Kringle (Pretzel Pastry)
This pretzel-shaped baked good is a classic Danish pastry, best enjoyed with an afternoon cup of coffee. It is made with a yeasted, cardamom-flavored dough and a butter and sugar filling. Delicious!
Ingredients
DOUGH
- 150 ml milk
- 2 tsp instant yeast (2.25 tsp active-dry yeast/1 packet, or about 17g fresh yeast)
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 1 egg yolk (room temperature)
- 50 grams sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 375 grams all-purpose flour
- 57 grams (half a stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 75 grams raisins
REMONCE (FILLING)
- 113 grams (1 stick) butter, softened (you may find this is a lot of filling and some does tend to leak out, which we like in this case because it makes a nice and buttery crust! if you prefer, you can use 5-6 tbsp of butter and about 100g or 1/2 cup sugar instead of the full amount)
- 150 grams sugar (see note for butter above!)
TOPPING
- 1 egg for egg wash
- Turbinado sugar for sprinkling (optional)
- Chopped nuts for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- Measure out the milk in a microwave safe measuring cup or a saucepan. Heat up the milk until it is “fingervarm” (finger warm) either in the microwave or on the stove, meaning it should feel warm to the touch but not hot. You can also check the yeast packet you are using for a specific temperature. Add the yeast and a small amount of the sugar that this recipe calls for (setting the rest aside to add later) to the milk and stir to dissolve. Let it rest 5-10 minutes until it begins to froth and bubble a little bit. If the yeast does not bubble at all, you may have to start over with new yeast, as it could be expired!
- Combine the egg, egg yolk, sugar, vanilla extract, cardamom, and salt in a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Add the milk and yeast mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to combine.
- Add the flour (reserving a small amount) and the softened butter, stirring with a wooden spoon or running your stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. Once the dough starts to come together, you can start kneading (either by hand or with the mixer!) If the dough is very sticky, add the remaining flour that you reserved! We like to do this because a lot of factors (such as humidity, temperature, altitude) can cause the amount of flour needed to vary. In our experience it's easier to add more flour to a sticky dough rather than deal with a dry dough!
- Knead until smooth and elastic, probably around 5-10 minutes. Continue to add a bit of flour if the dough sticks to your hands or the surface you are kneading on, or the sides of the bowl of the mixer. The texture of your dough before its first rise should be soft and smooth, not too sticky and not too dry.
- Once your dough is smooth, add the raisins and knead a few times to incorporate.
- Cover and let your dough rise for about 45 minutes to an hour, or until doubled in size.
- For the filling, combine softened butter and sugar and mix until smooth.
- Once your dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a clean work surface and roll it out into a long, thin rectangle (rectangle-ish, it can be more of an oval). You want it as long as possible, so that it will be easier to shape into a pretzel shape. It should be at least 24" in length, even better if it is longer!
- Spread your filling down the center third of the rectangle. If you find it's too much filling, you don't have to add it all!
- Then, fold in both sides of the dough to cover most of the filling, leaving a tiny strip visible down the middle.
- Shape into a pretzel shape by taking one end of the dough and curving it towards the midpoint of the whole strip of dough, creating a circular shape. Do the same with the other end.
- Once you have both ends near the middle, cross one of the ends over the other, and tuck the dough slightly under the center of the whole strip. Make sure to tuck them as well as possible. The dough is pretty forgiving, so you can pull it as you shape it.
- Cover and leave to rise for another 30-45 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 C). Try the poke test to check if your kringle is ready for the oven. If you poke the dough with your finger and it springs back slightly but still leaves an indentation from your finger, it's ready! If it springs back quickly and leaves no indentation, give it another 10 minutes and test it again.
- Once your kringle is ready for the oven, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar and/or chopped nuts.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes or until golden brown and crispy on the outside. If you tap it, it should sound somewhat hollow.
- Slice (you can do this however you want, we like to cut into triangle pieces!), serve, and enjoy! This pastry is great with a cup of coffee!
