Chef Klaus
Bauernbrot
The farmhouse loaf that made sense of a weekly oven firing: rye for keeping, wheat for lift, sourdough for the crumb, and a dark crust that earns its crack.
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Hutzelbrot
Created by
The southern Advent loaf where dried pears do the work: soaked until tender, folded through a small amount of dough, and baked into a dark fruit bread that keeps for Christmas.
Breads
German
Christmas
Make Ahead
1 hr 10 min
Active Time
1 hr 25 min cook•P2DT4H35M total
Yield2 loaves, about 20 slices
Hutzelbrot is Advent bread from the southern winter larder, strongest in Swabia, Baden, the Allgäu, and the old orchard country where pears were dried because winter was long and sugar was not cheap. It belongs on the Christmas table, but it is made before Christmas because it keeps. More fruit than bread. That is not a slogan, that is the structure of the loaf.
The regions argue by name and by dough. In Swabia and Baden you hear Hutzelbrot, from Hutzeln, dried pears; in Bavaria and Austria the same family becomes Kletzenbrot, and in Switzerland Birnbrot may wrap a pear filling in dough instead of mixing the fruit through it. Im Norden anders, im Süden anders. The north has its rye and fish table; this is the southern fruit loft talking.
The whole loaf works or fails on the soaking. Dried pears have to drink first, then simmer until pliable, then drain and cool until only tacky. Put them in dry and they rob the dough, leaving hard fruit and a tight crumb. Put them in wet and hot and the dough cannot grip, the yeast sulks, and the loaf bakes heavy in the wrong way. Erst verstehen, dann kochen.
I use the pear liquor in the dough because it already tastes of the bread you are trying to make. Weggeworfen wird nichts. The dough is only the binding, a spiced web around pears, plums, figs, raisins, and nuts. Let it rest a day before you slice it. A Christmas loaf that cannot wait one day has learned nothing.
Hutzelbrot belongs to the Alemannic and Swabian south, especially Baden-Württemberg, the Allgäu, Upper Swabia, and Franconian border kitchens, where orchard pears were dried as Hutzeln for winter. Before beet sugar became cheaper after Franz Karl Achard opened the first beet-sugar factory at Cunern in Silesia in 1801, dried pears, plums, and figs supplied much of the sweetness for rural Advent baking. The naming line still shows the region: Swabia and Baden say Hutzelbrot, Bavaria and Austria often say Kletzenbrot, and Switzerland's Birnbrot can wrap the pear filling in a distinct dough instead of mixing fruit through the loaf.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
dried pears (Hutzeln or Backbirnen)
Quantity
350g
stems removed
pitted prunes
Quantity
200g
halved
dried figs
Quantity
150g
chopped
raisins or currants
Quantity
150g
candied orange peel (Orangeat)
Quantity
80g
finely chopped
candied lemon peel (Zitronat)
Quantity
40g
finely chopped
walnuts
Quantity
150g
toasted and roughly chopped
whole hazelnuts or almonds
Quantity
80g
toasted
unwaxed lemon
Quantity
1
zested
Kirschwasser or Obstler (optional)
Quantity
3 tablespoons
rye flour
Quantity
150g
wheat bread flour
Quantity
250g
instant yeast or fresh yeast
Quantity
7g instant / 21g fresh
ground cinnamon
Quantity
2 teaspoons
ground anise or crushed aniseed
Quantity
1 teaspoon
ground cloves
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
ground coriander
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
fine salt
Quantity
8g
honey or dark beet syrup
Quantity
60g
divided
unsalted butter
Quantity
30g
softened
reserved pear cooking liquor
Quantity
240ml plus 2 tablespoons
cooled to lukewarm
salted butter (optional)
Quantity
as needed
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dried pears (Hutzeln or Backbirnen)stems removed | 350g |
| pitted pruneshalved | 200g |
| dried figschopped | 150g |
| raisins or currants | 150g |
| candied orange peel (Orangeat)finely chopped | 80g |
| candied lemon peel (Zitronat)finely chopped | 40g |
| walnutstoasted and roughly chopped | 150g |
| whole hazelnuts or almondstoasted | 80g |
| unwaxed lemonzested | 1 |
| Kirschwasser or Obstler (optional) | 3 tablespoons |
| rye flour | 150g |
| wheat bread flour | 250g |
| instant yeast or fresh yeast | 7g instant / 21g fresh |
| ground cinnamon | 2 teaspoons |
| ground anise or crushed aniseed | 1 teaspoon |
| ground cloves | 1/2 teaspoon |
| ground coriander | 1/2 teaspoon |
| fine salt | 8g |
| honey or dark beet syrupdivided | 60g |
| unsalted buttersoftened | 30g |
| reserved pear cooking liquorcooled to lukewarm | 240ml plus 2 tablespoons |
| salted butter (optional)for serving | as needed |
Equipment Needed
- •Large 4 litre mixing bowl
- •Heavy 2 litre saucepan
- •Rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment
- •Instant-read thermometer
Instructions
- 1
Soak the pears
Put the dried pears in a bowl, cover them with cold water by two fingers, and refrigerate them overnight. Hutzeln are leathery because they were dried to last through winter; if they go into the loaf dry, they steal water from the dough and leave hard pockets around themselves.
- 2
Simmer and drain
Tip the pears and their soaking water into a saucepan and simmer them for 20 to 30 minutes, until a knife goes in with soft resistance but the fruit still holds its shape. Drain over a jug and keep the liquor. Pour 200ml of the hot liquor over the prunes, figs, and raisins for 20 minutes, then drain them too. Weggeworfen wird nichts: that dark pear liquor carries sugar, tannin, and fruit flavour, so it goes into the dough instead of down the sink.
Spread the drained fruit on a tray until it is cool and only tacky to the touch. Wet fruit makes the dough slide off; hot fruit weakens the yeast before it has done its work. - 3
Mix the fruit
Chop the cooled pears into rough 1cm pieces and mix them with the prunes, figs, raisins, candied peels, nuts, lemon zest, and Kirschwasser if you are using it. Do this after the fruit has cooled, because heat drives off the fruit brandy and softens the nuts. You want chew, not paste.
- 4
Make the dough
Mix the rye flour, wheat flour, yeast, cinnamon, anise, cloves, coriander, and salt in a large bowl. Stir 240ml lukewarm pear liquor with 50g of the honey or beet syrup and the soft butter, then work it into the flour until you have a firm, tacky dough. Lukewarm means warm to the finger, not hot; hot liquor punishes the yeast, and cold liquor makes the dough slow and sulky. Knead 6 to 8 minutes, then cover and leave it until slightly risen, about 1 hour.
Rye dough stays sticky. Don't keep throwing flour at it or the loaf bakes dry; wet your hands and keep moving. - 5
Bind the loaf
Work the dough through the fruit with your hands, squeezing and folding until the dough disappears into thin webs around the fruit and nuts. It will look like too much fruit and not enough bread. Good. Hutzelbrot is not a sweet loaf with a few raisins in it; it is the winter larder held together by dough.
- 6
Shape and proof
Divide the mixture in two and shape each half into a tight oval on a parchment-lined baking sheet, using wet hands to smooth the surface and push exposed raisins back inside. Exposed dried fruit burns before the centre is baked. Cover and proof 45 to 60 minutes, until the loaves look a little puffed but not doubled; the fruit is heavy, and waiting for a full rise only weakens the structure.
- 7
Bake and glaze
Bake at 180C for 20 minutes, then runter mit der Temperatur, down with the temperature, to 165C and bake 40 to 50 minutes more, until the loaves are dark, firm, and about 94C in the centre. Fruit sugar colours fast, so the lower heat lets the middle finish before the crust turns bitter. Warm the remaining 10g honey or beet syrup with 2 tablespoons pear liquor and brush it over the hot crust for a thin gloss.
If the crust colours too quickly, cover the loaves loosely with parchment for the last 20 minutes. Foil pressed tight traps moisture against the crust, and then you lose the chew. - 8
Rest before slicing
Cool the loaves completely, then wrap them in parchment and a clean cloth and leave them at least 24 hours before slicing. Das braucht seine Zeit. Cut too early and the fruit tears the crumb so it looks raw; rest it and the moisture settles through the loaf. Slice thin, with salted butter if you like. Schön ist, was schmeckt.
Chef Tips
- •Buy real dried pears, brown and leathery, called Hutzeln or Backbirnen. Soft golden pear rings make a polite tea loaf, not this bread.
- •Use the pear cooking liquor in the dough. Plain water works only if you want the loaf to taste thinner than it should.
- •No pear jam, no bought fruit filling. Nicht aus dem Glas. The point is dried fruit that has been brought back carefully, not sweetness smeared through bread.
- •Bake it one to three days before serving. The loaf slices cleaner after a rest, and the spice and fruit settle into each other.
- •Store wrapped in parchment and cloth in a cool place for up to 2 weeks. If you see mold, discard the loaf; thrift is not stupidity.
Advance Preparation
- •Start two days ahead: soak the pears the first night, bake the next day, and slice the day after that.
- •The fruit can be soaked, simmered, drained, and cooled one day before mixing the dough; keep it covered in the refrigerator and bring it back toward room temperature before using.
- •Baked Hutzelbrot freezes well in slices. Wrap tightly, freeze up to 3 months, and thaw only what you need.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 95g)
Calories
310 calories
Total Fat
10 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
7 g
Cholesterol
5 mg
Sodium
160 mg
Total Carbohydrates
51 g
Dietary Fiber
7 g
Sugars
29 g
Protein
6 g
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