Schnitzbrot (German Christmas Bread)

Schnitzbrot (German Christmas Bread)

The traditional ingredients used in this moist, dense German Christmas yeast bread are prune juice, chopped prunes, raisins, walnuts, and brown sugar.

Preparation Time
30 mins
Cooking Time
1 hr 40 mins
Total Time
2 hr 10 mins
Calories
400 Calories

Recipe Instructions

Step 1
Grease a large bowl. Lightly grease three 5 x 9-inch loaf pans. Set aside.
Step 2
Pour water into another large bowl. Add yeast and stir until dissolved. Set aside until mixture becomes creamy, about 15 minutes. Stir in white sugar and 3 cups flour. Mix until well combined.
Step 3
Add prune juice and mincemeat to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat, and stir in prunes, butter, raisins, walnuts, brown sugar, and salt.
Step 4
Combine prune mixture with yeast mixture. Gradually stir in remaining 7 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, until well blended to make a moist dough (you may not need all of it). Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and knead into a ball. Transfer to the reserved greased bowl. Cover with a cloth, and place in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
Step 5
Punch down dough, knead lightly on a floured work surface, and return to the bowl. Allow to rise again, about 1 hour.
Step 6
Turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Punch down and divide into 3 loaves. Place each loaf into a prepared loaf pan. Lightly brush tops of each loaf with 1 teaspoon softened butter. Cover with a clean cloth, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Step 7
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
Step 8
Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Lower heat to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) and continue to bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle of loaves comes out mostly clean, about 30 minutes more. Let cool slightly, remove from pans, and cool on racks.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
  • 1 (9 ounce) package condensed mincemeat
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 cup walnuts, chopped
  • 2 (.25 ounce) envelopes active dry yeast
  • 2 cups prunes, pitted and chopped
  • 1 cup black raisins
  • 0.5 cup butter, softened
  • 1.5 cups prune juice

Categories

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