Awesome Fruit Filled Bread
Submitted by 37beaches
Fruit-filled yeast bread wrapped around a dense, spiced filling of dried pears, prunes, raisins and walnuts spiked with kirsch. The fruit is enclosed in a soft enriched dough and baked golden. A festive, slice-and-serve loaf.
YIELD
36 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
1 hrsREADY
3 hrsThis is a festive, old-world fruit bread in the spirit of Swiss Birnbrot, where a soft enriched yeast dough is wrapped around a dense, jammy filling of dried fruit and nuts. Cut into a loaf and you get a spiral of golden bread hugging a dark, spiced fruit center.
The filling is the soul of it. Dried pears and prunes are soaked overnight, gently cooked soft, then ground into a thick paste. In go walnuts, raisins plumped in kirsch, sugar, cloves and nutmeg, building a rich, boozy, spiced mixture.
A clever touch: some of that filling gets kneaded right into a portion of the dough, so even the wrapper carries fruit flavor, while the rest is enclosed inside. An egg-yolk wash gives the baked loaves a deep, glossy shine, and pricking the dough lets steam escape so it bakes evenly.
It keeps beautifully and slices into thin, jewel-studded pieces, lovely with coffee or a wedge of cheese.
Chef Tips
- Soak the dried pears and prunes overnight so they cook down soft enough to grind into a smooth filling.
- Knead a little filling into part of the dough as directed. It flavors the wrapper and ties the loaf together.
- Prick the loaves and brush with egg yolk before baking, for a vented, glossy, evenly browned crust.
Variations
- Swap dried figs, apricots or dates for some of the pears and prunes.
- Use rum or brandy in place of the kirsch to soak the raisins.
- Add a little citrus zest or cinnamon to the filling for extra warmth.
Ingredients
Directions
Dissolve yeast in lukewarm milk: add melted butter.
Sift flour with the salt.
Add milk to flour. Knead until smooth, allow to rise in covered bowl in a warm place, about 1 hour.
Soak pears and prunes overnight in cold water.
Cook in the soaking water about 20 minutes, drain off water and put fruit through a meat grinder.
Add coarsely chopped nuts to the fruit mixture.
Soak raisins in kirsch: add to the mixture, along with sugar and spices.
Knead mixture into one-third of the dough, and shape into two narrow loaves.
Roll out remaining dough, cut into two rectangles, and wrap around the fruit loaves.
Fold the ends under and place on metal baking sheet with the seam on the bottom.
Prick several times with a fork.
Allow to rise in a warm place for one hour.
Brush with egg yolk and bake in a pre-heated 340 degrees F oven for about one hour.
Comments
