Cuchaule Recipe
This cuchaule recipe is surprisingly easy to make. What is a cuchaule, you ask? It is basically a brioche that had the immense luck to meet up with some saffron in her path.
After making these to die for saffron and butter rolls I was reminded of this bread that is very popular in the region of Fribourg, in Switzerland. While it is usually easily available in the French-speaking part of the country, it seems that it has yet to cross to the German-speaking one and I found myself reminiscing about it and all the delicious brunches I used to serve it with.
Alas, when you want something done well, it’s best to do it yourself and after a tad of research I was able to recreate a pretty damn good cuchaule, soft, buttery, perfumed with saffron and perfect for my brunch endeavours.
I love to make any brunch bread the night before. This way it will rise slowly in the fridge overnight and be ready for baking in the morning, saving precious time while you make your coffee and tea. If you decide to do so as well, make sure to take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before in order to make sure it gets back to room temperature before you shape and bake it.
This can be easily made into smaller rolls as well, and I am sure they would do wonderfully with some melted butter and sea salt on top, kind of like what I did here for these beauties.
This cuchaule recipe would also be perfect for a holiday brunch, it lends itself beautifully to both sweet and savoury toppings such as cheese, charcuterie, but also a variety of jams (I find it divine with blueberry preserves).
Let me know in the comments if you make it!
Ingredients (makes 1 loaf)
70g sugar
50g butter, room temp
1 tsp honey
300ml milk, slightly warmed
20g fresh yeast or 7g (1 sachet) instant dry yeast
1 pinch saffron, ground with a tiny pinch of salt in a pestle and mortar
500g flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten, for the egg wash
Combine the milk, butter, honey, sugar, saffron in a bowl and mix well. Mixture should be slightly warm (about 37 degrees Celsius, if you have a thermometer). Leave be for 5-10 minutes
Separately, combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle.
Pour the liquid in the dry ingredients and mix well. When dough starts coming together, tip it onto a floured surface and knead well for a few minutes.
Alternatively put all of the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the kneading attachment and knead well for 5 minutes.
Place formed dough in an oiled bowl, cover and let rise at room temperature for 1-1.5 hours, until doubled in size. I like to use my (cold) oven for this, I find it makes the perfect proving environment.
If you’re making the cuchaule the night before, place dough in a covered bowl in the fridge and let rise overnight. Remove from fridge in the morning 30 minutes before proceeding to the next step.
Shape the dough into a ball, place it into a dutch oven lined with parchment paper or straight onto a baking sheet. Cover (I like to use the dutch oven lid for this or a tea towel if you have a normal baking sheet only) and let rise another 20-30 minutes while you preheat the oven.
Preheat the oven at 200 degrees C
Beat the egg and brush the cuchaule with the egg wash all over. Score the bread in whatever pattern you like.
Bake for 25-30 minutes. Bake it with the dutch oven lid on for the first 20, then remove it and let it finish for the last 10 to let it get all golden brown and beautiful (for the baking sheet, bake the full 30 minutes as is, keeping an eye on it so that it doesn’t get too dark).
Remove from the oven and let rest a good half an hour before serving. It is delicious with a pat of salted butter and your favourite tea or coffee.
Enjoy!