We Knead To Bake #34 : Krendel – Pretzel Shaped Russian/ Ukrainian Fruit Filled Bread

Christmas is almost here again and it’s time for festive bakes, the bread of the month at the “We Knead To Bake” group. I decided to look for a Christmas time festive bread to bake that is a bit different to bake from all those I’ve baked so far. The fact is that many traditional Christmas breads across the world are quite similar to each other in that they are invariably made with enriched dough and they will be flavoured with spices and contain fruit and nuts of some sort.

What makes them different from another is the varying in the number of eggs and the amount of butter in the dough, the spice, dried fruit and nuts(sometimes seeds as well) used, whether the fruit is kneaded into the dough or used as a filling and the shape the bread is baked into.

So after much searching, I zeroed in on the Krendel which is a Russian/ Ukrainian Christmas bread shaped like a large pretzel. What I found a little different about the Krendel is that it is filled with a mixture of fresh apples and dried fruits like apricots and prunes which I haven’t come across in other Christmas breads I’ve seen so far. After baking, the Krendel is lightly covered with a sugar glaze and an optional sprinkling of sliced almonds or else a simple dusting of icing sugar.

I understand that the Krendl is the preferred bread for Christmas in Russia/ Ukraine but it is also baked and served on birthdays, or what were more important than birthdays and known as “name” days.

In the Russian orthodox tradition and in many countries across Europe and Latin America, the name day is an important occasion and often celebrated instead of a birthday. A name day, considered a holy day, is the feast day of the saint after whom a person is named.

So people who are named after a particular saint celebrate that saint’s feast day instead of their birthday generally with a visit to the church and end it with a celebration party. The highlight is usually the serving of the pretzel shaped, fruit filled Krendl. At Christmas time the Krendl celebrates the birth of Jesus.

Pretzels were supposed to have been invented in a medieval monastery to be given out as rewards to children who said their prayers, and were generally small in size. The crossed arms of the Pretzel are said to represent crossed or folded arms of Jesus. The shape of the Pretzel has endured over time as has the belief of baking it into breads for religious and celebratory occasions.

Krendel is thought to be of German origin and from the late 13th century when there were many German bakers in Russia. There is a suggestion that the name could be a corruption of the German Kringle which is a cookie. The Krendl, like a lot of European celebratory yeasted breads is made from enriched dough. The filling is typically fresh apples and dried fruit like apricots and prunes cooked to a jam like consistency with some spice.

In the recipe below, one of the dried fruit used if dried figs. If you don’t want to use that, you can substitute it with some other fruit. I used cranberries which gave my filling a somewhat tart taste that we liked. Do be a bit conservative with the sugar in the filling and adjust it according to your taste. I dusted my Krendel with icing sugar instead of using a glaze.

We Knead To Bake #34 : Krendel - Pretzel Shaped Russian/ Ukrainian Fruit Filled Bread

Krendl is a Russian/ Ukrainian dried fruit filled bread shaped like a pretzel. It is baked for Christmas, birthdays, or “name” days.

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Prep Time 40 mins

Cook Time 45 mins

Total Time 3 hrs 25 mins

Course breads

Cuisine russian

Servings 20 serving

Ingredients

  

For the Dough:

• 2 tsps instant yeast
• 2 tbsps honey
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1/2 cup lukewarm milk
• 50 gm butter , softened
• 1 egg
• 1 - 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 - 3/4 to 3 - 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

For the Filling:

• 1 cup apple juice
• 2 large apples peeled and chopped
• 1/3 cup dried figs finely chopped (optional)
• 1/3 cup dried apricots finely chopped
• 2/3 cup prunes chopped
• 15 gm butter
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp chai masala (optional)

For Spreading Over the Dough:

• 25 gm butter , soft at room temperature
• 1 1/2 tbsps sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered cinnamon

For the Glaze:

• 8 gm butter
• 1/2 tbsp hot water
• 3/4 to 1 cups icing sugar
• 1/4 tsp lemon rind/ peel finely grated
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds for garnishing

Instructions

 

• To make the dough - put all the ingredients for the dough and 2 3/4 cups of flour in the bowl of the processor and knead well to form a soft, smooth and elastic dough that is somewhat sticky. Add as much more flour as is necessary to reach this consistency of dough.
• Then shape the dough into a ball and place it in a well-oiled bowl, turning the dough around to coat it evenly. Loosely cover the bowl and let the dough rise till about double. This should take about 1 1/2 hours.
• Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• To make the filling, put all the ingredients for the filling except the chai masala in a large saucepan, Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, till the mixture reaches a jam-like consistency. Mix in the chai masala just before taking the filling off the heat. Transfer the filling to a bowl and let it cool completely.
  
• 
• 
• Now go back to the risen dough. Deflate it and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Brush the soft butter all over the dough rectangle to within 1u201d of edges. Mix together the powdered cinnamon and the sugar and sprinkle this uniformly over the butter. Spread the filling over this and roll up the dough jelly/ Swiss roll style as tightly as you can from the long side of the rectangle. Seal the seam well and pinch together the ends as well so that the filling will not escape.
  
• Place the dough roll, seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Shape it into a pretzel pinching the ends to the side or tuck them under. Loosely cover and let it rise for about 30 to 45 minutes till it has risen and looks "puffy".
• Bake the Krendl at 180C (350F) for about 30 to 45 minutes till it is done and golden brown in colour. Cool the Krendl on a rack.
• If using the sugar glaze, mix the ingredients for the glaze to a slightly thick pouring consistency and then brush the Krendl with the glaze. Garnish with the sliced almonds and let it set.
• Beat together all the ingredients for the glaze to make it to a smooth, runny consistency. Add a few more drops of water if needed, to thin it out to desired consistency. Brush over the warm Krendl. Garnish with sliced almonds.