morphing three breads into one very festive buttermilk cluster, with pics
Hey guys, I need your help!
So my brother saw my breads and now he wants in on it :-)
He wants me to make him and his wonderful family my variation on a traditional regional Dutch currant-bread associated with the holidays. At Xmas, New Years, but also at Easter, in the East and North of the Netherlands a lot of people eat this traditional "krentenwegge" (a heavy currantbread with an almondpaste filling). This is what the original loaf looks like...
You'll have to imagine the almond paste filling in the middle, I could not find a very satisfying pic.
There are numerous traditional recipes going around on the net, BUT.....
I never really liked these breads as a kid. I'm not too big on currants, but a big lover of almond paste, so as a kid I always found myself in a dilemma; I want the almond paste, but do I really need to eat ALL those currants to get it...? After getting too old to eat the almond paste and feed the rest to the dog, I just left the bread for what it was...
Until now! I want to make a lighter version of this bread. I want it to look like a buttermilk cluster (fresh out of the oven here today :-)
and preferably with the sweet taste of polenta dough, where I replace the currants with a decent amount of dried candied cranberries (also fresh out of the oven here today):
The idea is to fill each individual roll in the cluster with a little almond paste whilst forming the rolls. I'm not at all certain about the polenta dough, but somehow I feel it could give me the crumb that I'm looking for (light, airy, yellowy...). Also the sweetness of the polenta could taste great with the almonds and cranberries. That is; if I manage to get it as light and airy as I have it my mind's eye :-)
Before embarking on this triple-fusion baking experiment I would like to hear your input on what dough to choose for this sweet bread. I've also been thinking about the dough for the cream cheese braid. Could that be a viable option?
Thanks to the members here who originally posted these two recipes here. I can't really find out anymore who posted the originals, but you guys know who you are; Thanks a bunch!
I'd love to hear from you guys
Freerk
Comments
I don't care too much for currants, either, and often substitute golden raisins or dried cranberries for them. What about half white/half whole wheat for your experiment?
Please post the result, I usually make the German Christmas Stollen or Poppyseed Stollen, both have almond paste in it.
Good luck,
Karin
Hey Karin!
I wil most certainly post the result!
I tasted the Polenta Buttermilk bread (I didn't taste it when I was writing this blog entry, since it was still cooling) and now I'm sure I'm going to give it a try.
What do you think: my estimation is that baking this bread "buttermilk cluster style" will restrict the dough's development a little (the individual tightly packed rolls tend to restrict each other's rise) , and I have a gutfeeling telling me corn bread isn't the easiest dough to develop (but I could be totally wrong!). I'm thinking of putting a little more yeast than usual for this buttermilk polenta dough, to give it some extra power?
If it turns out right, I will most definitely try a whole wheat/white variation!
I'll post the result on Sunday; when my sister and her family will be on their way back to the North of the Netherlands after we have celebrated our Dutch version of X-mas; Sinterklaas (Santa Claus), hopefully bringing my brother a wonderful currant bread (well, cranberries mostly, and (indeed) some golden raisins, and of course a BIG dollup of almond paste :-) !!
thanks for the response!
Freerk
I am so proud of my "cross-over bread" A sweet Polenta Buttermilk Currant bread, baked Buttermilk-cluster-style, with the addition of a ball of almond-paste worked into each individual roll; easy to break off at the table, no cutting needed :-) (I replaced the currants with candied cranberries and golden raisins, in moderate amounts. I used the formula of the original "sweet corn raisin bread"-recipe by Floyd, "pumping it up" to the volume of an average "normal" buttermilk cluster (I basically added 50% of all ingedients). In Floyd's recipe, I replaced the milk with buttermilk, and the cormeal with Polenta, on the wonderful advice of Mily.
Since I won't be eating this bread myself, I made a "mouth-teaser" on the side to make sure I was not serving my family something completely unedible. The crumb is wonderful, I love the coarse polenta-bite that it has; a taste that, together with the buttermilk and the cranberries and the raisins and the almond paste makes a deliciously complex very festive taste-experience.
I topped the rolls with some bio granulated maple sugar. They bake very well and make the cluster look even more luxurious.
Karin
thanx Karin! It was a total succes with the family, so I guess this bread is here to stay!