300 gm raisins
100 gm currants
50 gm candied (lemon or orange) peel (optional)
500 gm flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 package dried yeast
35 gm baking sugar (fine grind sugar)
2 dl milk (room temperature)
1 egg (beaten)
75 gm melted butter
1 teaspoon lemon, rasped
250 gm almond paste
2 teaspoon coffee creamer or milk
1-2 teaspoon lemon juice
oil for the baking plate
butter and powdered sugar

Wash the raisins and currants, put them 30 minutes in water that they are just covered. Dry them thoroughly with kitchen paper, add the candied peel (optional) and set aside.

Mix the salt with the flour, make a hole and put in the yeast, baking sugar, and lemon rasp. Add the milk, half of the beaten egg and the melted butter. Start from the middle to mix and knead the dough until it gets soft and supple (or until your hands are clean); put the dough in a bowl and let it raise until double in bulk.

In the meantime, prepare the spijs [click here for recipe for Amandelspijs]: loosen the spijs with a fork, add the coffee creamer or milk, the rest of the egg and lemon juice, mix it thoroughly and roll it into a small "sausage". knead the dough again and add the raisin mixture and mix it again until all the raisins are in the dough. Let it raise again.

Put flour on the working table, roll the dough in a oval shape with a rolling-pin, put the spijs in the middle and fold the dough (in a rectangular shape). and press the sides to have them closed very good. Put the whole bread on a baking-plate, thinly covered with oil, cover the bread again with a towel and let it raise for 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven on 250°C, in the middle, +/- 45 minutes until it is brown and done. Take it directly out from the oven and coat it with melted butter and powdered sugar. When cool, cut it in slices and eat it with butter.

Poster's Notes: Dutch people eat this krentenbrood on different occasions, it is Kerststol, You can also prepare it without the amandelspijs. also the dough can be used for little rolls without the spijs, for example, on Shabbat lunch, usually the kids like them a lot. In Holland the Shabbat lunches are mainly milkish.

Posted by Eliane Dreissen

Nutritional Info Per Serving: N/A