Belgium is renowned for its bakeries and among their specialties is the cougnou, a rich brioche-type bread shaped to resemble a swaddled infant. It is locally known as the Bread of Jesus and it's especially popular in the winter months and during the Christmas season. I stumbled onto a very old recipe for it while doing research for another bread I wanted to make. I've made a few changes to the recipe because the original instructions were difficult to follow and some of the ingredients were hard to find. The basic recipe, however, remains the same. This is a delicious loaf of bread.
Cougnou... the kitchen of One Perfect Bite
Ingredients:
8 cups all-purpose flour + flour for kneading
5 teaspoons active dry yeast
8 ounces (2 sticks) softened butter
1-1/4 cups warm milk
2 teaspoons salt
6 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins
1 cup + 2 tablespoons coarse sugar crystals (the original recipe called for 2 cups)
Glaze:
3 egg yolks
3 teaspoons milk
Directions:
1) Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in flour. Pour warm milk into well. Add yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes. Mix. Add eggs, granulated sugar and cinnamon. Beat the mixture with a spoon (you can use your electric mixer if you wish). Gradually add butter. Turn dough onto a floured board and knead until dough no longer sticks to work surface. Place in a greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Allow to rise 1 hour, or until doubled in size. Turn onto work surface. Knead in raisins and 1 cup coarse sugar crystals. Divide dough into six balls. Lightly grease or spray 2 cookie sheets. Connect three balls, representing head, body and legs, on each sheet. Allow to rise until doubled in size.
2) Preheat oven to 430 degrees F. Combine egg yolks with 3 teaspoons milk. Brush loaves with mixture. Sprinkle with reserved 2 tablespoons sugar crystals. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a deep golden brown. Yield: 2 loaves.
Cook's Note: If you are unable to find sugar crystals, coarsely chop sugar cubes to desired size.
49 comments :
A nice loaf of bread :)
My mom is baking bread too right now, just ready to put in the oven.
Whether it is scenery or food, you always have the loveliest photos!
Bread of Jesus, what an interesting name and history. Because we celebrate communion in our fellowship with a full meal and serve freshly baked bread and wine, this post intrigued me. I will be making this bread....I love to bake bread, especially this time of year!
Very interesting post Mary, thank-you!
Looks out of this world delicious [I love breads]...but, butter? I'm sure I'd need to use the real thing to make it taste right, huh? Wow...I'm drooling.
What a gorgeous building and a wonderful loaf of bread. Belgium must be beautiful.
Sam
Very nice post.
I love to make bread.
Thanks for the recipe!
Have a great day!
Becky K.
Hospitality Lane
Em..this recipe using lots of egg and butter. Sounds like brioche!
An interesting picture and story of Belgium. I love bread and could eat every day. Nothing better than a piece just out of the oven. This sure looks good.
that bread looks quite delicious.
Good morning, Mary,
This is a LOVELY building. Don't you know it must have been quite a job to construct.!
This sounds like a delicious bread. I do believe I could live on bread alone!!;O) Thankd for the recipe.
The buildings around the old square in Brussels are magnificent. What a lovely photo, Mary.
My bread baking confidence is up a little bit so I'll give this lovely braid a try. I can almost smell it baking.
What a beautiful building for a bakery! Mmm, I love fresh bread right out of the oven! Happy Blue Monday.
Blessings,
Sandi
I love seeing buildings like this one, and the history behind it is so interesting. Happy Blue Monday.
What a beautiful place.. Yummy.. bread my "all" time favorite thing to eat..hugs ~lynne~
What wonderful architecture...love the details and that loaf of bread is only making my stomach growl even more...yummy!
With a building like that devoted to a bakery you know this country knows their bread! :0)
How interesting that this is called "bread of Jesus" A swaddled infant. I like it...
Very nice loaf!
I love to visit your blog as you always have these great recipies. The Belgian broodhouse looks great , nice picture. Have a nice day
That looks delicious!
I'd love to go to Brussels.
Thanks for sharing.
Happy Blue Monday,
Val
will have to try this recipe it sounds so good and so easy.
Thanks for sharing
Molly
Beautiful building and beautiful and delicious looking bread!..Christine
I love the smell of bread baking in the oven.
The recipe and picture looked and sounded delicious.
Have a wonderful week.
Iris
What a fine day, it shows in the sky. thanks for sharing some info and recipe.
What a beautiful building and that bread looks delicious! Hope you are having a happy Blue Monday.
OMG Mary, that bread has to be out of this world. The ingredients are very rich. Boy would I love this bread. Your history on Belgium's bakeries is very interesting to read. One day I would love to visit there. I grew up eating homemade bread. My mom made the best bread ever. I think I was the only kid in school that had a sandwich on homemade bread. Mmmmmm, I love that memory. When my mom was a young girl, she made the bread for her family for 3 cents a loaf. She had nine brothers and sisters and hired hands on a dairy farm to feed. My grandfather was a wealthy man but he never acted like it. She loved earning that money and willingly made the bread every day. Now you know why her bread was so good. She was an expert at making bread. BIG smile.
Thanks for bringing back a great memory.
Hugs...Jeanne
Wow that is quite a building for baking bread in! I have been doing some bread making myself here in Hip ville.
What a fabulous building and a fabulous loaf as well. Interesting name!
Coming from a girl who grew up in a bakery...both my dad and grandfather owned bakeries...that bread is beautiful! Lovely story about the bread and what an amazing architectural masterpiece that building is.
Sounds like a great place to visit. And the bread is really nice.
What a fantastic building! The bread looks perfectly cooked and very tasty.
Hello Mary,
It is always lovely to hear from you.
This is a most interesting post - thank you for sharing.
I'm envisioning dancing along Belgium with some of this bread...
Thank you for your nice comments left on Light and Voices. I hope you don't mind, if I try out your recipe for Chipotle-Marinated Pork Tenderloin. It sounds devine.
Joyce M
Mary, thanks so much for the comments you leave on my blog. Your food - and your photo's - are so beautiful & professional, I feel quite embarrassed when I think of the very basic/simple cooking which I do - yet you are always so complimentary of it ... thank you !
I know I've said it before, but your Grandson's are just adorable .... the photo of little Joshua in his hat .... too precious for words !
Hope you're having a wonderful day in your corner of the world :)
What a lovely bread and pictures!
Your recipes are fabulous~ How do you stay so thin with all that yummy food! Cindy
Hi Mary! Oh, what a lovely photo and the bread looks so delish! Thanks for popping in to see me.
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)
This bread sounds delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Mary, this is my first visit to your place , but not my last!! Thanks for sharing this story with us and the perfect bread..
I am going to try cooking your baby back ribs recipe... it sounds wonderful...
Thanks for your visit to my place today. Hugs, Baba
A beautiful loaf! I love the name of the bread. I've been in a bread making mood since the cooler weather is approaching; I'll surely save this. I love the idea of it being served at Christmas time.
Wonderful photo of the building from Brussels, Mary!
Have a nice day!/
AnnA
Gosh... Grand buildings like this always awe me. I'd be a picture-taking fool had I been there. :D
Wow, quite a bakery indeed! I always enjoy learning about holiday breads from around the world -- very nice one here!
What gorgeous photos, you are one well-traveled woman!
Lovely bread, looks so sweet and buttery.
I'm wondering if this is the bread that I have been searching for a recipe for a long time! It certainly looks similar. The bread I enjoyed was known as 'koekebrood'
Almost yellow in colour and with a dark soft crust, slightly sweet - my Belgian friends enjoyed it with chocolate!
I will try your recipe and let you know!
The cougnou is also known in Liege as "petit bonhomme" is just like those I use to eat when I was a little girl, except for the sugar,
they use belgian pearl sugar.
I still make them to my kids on St nicolas'day.
It was a chalenge to find a real belgian pearl sugar...but I found a online store that sell it at belgianpearlsugar.com they imported directly from Belgium.
So try it with the pearl sugar it will taste even better.
This is the link:
http://www.belgianpearlsugar.com
The cougnou is also known in Liege as "petit bonhomme" is just like those I use to eat when I was a little girl, except for the sugar,
they use belgian pearl sugar.
I still make them to my kids on St nicolas'day.
It was a chalenge to find a real belgian pearl sugar...but I found a online store that sell it at belgianpearlsugar.com they imported directly from Belgium.
So try it with the pearl sugar it will taste even better.
This is the link:
http://www.belgianpearlsugar.com
I am trying to source an old recipe for cougnou, preferably pre-1600. If anyone can source this for me, it would be amazing. Cougnou is an amazing bread- I used to live in Belgium. Now I want to submit it for a medieval cookery competition, but while I know it has been around since 5th century, I can't seem to find a recipe!
Suzie
suzie.day@hotmail.com
Thanks a lot for such a nice posting about Cougnou. From now onwards i am going to prepare it in my house to eat.
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