Pecan Kringle

Those who know what kringle is wait all year for it to arrive with the onset of the holiday season. A staple in the Midwest, Wisconsin in particular, kringle is a buttery, flaky pastry often filled with fruits, nuts, or jams. Most often, you will see it shaped in the circle, but it can also come as a straight loaf or even braided. This dish is so popular, it has an entire website dedicated to it-- now that’s pastry commitment!

It is a labor of love to make kringle. It takes several steps of cooling, rolling, and proofing to get the layers right, but the end result is beautiful. When you are rolling out the dough, you can literally see  the butter in between the layers and it makes for a beautiful lamination. 

Baking is interesting to me, because the technique matters so much. A majority of baked goods start off with the same basic ingredients-- flour, butter, and eggs. The amount you add of each, the additional ingredients, and the techniques you use make a huge difference in the final product! Quality ingredients also make a big difference. I almost always use unsalted butter so I can control the salt myself and for eggs, organic pasture raised! Hens that produce these eggs are free to run indoors and outdoors, eating their naturally selected food items, along with feed. 

I have included some basic pictures here to help you follow along with the instructions. There are so many steps that it can be easier to see exactly what’s happening visibly than to solely read at times. 

Begin by taking your softened butter and spreading it on wax paper in an 8x8 inch square. Make sure it is an even layer. Place in the fridge and allow to firm up, about 20 minutes.

While the butter is in the fridge, begin to prepare your dough. In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add in sugar, salt, milk, and egg. Stir to combine. Sift in flour and mix until everything comes together in a smooth ball.

Roll out dough to be 12x8. Place 8x8 square of butter down on one edge and gently peel back wax paper. Fold the uncovered 4 inches over half of the buttered section, and then fold the remaining buttered third over the top (think trifold brochure). Fold it twice more, until it resembles a small square.

Wrap and place in fridge for 2 hours. 

Repeat process (without adding extra butter). Roll back out to 12x8 and fold until gently until it is a 4x4 square. Rewrap and place back in the fridge for another 2 hours or overnight.

Once chilled, cut dough in half and roll out each half into a 20x6 inch rectangle. 

Place filling in middle third of dough, horizontally. Take bottom third of dough and bring it up over the filling. Bring top third over the top of that, pinching to seal.

Place on a lined baking sheet in a semicircle, seam side down. Repeat with other half. Use fingers to pinch the two pieces together to form an oval. 

Place in a warm part of your house, covered, for an hour. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. 

Once cool, drizzle on icing and cut to serve.