Bremer Klaben

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl or stand mixer with dough hook
• •Baking sheet lined with parchment
• •Pastry brush
• •Parchment paper and foil for wrapping

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the fruit

   Mix the raisins, currants, candied orange peel, candied lemon peel, and rum in a bowl, cover, and leave overnight. Stir once if you pass the bowl. Dry fruit pulls moisture out of yeast dough as it bakes; soaked fruit gives the crumb back what it would have stolen.

2. 2

   Start the yeast

   Warm the milk until it feels just warm to the finger, then stir in the yeast and a spoon of the sugar. Let it stand until creamy and alive, about 10 minutes. Hot milk kills yeast, cold milk slows it to a sulk, and butter-rich dough already moves slowly enough.

3. 3

   Mix the dough

   Put the flour, remaining sugar, cardamom, salt, and lemon zest in a large bowl. Add the yeast milk, eggs, and softened butter, then knead until the dough turns smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes by machine or longer by hand. Add the butter soft, not melted, because melted butter greases the flour before gluten can form.

4. 4

   Rest the dough

   Cover the dough and let it rise until swollen and nearly doubled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Keep it in a mild room, not near fierce heat. Runter mit der Temperatur. Slow yeast gives the butter time to stay in the dough instead of leaking into the bowl.

5. 5

   Fold in fruit

   Drain any loose rum from the fruit and save it. Knead the soaked fruit and almonds into the dough in three additions, folding rather than tearing. The fruit load is high, so force makes streaks and holes; patience spreads it without breaking the dough's back.

   If the fruit keeps slipping out, let the dough rest 10 minutes and try again. Rest relaxes the gluten, and relaxed dough accepts fruit instead of throwing it across the bench.
6. 6

   Shape the loaves

   Divide the dough in two and shape each piece into a long, firm oval loaf. Set them on a lined baking sheet with space between them, cover loosely, and let them rise until slightly puffy, 45 to 60 minutes. Don't wait for a balloon. A fruit-heavy Klaben rises modestly, and that's right.

7. 7

   Bake gently

   Bake at 180C for 15 minutes, then lower to 160C and bake 45 to 55 minutes more, until the crust is deep golden brown and a skewer comes out without wet dough. Lowering the heat protects the fruit sugars from scorching before the dense middle has baked through.

8. 8

   Butter and wrap

   Brush the loaves with melted butter while the crust is still warm, using the saved rum in the butter if you like. Let them cool completely, then wrap tightly in parchment and foil and leave two days before slicing. The rest lets the fruit moisture move through the crumb. Cut too early and you get a good smell, not a good slice.

Chef Tips

• •Use bread flour. The fruit is heavy, and weak flour gives up before the loaf is shaped.
• •Don't replace the candied peel with a bottle of extract. Nicht aus dem Glas. The peel gives chew, bitterness, and citrus oil in the slice.
• •Cardamom belongs here. Use it fresh enough that it smells sharp when you open the jar, or grind pods yourself.
• •Klaben keeps well because the fruit is soaked and the loaf is wrapped. Store it cool, not refrigerated, for up to two weeks.

Advance Preparation

• •Soak the fruit the night before mixing. That is not decoration; it decides the crumb.
• •Bake the Klaben two to five days before serving. The loaf cuts cleaner and tastes fuller after resting.
• •Wrapped tightly, the loaves keep up to two weeks in a cool pantry. Slice only what you need, then wrap the cut face again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 90g)