This wonderful Christmas bread is truly special and perfect for breakfast during the holiday season, but just as good to serve with cold cuts, cheese, butter, or jam, as is customary in Norway. The traditional recipe also includes candied citrus peel, in addition to raisins.
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Rest time: 3 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 8 People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Norwegian
- Seasonality: Christmas
- Energy 383.59 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 69.93 (g) of which sugars 21.26 (g)
- Proteins 10.29 (g)
- Fat 8.98 (g) of which saturated 5.19 (g)of which unsaturated 3.27 (g)
- Fibers 2.68 (g)
- Sodium 255.43 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
CHRISTMAS BREAD INGREDIENTS
- 4 tbsp butter
- 0.53 oz fresh yeast
- Half teaspoon salt
- 0.3 cup sugar
- Half teaspoon cardamom (powder)
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup raisins (or half raisins half candied fruits)
- 1 egg (small)
- as needed milk
- 1 egg yolk (for brushing)
Tools
- 1 Cake Pan
CHRISTMAS BREAD PREPARATION
Place the raisins in lukewarm water. The water should barely cover the raisins. Set aside for about 15 minutes.
Mix the ingredients and knead for about 10 minutes. With the mixer, use the dough hook and mix for about 10 minutes. If the dough is too stiff, add more milk as needed. The dough should be soft and compact just like bread dough.
Add the butter in small pieces and knead until it is completely absorbed. The dough should now easily detach from the bowl. This should take about 10 minutes of kneading.
Drain the raisins, squeeze them a bit, and add them to the dough. Mix the dough until the raisins are evenly distributed.
Cover the dough and set aside to rise, until it has doubled in size. About 1 and a half hours.
Shape the dough into a loaf and transfer it to the pan lined with parchment paper.
Cover and set aside to rest until the dough has doubled. This may take about 1 hour.
Brush with an egg yolk and then bake the Christmas bread in the oven at 350°F for 25-30 minutes until they reach a nice golden color. Cool on a rack.
Adriana’s Tip
Do not overbake, otherwise it will become too dry and hard.
Do not overbake, otherwise it will become too dry and hard.
