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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Rosinenstuten
Created by
A raisin milk-loaf from the northern and western bread table: soft enough for breakfast, sturdy enough for Sunday coffee, and decided by one plain thing, soaking the raisins first.
Breads
German
Make Ahead
Special Occasion
35 min
Active Time
40 min cook•3 hr 15 min total
Yield1 large loaf, about 12 slices
Rosinenstuten belongs to the north and west, especially Westphalia, the Lower Rhine, and Lower Saxony, where Stuten means a soft white or milk loaf before it means anything fancy. It sits on the breakfast table, the Sunday coffee table, and sometimes at Easter, sliced thick, buttered, and eaten without ceremony. This is bread for the board, not a cake hiding in a loaf tin.
Im Norden anders, im Süden anders. In the north and west I want the loaf baked in a tin, pale-crumbed and sliceable, with raisins through the dough and a little sweetness, not a pastry. Farther south, the same family of dough often becomes Hefezopf, a braided yeast loaf, richer with egg and sometimes almonds. Both have their place. Today we're making Stuten.
The rule that decides it is simple: soak the raisins first. Dry raisins steal water from the dough while it bakes, so the crumb goes tight and the fruit turns leathery at the edge. Plump raisins give the water back slowly and stay soft in the slice. Add them after the dough is already smooth, because raisins worked in too early tear the gluten and leave you with a loaf that rises like it has lost interest.
Use good milk, real butter, and enough time for the dough to rise gently. Das braucht seine Zeit. A rushed enriched dough tastes of yeast and impatience, and nobody asked for that at breakfast.
Stuten is an old north and west German bread name for a fine white or milk loaf, common in Westphalia, Lower Saxony, and the Rhineland long before white wheat bread became everyday food. Raisins entered these breads through trade rather than local farming; by the nineteenth century, cheaper imported dried fruit made Rosinenstuten a household loaf for Sundays and feast days instead of only a baker's luxury. The regional split remains clear: north and west bake Stuten as a tin loaf, while southern German kitchens more often braid a related enriched dough as Hefezopf or Rosinenzopf.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
raisins
Quantity
150g
warm water or warm milk
Quantity
100ml
for soaking
strong white bread flour
Quantity
500g
plus more for dusting
instant yeast or fresh yeast
Quantity
7g instant / 21g fresh
sugar
Quantity
60g
whole milk
Quantity
250ml
lukewarm
large egg
Quantity
1
room temperature
unsalted butter
Quantity
75g
softened
fine salt
Quantity
8g
neutral oil or melted butter
Quantity
1 tablespoon
for the tin
milk
Quantity
1 tablespoon
for brushing
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| raisins | 150g |
| warm water or warm milkfor soaking | 100ml |
| strong white bread flourplus more for dusting | 500g |
| instant yeast or fresh yeast | 7g instant / 21g fresh |
| sugar | 60g |
| whole milklukewarm | 250ml |
| large eggroom temperature | 1 |
| unsalted buttersoftened | 75g |
| fine salt | 8g |
| neutral oil or melted butterfor the tin | 1 tablespoon |
| milkfor brushing | 1 tablespoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Large mixing bowl or stand mixer with dough hook
- •23x13cm loaf tin
- •Wire cooling rack
Instructions
- 1
Soak the raisins
Put the raisins in a small bowl and cover them with the warm water or warm milk for 20 minutes. They should swell and soften, not swim forever. Drain them well and pat them dry, because soaked fruit belongs inside the dough, but loose soaking liquid makes streaks and heavy pockets.
- 2
Start the dough
Mix the flour, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl, then add the lukewarm milk and egg. The milk should feel warm to your finger, not hot, because heat wakes yeast but heat too high kills it before the loaf has begun. Work the mixture into a rough dough.
- 3
Knead in butter
Knead for 5 minutes, then add the softened butter in pieces with the salt and knead another 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky. Butter goes in after the flour has taken up the milk, because fat coats flour and slows gluten if you dump it in too soon.
- 4
Fold in raisins
Spread the dough slightly, scatter over the drained raisins, and fold and knead just until they are evenly carried through. Don't punish the dough now. The gluten is already built, and the fruit only needs to be distributed; too much work crushes raisins and tears the dough.
If the raisins keep rolling out, cover the dough and let it rest 10 minutes. Rested dough relaxes, so it folds around the fruit instead of fighting you. - 5
Let it rise
Cover the bowl and leave the dough at room temperature until doubled, about 60 to 90 minutes. Enriched dough rises more slowly than lean bread because sugar, butter, and egg make the yeast work harder. Das braucht seine Zeit.
- 6
Shape the loaf
Grease a 23x13cm loaf tin. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface, press it gently into a rectangle, roll it up firmly from the short side, and pinch the seam closed. A tight roll gives the loaf a spine, so it rises upward in the tin instead of spreading flat.
- 7
Proof and bake
Set the loaf seam-side down in the tin, cover it, and let it rise until it crowns just above the rim, about 45 to 60 minutes. Brush with milk and bake at 180C for 35 to 40 minutes, until deep golden on top and the loaf sounds hollow underneath. If the top browns too fast, cover it loosely with foil, because sugar colours before the crumb is fully baked.
- 8
Cool before slicing
Turn the loaf out and cool it on a rack for at least 1 hour before slicing. Cut hot Rosinenstuten and the soft crumb compresses under the knife; cooled bread slices cleanly and takes butter properly. Schön ist, was schmeckt.
Chef Tips
- •Use bread flour if you can. The dough carries butter, egg, sugar, and raisins, and it needs the extra strength to rise cleanly instead of slumping in the tin.
- •Soak the raisins, then dry them. Wet raisins slide through the dough and leave damp tunnels; plump but dry raisins stay where you fold them.
- •Serve it thickly sliced with butter. In the Rhineland and Westphalia, a little Rübenkraut, dark sugar beet syrup, is right at home. Jam is allowed. A lecture is not.
- •Toast day-old slices lightly and butter them. Weggeworfen wird nichts.
Advance Preparation
- •The dough can rise overnight in the refrigerator after the raisins are folded in. Cold slows the yeast and gives the crumb better flavour; shape it in the morning once it has lost the chill.
- •The baked loaf keeps 3 days wrapped at room temperature. Freeze sliced Rosinenstuten with parchment between slices so you can toast only what you need.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 85g)
Calories
285 calories
Total Fat
8 g
Saturated Fat
4 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
4 g
Cholesterol
30 mg
Sodium
280 mg
Total Carbohydrates
46 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
14 g
Protein
7 g
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