The Modenese Christmas bread is part of those traditional recipes that are lost in the mists of time.
It contains a whole series of ingredients that symbolically represent the holidays and “wealth”, even though they are simple foods. We find walnuts and almonds, dried figs and raisins, dark chocolate, eggs, and butter, in addition to sugar and the traditional cooked grape must, which in Modena is called Saba. These are all ingredients that we are now used to seeing on our tables, but in the past, they were considered good omens, perfect for the holidays.
The peculiarity of Modenese Christmas bread is that it does not contain spices, thus differentiating itself from the Bolognese Certosino or the Ferrara Pampepato, and candied fruits, making it a simpler but flavorful dessert.
This bread is also a perfect gift for friends and relatives for the Christmas holidays.
Here are some ideas for homemade Christmas gifts:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 3 loaves
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas
- Energy 197.21 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 24.62 (g) of which sugars 12.21 (g)
- Proteins 3.88 (g)
- Fat 9.63 (g) of which saturated 2.75 (g)of which unsaturated 1.73 (g)
- Fibers 1.67 (g)
- Sodium 10.19 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 50 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
Ingredients for Modenese Christmas Bread
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 9 oz 55% dark chocolate
- 7 oz walnuts (shelled)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3.5 oz blanched almonds
- 3.5 oz plum jam
- 3.5 oz mosto (cooked grape must- Saba)
- 5.5 tbsp butter
- 3 oz raisins (soaked in Sassolino)
- 1.75 oz dried figs
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 packet baking powder
Tools
- Brush
- Plastic bag
Preparation of Modenese Christmas Bread
Put the sifted flour with baking powder in a large bowl, add the sugar, softened butter, two eggs, the jam, and start kneading.
Add the Saba until you obtain a soft but not sticky dough.
Pour in the coarsely chopped nuts, saving some almonds for decoration, the chocolate pieces, and mix carefully.
Divide the dough into three equal parts, shape them into small loaves and score the surface with a cross. Decorate with the saved almonds and walnut halves.
Bake in a preheated static oven at 355°F for about 40 minutes.
Once baked, remove them from the oven and let them cool slightly, then brush the surface with a little Saba for glazing.
The sweet Christmas bread keeps for several days in a plastic bag.
