Pudding Bretzel
MAKES
10 pastries
TAKES
Prep time: 4 hours 30 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Total: 5 hours 15 minutes
✻ ABOUT THIS RECIPE
A German pastry that’s fun to make at home. A flaky, yeasted puff pastry dough is twisted and formed into a pretzel shape. It’s dusted with sugar and filled with a thick vanilla pudding, which pools in the pretzel holes during baking and firms up, staying in place after baking. The finished pastry is brushed with a thin, all-over glaze for the perfect sweet finishing touch.
INGREDIENTS
Danish Dough
660 g / 5 ½ cups bread flour
180 g / 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
25 g / 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
14 g / 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 g / 1 teaspoon instant yeast
2 g / ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
78 g / ⅓ cup whole milk, warmed to 115°F / 45°C
43 g / 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
113 g / ½ cup frozen unsalted butter (ideally, frozen as a stick or one piece)
Pudding
66 g / ⅓ cup granulated sugar
21 g / 3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 g / ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
173 g / ¾ cup whole milk
78 g / ⅓ cup heavy cream
43 g / 2 large egg yolks
28 g / 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
7 g / 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste
Finishing
egg wash, as needed for finishing (see Note)
sugar, as needed for finishing
170 g / 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
45 g / 3 tablespoons heavy cream, plus more as needed
More Pastry Dough Tips:
METHOD
1. The day before you want to make the kringle, make the dough: in the bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, and butter to combine. Pulse until the butter has been completely incorporated. Add the yeast and salt and pulse to combine.
2. Add the warm milk and egg yolks, and mix for 1 minute until a smooth dough forms around the processor blade.
3. Transfer the dough to a large piece of plastic wrap, forming roughly into a square using floured hands, and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for 2 hours (or up to 24 hours), until well chilled.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to be 8x15 inches and about ¼ inch thick. Grate the frozen butter evenly over the surface of the dough, and use your hands to gently press the butter into the dough.
5. With one of the longer sides of the dough facing you on the work surface, visually divide the dough into thirds. Fold the left third of the dough over itself, resting on the center third of the dough. Then, fold the right third of the dough over, resting on the portion you just folded.
6. Roll out the dough to 8x15 inches and about ¼ inch thick. Repeat the folding process, again, folding the dough into thirds. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
7. Repeat step 6. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough overnight.
8. Make the pudding: in a small pot, whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt to combine. Whisk the milk and cream in, then the egg yolks and whisk well to combine.
9. Cook over medium-low heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Strain into a medium heat-safe bowl, and stir in butter and vanilla. Cover the surface directly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours.
10. Shape the pastries: line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide dough into 2 pieces (keep one piece wrapped in the refrigerator while you work with the first).
11. Roll one piece of dough to 10 x 15 inch / 25 x 38 cm rectangles. Then, cut the dough into five 2 inch / 5 cm wide (and 15 inch / 38 cm long) strips. Cut each strip almost entirely in half into two skinny pieces still attached at one end. Twist the two sides of the dough together, then roll into a roughly spiraled log shape.
12. Shape the long twisted strand as a pretzel: hold the two ends in your hands, twist the strands around each other once (still holding the ends), then again, to make two twists in the dough. At this point, lift the rounded part of the dough at the top and bring it down below the two twists. Bring the ends through the round and press down with your fingers to seal the pretzel.
13. Transfer each pretzel to a parchment lined baking sheet, staggering them to fit five pastries on a baking sheet. Egg wash the surface of each pastry, and garnish with sugar. Transfer to the refrigerator, and repeat with the second piece of dough.
14. Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C with oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
15. Scoop chilled pudding into each one of the holes of the pretzel - only allowing it to come to the top edge of the pastry, no higher.
16. Transfer to the oven and bake until the pastry is golden and the pudding is firm and set, 30-35 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack over a parchment lined baking sheet. .
17. While the pastries cool, whisk the powdered sugar and cream together to form an easily brushable glaze. Brush the glaze onto the warm pastries, allowing the excess to fall off the sides. Serve immediately, or cool before serving.
NOTES
To make egg wash, whisk 56 g / 1 large egg and 15 g / 1 tablespoon water together to combine.
✻ HAVE YOU BAKED IT?
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