Kougelhopf Salé

Ingredients

• For the dough
• 500 g plain white flour, strong bread flour preferred
• 8 g fine salt
• 12 g caster sugar, sufficient to activate the yeast
• 10 g fresh yeast, crumbled
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 150 ml whole milk, lukewarm
• 150 g unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
• For the garnish
• 200 g smoked lardons, rendered until just crisp, drained, and cooled completely
• 80 g walnut halves, toasted at 160 °C for 8 minutes; a portion reserved for the mould flutes
• 100 g Gruyère or Comté, cut into small cubes
• For the mould
• 30 g unsalted butter, softened, for greasing the ceramic mould

Method

1. 1
   Render the lardons in a dry frying pan over medium heat until just crisp at the edges. Lift onto a rack or paper and set aside to cool completely. Meanwhile, toast the walnut halves at 160 °C for 8 minutes. Reserve the most intact halves for the mould; set the remainder aside for the dough. The lardons are ready when their exterior is firm and no residual warmth remains — warm fat folded into the dough will melt the butter and destroy the structure.
2. 2
   Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk and add to the bowl along with the eggs. Mix on medium speed for 15 to 20 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic, and passes the windowpane test — a small piece stretched between the fingers should form a translucent membrane without tearing.
3. 3
   This is the step on which the Kougelhopf Salé lives or dies. With the mixer still running at medium speed, add the cold butter piece by piece, waiting until each addition is fully absorbed before introducing the next. The process takes 8 to 10 minutes. The finished dough should pull cleanly from the bowl walls, feel silky and slightly tacky, and show no visible butter streaks. If butter is added too quickly or before full gluten development, the emulsion will break and the crumb will be dense rather than brioche-light.
4. 4
   Remove the bowl from the mixer. Fold in the cooled lardons, the toasted walnut pieces (excluding those reserved for the mould), and the cubed Gruyère or Comté by hand, turning the dough gently with a dough scraper until the garnish is evenly distributed. The dough is ready when no clustering of inclusions remains visible.
5. 5
   Butter the ceramic Kougelhopf mould generously with the softened butter, ensuring every flute and the central chimney are well coated. Press one walnut half, flat side up, into each fluted groove — these will form the decorative crown on unmoulding. Transfer the dough into the mould; it should fill it to approximately two-thirds of the depth.
6. 6
   Proof at 24 °C for 2 to 3 hours. The enriched dough is sluggish; it is ready when it has risen to within 1 cm of the mould rim and the surface appears domed, pillowy, and faintly trembling when the mould is nudged. Do not allow the dough to crest the rim — over-proofing will cause collapse in the oven.
7. 7
   Bake in a preheated oven at 170 °C for 35 to 40 minutes. The Kougelhopf is done when the surface is deeply golden and a firm tap to the base of the unmoulded loaf returns a hollow sound. Rest in the mould for 5 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack. Serve sliced at room temperature.