Description
This delicious Norwegian bread is a traditional treat served at Christmas. It’s full of raisins and citron, and has a fluffy texture. You’ll enjoy the festive aroma and taste of this Scandinavian dessert!
Scale
Ingredients
- 4 1/8 cups bread flour (500g)
- 3 teaspoons fast-action yeast (10g)
- 2 teaspoons salt (10g)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar (80g)
- 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (50g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk (250 ml)
- 3/4 cup raisins (120g)
- 3/4 cup candied citron peel, diced (150g)
Instructions
- Pour the flour into a mixing bowl and add the salt and yeast on opposite sides. Stir each one in with your finger.
- Mix in the sugar, cardamom, butter, and eggs until well combined.
- Warm the milk to 115 F in the microwave or a small saucepan, then gradually add it to the flour mixture. Stir and crush the ingredients together with your hand and continue adding milk until a somewhat sticky dough forms.
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead until the dough is no longer sticky and passes the windowpane test, about 10-15 minutes. Do the windowpane test by pulling off a lump of dough and stretching it as thin as you can. If it stretches to be translucent without tearing, it's kneaded enough.
- Shape the kneaded dough into a ball, place it in a buttered bowl, and cover tightly with plastic wrap.
- Let it rise in a warm place until at least doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Punch down the dough, then turn it onto a lightly floured surface and pat the dough flat. Knead in about half of the raisins and citron until it's evenly distributed, then add the rest of the dried fruit.
- Shape the dough into a large round loaf and pick off any pieces of dried fruit on the outside crust of the bread. This will prevent the fruit from burning in the oven.
- Place the loaf on a parchment-covered cookie sheet and cover it with plastic wrap. Let the loaf rise in a warm place until it's springy to the touch, about 30 minutes.
- Bake at 375 F for 40-45 minutes, covering it with foil halfway through the baking time if needed. The julekake is done when a meat thermometer registers 190-200 F inside.
- Let the julekake cool for at least 1 hour on a wire rack, then slice and serve with butter, brunost (Norwegian goat cheese), and hot coffee.
Notes
- Always use bread flour to get a high rising, fluffy julekake.
- Grind your own cardamom for the best flavor.
- Using fast-action yeast eliminates the need for blooming the yeast before you make the dough.
- A stand mixer makes it faster to knead the fruit into the dough.
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Norwegian
Keywords: easy, norwegian, bread
