Kugelhopf is a festive, crown-shaped yeasted bread traditionally baked in a heavy earthenware mold. One legend suggests it originated in an Alsatian village, when the Three Kings presented it to a local baker named Kugel, who had hosted them.
Other histories point to origins in Vienna, where bakers may have made the bread in the shape of a sultan’s turban to celebrate the defeat of the Turks by Hapsburg forces in 1683.
For our version, we set out to make a kirsch-scented, raisin- and dried cherry-studded, almond-crusted Kugelhopf typical of Alsace. Classic Alsatian recipes we tested yielded dense, somewhat dry breads. Several modern versions we tasted were sweeter, airier, moister, and even doughnutlike.
Our goal was to develop a Kugelhopf recipe that would please traditional and modern palates alike — not too sweet, yeasty and a tad boozy, light but not fluffy, chewy yet soft, rich but not heavy.