Gerry's Kringle

Today, making kringles is a team effort at Tree-Top Baking, with Gerry and Larry taking turns mixing, laminating, shaping, etc. but back in the days when the bakery was just starting and Larry still had a full-time job off-island, Gerry made the kringles all by himself, week after week, the staccato beat of his big rolling pin on rock-hard butter his only company and thoughts of happy customers flocking to the market his lone motivation.
I have been captivated by Gerry's Danish kringle from the first time I saw and tasted it. Not only is it picture-perfect and melt-in-your-mouth scrumptious, the delicate pastry a crunchy accompaniment to the sweet duo of flavors inside: almond cream and tangy raisins, my favorites! But it also evoked achingly dear memories of long gone family members: my beloved mother-in-law was half-Danish half-Russian and when we were in Denmark not a birthday or holiday went by without a festive kringle bedecked with tiny paper Danish flags.
In between these kringles of long ago and Gerry's there had been none. So when I took that first bite, the layers of reminiscence were almost as delectable as the layers of flaky dough.

Of course I asked Gerry if he would teach me how to make a kringle and he agreed. He and Larry now own a sheeter, so they don't laminate their dough by hand anymore but he said he would make an exception for the occasion and show me how it could be done at home (see video below).
I arrived at the bakery at the appointed date and time. Remember how glorious the day was when I took the ferry over to see Larry make his sprouted spelt bread? Well, on that winter day it was nothing like it. The sky was streaked with grey and the sea opaque.

At the bakery, the welcome was just as warm as last time although the bakers were busy making not only two dozen other kringles but panettone and stollen. The radio was piping soft holiday music. Christmas was definitely in the air...

Stollen proofing

Panettone cooling

Cookie waiting to be boxed

Gerry started on the kringle...

Even though he was only making one kringle for us today, Gerry mixed enough dough for four. He says otherwise the dough tends to climb up the hook and generally drive the baker crazy. It is easy enough to shape and bake two kringles and to store the other half of the dough in the freezer for the next batch. The filling can be made ahead of time and kept in the freezer forever.

Ingredients (for four kringles) For the dough

• 580 g unbleached all-purpose flour
• 232 g water
• 35 g sugar
• 9 g salt
• 87 g eggs
• 10 g instant dry yeast
• 29 g butter

For the lamination

• 450 g butter

For the filling (120 g per kringle x 4)

• 141 g almond paste
• 170 g sugar, granulated
• 141 g butter
• 283 g flour
• 11 g salt
• 23 g vanilla extract
• 160 g raisins, to be sprinkled on the filling (40 g per kringle)

For the topping

• 120 g sliced almonds (30 g per kringle)
• 120 g sparkling white sugar (the shiny type that doesn't melt) (30 g per kringle)

Method (Because of its stiffness, this dough is machine-mixed)

Desired dough temperature: 77 to 80 °F/25 to 27°C

1. Put all the ingredients in the bowl of the mixer (holding back some of the water) and mix for three minutes on first speed until incorporated
2. Mix six to eight minutes on second speed until fully developed
3. Let rest for one hour at room temperature, then place on a lightly floured sheet pan and put in the freezer for at least one hour covered with a plastic
4. Meanwhile laminate the butter to plasticize it and put it in the refrigerator (you want to have the dough and the butter at the same temperature but dough cools down much slower than butter. You want to put it in the freezer to speed up the process. Another method would be to mix the dough ahead of time and freeze it, then take it out the evening before baking, let it thaw in the fridge overnight and proceed with the laminating in the morning. Gerry stresses that anytime you defrost dough, you have to go really slowly,  otherwise the outside ferments while the center remains frozen)
5. Prepare the almond filling: put almond paste in the mixer and gradually add room temperature butter until smooth; then (and only then) add the remaining ingredients and cream until fluffy (the almond filling can be made ahead of time and frozen
6. Roll in the butter and give the dough three 3-way folds (allowing the dough to rest in the fridge for 45 minutes between each fold)
7. Scale the dough at 341 g, roll out to 6 x 32 inches
8. Paint edges of the dough with water
9. Put a long strip of filling in the center (note that the filling needs to be at room temperature when you pipe or spread it. Otherwise the dough will rip)
10. Sprinkle with raisins, fold shut
11. Shape and proof at 85 to 90°F/29 to 32°C for 45 minutes to one hour, depending on how cold the dough was
12. Sprinkle with sliced almonds and sparkling white sugar
13. Bake for 10 minutes at 400°/204°C (no steam) then for 14 minutes at 350°F/177°C
14. Cool on a rack
15. Enjoy!

When I left the bakery with my beautiful kringle, the sky was still light...

But when I got to the ferry, darkness was swallowing up the clouds and the sea was choppy... The crossing is so short though that I barely noticed it.

All I know is that another layer of happy memories was added to the kringle... Thank you, Gerry!

The kringle is going to Wild Yeast for Yeastspotting.

Larry's Sprouted Spelt: A Felicitous Case of Mistaken Identity

As is often the case with the best things in life, it all started with a mistake. Larry Lowary of Tree-Top Baking on Whidbey Island, WA, was stirring the grain he was soaking for his weekly bake of sprouted wheat bread (a customers' favorite) when he noticed that the berries were already germinating when they should have been barely waking up. He checked the bag and realized he had sprouted spelt instead of wheat (spelt sprouts much faster). It was too late to go back, so he ground the grain, mixed the dough and baked. Other than the fact that it tended to crumble a bit under the knife,  he thought the bread had turned out pretty well and as I happened to be visiting the next day, he kindly gave me a loaf to take home.
Eager to have a taste, I sliced it open that very night and was somewhat surprised not to find it as tasty as I thought it would be. Spelt is one of my favorite grains and I expected more depth. But my disappointment turned to wonder when I had another slice at breakfast the next morning. The flavor had set in (the crumb had probably dried out just enough to concentrate the taste) and the bread was all I had been looking forward to and more. I immediately begged Larry to please make the same mistake again and invite me to come and watch.
Not that I hadn't already seen sprouted berries turned into loaves... When I took Whole Grains at SFBI with Didier Rosada a few years ago, Keith Giusto came and demonstrated the making of his popular Power Bread (which involved sprouted wheat, required the addition of almonds and walnuts and was marvelously sinful). We also made a simple sprouted whole wheat pan bread. The latter recipe is the one which Larry had adapted for use at his bakery. I had never made it at home since I took the class because I didn't own a grinder until very recently. A refresher's course was therefore most welcome.
Between one thing and another (notably a very busy market season on Larry's side and school vacation and grandchildren on mine), a few months elapsed between the day Larry made his propitious mistake and the day I finally boarded the ferry to watch him make it again. It had been early summer then. Now it was early fall. But the boat ride and the island were as lovely as ever...

When I arrived at the bakery, Larry was ready for me. The only things he had done ahead of time were to soak the grain in water for 26 hours (stirring every eight hours or so) and to mix the sponge (which had to ferment overnight). For good measure, he had sprouted spelt AND wheat (he had soaked the wheat for two days), so that we could see how spelt compared. From the photo below, it is clear that it performed very well in terms of rise and plumpness. But even though spelt is probably my favorite by a tiny margin, I also love the taste and texture of sprouted wheat. Something happens during sprouting which not only greatly boosts the nutritional value of the grain but also maximizes its flavor. Heady stuff for a bread lover!

The process

Mixing raisins and water in the food processor

Rinsing and draining the sprouted grain

Grinding up the grain

Combining sponge, salt and ground-up grains and starting to mix

Mixing, checking gluten development and taking dough temperature

Fermenting and folding

Done!


Dividing, pre-shaping and shaping


Proofed

Baking


Finished!

The Formula (an SFBI original, as adapted by Larry)

Ingredients
Sponge

• Flour - 100 %
• Water - 85 %
• Instant dry yeast - 1.5 %
• Salt - 2 %
• Malt - 2 %

Final dough

• Sprouted spelt - 80 %
• Whole Spelt Flour - 20 %
• Water - 5.25 %
• Gluten (optional) - 2 %
• Instant dry yeast - 1 %
• Salt - 1.65 %
• Raisins, soaked and puréed - 8 %
• Honey - 4 %
• Canola oil - 2 %
• Sponge - 15 %

Method

• The original formula called for raisin juice concentrate which is both very difficult to find and super expensive. Larry's solution is to add warm water to raisins in the food processor and make a slurry. It works just fine. The bread can probably be made without it but as Larry explained, raisins have mold-inhibiting properties. They have been used for years to prolong bread's shelf-life
• It is best to sprout more than needed as sprouted grain can be kept in the freezer (scale the quantity you need in ziploc bags and take it out as needed 24 hours ahead of time)
• If whole spelt flour isn't available, white spelt can be used instead. The crumb will look a little bit lighter
• If the sprouted grain has been kept in the fridge, use hot water
• The sponge can be made up to four days ahead and kept in the fridge
• The water percentage is very low because the sprouted grain is soaking wet. In case you need or want to drain the grain ahead of time, you will need to adjust the water amount
• Mix ground-up sprouted grain with all of the liquids for two or three minutes on first speed, then add all the dry ingredients and mix again on first speed until desired dough consistency is reached (4 to 5 minutes)
• Then mix on second speed for 5 to 7 minutes
• Desired dough temperature: 80°F/27°C
• Ferment for one hour
• Scale at 800 g
• Pre-shape as hard as possible in a tight roll
• Shape as a tight batard
• Proof for about one hour at 85°F/29°C
• Bake for 50 minutes at 400°F/204°C (or lower depending on your oven as the raisin slurry and the honey put the dough at risk of burning at high heat)
• You know that the bread is done when the sides are brown and no longer pliable
• Enjoy!

Thank you, Larry, for being such a patient instructor and a wonderful source of information and inspiration, not to mention a very dear friend! I am currently sprouting some spelt and hope to be able to bake tomorrow. I'll report on the experience as soon as I get a chance and post the ingredient amounts for just two loaves.