Schnitzbrot (German Christmas Bread)
4.6
Ingredients
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 100 min
- Total
- 355 min
Instructions
- 1 Lightly grease three 9x5-inch loaf pans; grease a large bowl. Set aside.
- 2 Dissolve yeast in water in a separate large bowl; set aside until mixture becomes creamy, about 15 minutes. Stir in sugar until combined, then stir in 3 cups flour until well combined.
- 3 Meanwhile, combine prune juice and mincemeat in a medium saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, about 1 minute. Off heat, stir in prunes, raisins, walnuts, brown sugar, ½ cup butter, and salt.
- 4 Add mincemeat mixture to yeast mixture; gradually stir in remaining 7 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, until well blended and a moist dough forms (you may not need all of the flour).
- 5 Turn out dough onto a floured work surface; knead into a ball. Transfer dough to the greased bowl, cover with a cloth, and set aside in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 ½ hours.
- 6 Punch down dough; turn out onto a floured work surface, lightly knead, and return to the bowl. Set aside to rise again, about 1 hour.
- 7 Punch down dough; turn out onto a floured work surface and divide into 3 loaves. Place each loaf into a prepared pan; lightly brush each top with 1 teaspoon butter.
- 8 Cover pans with a clean cloth; set aside to rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
- 9 Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
- 10 Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Reduce the oven temperature to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C); continue baking until a toothpick inserted into centers comes out mostly clean, about 30 minutes more. Cool slightly, remove from pans, and cool on wire racks.
By LISARAIN2