This recipe comes from Scandinavia and is a special, lightly sweet holiday bread containing fragrant cardamom seeds. This exotic bread, enriched with butter and a selection of glacé and dried fruits or 'jewels', is traditionally served over the Christmas period with hot spiced punch.
ENJOY!
Ingredients
25 g Fresh Yeast / 4 tsp Dried Yeast 75 ml / 5 tbsp lukewarm milk 450 g / 4 cups white bread flour 2 tsp salt 75 g / 6 tbsp butter 15 cardamom pods 2.5 ml / 1/2 tsp vanilla essence 50 g / 1/3 cup brown sugar Grated rind of 1/2 lemon 2 eggs, lightly beaten 50 g / 1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped 50 g / 1/4 cup glacé pineapple pieces, chopped 50 g / 1/4 cup red and green glacé cherries, chopped 25 g / 3 tbsp dried dates, chopped 25 g / 2 tbsp crystallized ginger, chopped
For the glace
1 egg white 10 ml / 2 tsp water
For the decoration
15 ml / 1 tbsp caster sugar 2.5 ml / 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 8 pecan nuts or whole blanched almonds
Variation
You can vary the fruits for this loaf. Try glacé peaches, yellow glacé cherries, sultanas, raisins, candied angelica, dried mango or dried pears and use in place of some or all of the fruits in the recipe. Use a mixture of colours and make sure that the total weight is the same as above. Use walnuts in place of the pecan nuts or almonds.
Instructions
1. Lightly grease a 23 x 13 cm / 9 x 5 inch loaf tin. In a measuring jug, cream the yeast with the milk. (If using dried yeast - add it to the lukewarm milk and mix and leave to stand for 10 minutes to activate - the yeast mixture should end up looking ‘dome’ shaped.)
2. Sift flour and salt together into a large bowl. Add the butter and rub in. Make a well in the centre. Add the yeast mixture and stir in sufficient flour to form a thick batter. Sprinkle over a little of the remaining flour and set aside in a warm place for 15 minutes.
3. Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods. Put them in a mortar or strong bowl and crush with pestle or end of rolling pin. Add the crushed seeds to the flour with the vanilla essence, sugar, lemon rind and eggs, then mix to a soft dough.
4. Turn out on to a lightly floured surface and knead for 8—10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with lightly oiled clear film and leave to rise, in a warm place, for 1—11/2 hours, or until doubled in bulk.
5. Knock back the dough and turn it out on to a lightly floured surface. Flatten into a rectangle and sprinkle over half of the apricots, pineapple, cherries, dates and ginger. Fold the sides into the centre and then fold in half to contain the fruit. Flatten into a rectangle again and sprinkle over the remaining fruit. Fold and knead gently to distribute the fruit. Cover the fruited dough with lightly oiled clear film and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
6. Roll the fruited dough into a rectangle 38 x 25 cm / 15 x 10 in. With the short side facing you, fold the bottom third up lengthways and the top third down, tucking in the sides, to form a 23 x 13 cm / 9 x 5 in loaf. Place in the prepared tin, seam side down. Cover with lightly oiled clear film and leave to rise, in a warm place, for 1 hour, or until the dough has reached the top of the tin.
7. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180o C / 350o F / Gas 4. Using a sharp knife, slash the top of the loaf lengthways and then make diagonal slits on either side.
8. Mix together the egg white and water for the glaze, and brush over the top. Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl, then sprinkle over the top. Decorate with pecan nuts or almonds. Bake for 45—50 minutes, or until risen and browned. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Cooks Tip: Keep a close watch on the bread, especially during the final 15 minutes of cooking! If the top of the loaf starts to brown too quickly, cover loosely with aluminium foil or greaseproof paper.
-- Lin’s shortcut—if using a bread maker* To the bread tin add—yeast, milk, flour, salt, butter, cardamom (can use ground cardamom), vanilla essence, brown sugar, lemon rind, and lightly beaten eggs—set the bread maker on dough.
* When the bread maker beeps to say that it is finished—take out the dough and on a floured surface knock it back and follow instructions 5 to 8. To lightly grease plastic wrap I use a can of cooking spray - it’s simple and easy, no mess.
Hint: If you want to try and knead the bread yourself, but like me, find it hard to do so while standing - try what I do - while sitting on my sofa, I place a large plastic cutting board on top of my coffee table, and pull the coffee table as close to my knees as possible, if you find that you are getting sore take regular breaks—it will not effect your dough—but if you need to rest for longer than a few minutes place a clean tea towel over the dough to prevent it from drying out.
With much love, and best wishes,
Your friend,
Lin