisser lever pendant une heure. Préchauffer le four à 180°C et cuire 45 minutes ou jusqu'à ce qu'il soit bien doré. Laisser refroidir 10 minutes avant de démouler sur une grille à pâtisserie. Saupoudrer de sucre glace.