Foodiva's Kitchen: Rosemary Garlic Flaxseed Kringel Bread

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Rosemary Garlic Flaxseed Kringel Bread

The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight.
~ M.F.K. Fisher

I only just realized that this blog had surpassed its 2 year anniversary last May, but with with everything that was happening in my life around that time, it had completely slipped my mind. So yay, happy belated 2nd blogoversary to my baby, Foodiva's Kitchen! What better to commemorate the occasion than with a bread post? Now those of you who have been following this blog know that I am ever so slightly obsessed with beautiful breads, especially the baked, yeasty kinds. I blame it all on my time in Europe, when I found it quite impossible to walk past a bakery everyday without being drawn in by the waft of the freshly baked loaves. Oh, and walking out with at least one each time! 


So a while ago, I came across several posts featuring a traditional Estonian festive bread called Kringel Bread. Originating in Germany, it's a sweet bread often flavored with cinnamon and almonds and it's usually baked in Estonia for special occasions such as holidays and birthdays. Kringel just means 'circle' or 'ring' so the bread is basically one that's been twisted into the shape of a pretzel or a simple ring. 


I actually made this bread quite a while ago and the draft post had been lying dormant in my posting schedule  all this time, waiting for the day when I will have the desire to fine-tune it and finally press the 'Publish' button. I'm not quite sure why it took me so long to get this out because it really is a pretty and scrumptious tasting bread. Instead of a sweet-bread, however, I opted to make a savory one using a filling of fresh rosemary, garlic and flaxseed. And just because I was on a healthy streak the day I made this, I exchanged the plain flour with whole wheat flour...it made me feel better about scoffing down almost all of the Kringel on my own afterwards :).


It's an impressive-looking bread once it's baked, but don't be scared off thinking you can't make it as it's really quite simple to shape. Once you sprinkle the flattened dough with the filling, you just have to roll it up into a cylinder, slice it in the middle leaving one end intact, twist the two ropes around each other and finally join the ends together to make a circle. That's all there is to it.
Enjoy making this bread for your loved ones and friends and don't forget to be adventurous with the filling!

Off to Yeastspotting this goes!

Rosemary Garlic Flaxseed Kringel Bread
Ingredients:
Dough
300 g all-purpose or wholewheat flour (2 cups)
1/2 tsp salt
125 ml lukewarm milk (1/2 cup)
20 g fresh yeast (0.6 oz fresh yeast or 1 envelope active dry yeast)
30 g melted butter (1/8 cup)
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp sugar

Filling
50 g softened butter (1/4 cup)
2 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons flaxmeal/ground flaxseed

Method:
1. Mix the yeast and sugar with the lukewarm milk and let it sit a few minutes while the yeast bubbles and foams up.
2. Add the egg yolk, the melted butter, the flour and the salt, then knead the dough and shape into a ball.
3. Place the dough in a large, greased bowl, then cover and place in a warm space and let rise until doubled in size (about 1 hour).
4. Preheat oven to 200°C (about 400°F). Dust your work surface with flour, and roll the dough out to a rectangle with a thickness of 1cm.
5. Spread the melted butter across all of the dough, then sprinkle the rosemary, garlic and flaxmeal on top.
6. Roll up the dough into a cylinder and using a knife, cut the log in half length-wise but leave one end still joined up.
7. Twist the two halves together, keeping the open layers exposed as shown in the photo tutorial. Form into a wreath shape, weave the ends together and pinch to seal. Transfer to a baking tray (buttered or lined with a cookie sheet or silpat).
8. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Cover with a foil halfway to prevent excessive browning of the dough.
9. Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C (350°F) after 5-10 minutes to stop it burning. Remove from oven and leave to cool on a rack for about 5 minutes before eating.

29 comments:

Nami | Just One Cookbook said...

Happy 2 year Blogoversary Maya! Although it's late, you must celebrate your achievement! You are so expert in making bread and you do it so elegantly and naturally. Beautiful bread with nice rosemary fragrance!

Unknown said...

Thank you so much, my sweet friend Nami! I know you can make beautiful breads too if you try, because the rest of your meals are always so gorgeous!

Zoe said...

Happy 2nd anniversary! Time must be passed by so quickly that you forget about your blog anniversary.

Your Kringel bread is a beauty... I love baking bread at home too. Definitely not buying bread if we can bake nice and fresh breads at home :D

Zoe said...

Hi Maya...It's me again. Just realise you at Twitter and here I am following at Twitter :D Tweet tweet...

Evelyne CulturEatz said...

Happy 2 year Blogoversary Maya! This looks very delicious!

Unknown said...

Hi Zoe, thanks for your lovely words and for tweeting me! :) I'm glad that you like to bake your own breads too, it's a thoroughly pleasurable activity. Maybe you should open up a bakery! Lol

Unknown said...

Thank you, Evelyne. Appreciate your well wishes, and I really admire your tenacity in making it to 5 years of blogging! Bravo to you, my friend ;)

The Flavorland Chef. said...

Wow, this bread looks stunning. I was planning to make a regular kringel sometime soon, but now I'll switch to this, it's far more interesting.

I didn't know you until now, but happy anniversary from us too! :)

Sandra said...

2 years..yeyy! Happy belated Blogoversary and I wish you more! That bread is calling my name :))) Looks amazing!

Unknown said...

Maya - I am just awed by your creativity. The bread looks wonderful.

wok with ray said...

Happy 2nd blog anniversary, Maya. Garlic and rosemary is sure a good combination of spices for the bread. The bread looks very appetizing.

Priscilla | ShesCookin said...

Congrats on your 2-year anniversary, Maya!You're tearing it up on Instagram and Foodbuzz :) Gorgeous bread indeed!

morgan crumm said...

This looks DIVINE! Bookmarking this for sure.

Maureen @ Orgasmic Chef said...

Congratulations on two years! I love your blog and this bread is so cool.

I especially like the name. :)

Gina said...

Are you sure it wasn't just yesterday you started? You haven't aged a day, I should add! You are the bread goddess darling and don't let anyone tell you differently. Hope you have a great weekend.
-Gina-

Kristi @ My San Francisco Kitchen said...

You are so incredibly talented! Your bread looks amazing, and I am sure it tastes that way too!!

vanessa said...

Hello maya:) I'm Vanessa from instagram (@ohvnguyen) the 17 year old girl. Lol. Hope you remember me. I tried sending an email to you. But it failed sending. :( so thought I just post the comment here then. Hehe:) I just want to say that! I love your blog! You seriously create such beautiful and creative dishes! I love it! And also you're so nice too! I love the idea of you telling me to start a food blog. Well I'm in the process of making one. Lol. Hope you can check it out soon, Maya once I made it. Love your food and instagram! Much love and support from Vanessa.:) hehe

soh said...

Hi, may I know how much to use instant yeast?
Thank you

dana said...

Hello Maya! It's Dana, OrganicEater from IG. Your blog is amazing! It didn't "put off":), I am quite impressed and intrigued by your recipes! And I can tell I would just love you to death if we actually met, and I think we would laugh a lot too! I love your sense of humor here! I too have a teen and an 8yo. Anyway, just wanted to say hello and tell you I found your blog. Look forward to seeing more of your creations (after your break).

Unknown said...

Hi Vanessa! Glad you came over for a visit here :). I saw that you started a site already but no posts yet and I can't wait to see you started. You posted so many delicious stuff on IG! I wonder why your mail didn't get through? Try again, it's foodivaskitchen@gmail.com. Let me know once your site is up and running, ok! Take care ;)

Unknown said...

Hi Soh, about 1-1.5 teaspoons of instant yeast should be enough for this amount of flour :)

Unknown said...

Hi Dana, thanks for coming by and leaving some really nice words about the blog. You reckon we have much in common including our kids, huh? Well, I sure hope so :). We moms need all the support around us we can get, virtual or real! I'm just enjoying being IG-free for now and gathering some more inspiration. In a few weeks, I'll be raring to get back with some new ideas!

Russell van Kraayenburg said...

Now this is my kind of bread! I love all the flavors and the look of it. Yum!

Unknown said...

Thank you so much, Russell! I'm really glad you like it and have missed checking out you lovely blog. Thanks for dropping by and saying Hi! :)

http://platanosmangoes.com said...

Happy blogaversary and this is a great recipe. I wish I could bake. Every time I try its a desaster.

Erin @ Dinners, Dishes and Desserts said...

Happy 2 year blogiversary to you! You sure are the queen of breads, this is no exception. It looks incredible!

Unknown said...

Thank you both, Norma and Erin. That's another title to add under my baking apron, I quite like the sound of The Queen of Breads. Or even Bread Empress! Lol

Mary Hirsch said...

I'm a little obsessed with bread also, eating it as well as making it, Maya. I think I saw this on Pinterest and passed it - too complicated, I thought. Not so, you say. I think I can. I think I can. Thanks for the good directions and congratulations on 2 successful years.

Kathy said...

Bread baking is something I don’t do much of in the summer…so very hot here! However, I’m bookmarking your beautiful bread for the fall! I love bread baking it’s therapeutic for me! Gorgeous bread…lovely photos!!

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