Jule kake Norwegian Christmas bread is a cardamom sweet bread made with raisins, candied citron and a long slow rise, baked as four round loaves. That makes it a classic Christmas morning baking project for gifting, a holiday brunch or Christmas Eve, since one batch feeds a whole family.
Beat the dough a full 12 minutes on medium before the fruit goes near it. You want dough that is sticky but releases from your hand. That is the only sign the gluten can carry all that butter and sugar.
The card says 4 servings, but the 4 is loaves, not portions. Step five splits the dough into four pieces, and 1585 calories is a whole loaf, so each one cuts into roughly ten slices.
Jule Kake Norwegian Christmas Bread
Course: Breakfast, DessertCuisine: Norwegian, ScandinavianDifficulty: Medium4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalA rich cardamom yeast dough studded with raisins and candied fruit, rested twice, egg washed and baked until the loaves sound hollow. Norwegian Christmas baking in four round loaves.
Ingredients
5 cups bread flour, plus additional for dusting
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons ground cardamom
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1/4 pound (1 stick) salted butter, diced
2 ounces fresh yeast
3 large eggs
2 cups raisins
1 1/2 cups candied citron or other candied fruit
Directions
- Mix the dough: Fit a stand mixer with the paddle. Combine the flour, sugar, cardamom and salt in the bowl. Stir the milk, butter, yeast and 2 of the eggs together separately, add them on low speed for 2 minutes, then beat on medium about 12 minutes, until the dough is sticky but releases from your hand.
- Add the fruit: Tip in the raisins and citron and mix on slow speed for about 1 minute, just until they are spread through. Do not keep going past that. Cover the bowl and let the dough relax for 10 minutes.
- Knock down and rest: Mix briefly to knock the dough back, then turn it out onto a floured table. Divide it into four pieces, cover them and leave them to rest for 1 1/2 hours.
- Shape and rise: Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Shape each piece into a round loaf and brush with the remaining egg, beaten. Set them on a pan, cover and let them rise until doubled, 1 to 2 hours, then brush with egg wash again.
- Bake: Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the loaves are deeply browned and sound hollow when you tap the bottom. Let them cool completely before slicing, since warm enriched bread tears instead of cutting.
Notes
- The recipe lists 4 servings, which is really 4 loaves. The 1585 calorie figure is per loaf, so a slice is closer to 160.
FAQs
What can I use instead of fresh yeast?
Fresh yeast is hard to find outside a bakery supply, and the usual swap is a third of the weight in instant dry. Two ounces of fresh works out to about 19 grams, so roughly 2 tablespoons of instant. Add it to the dry side rather than the warm milk.
Two tablespoons of cardamom, is that a typo?
It looks wrong until you remember the batch makes four loaves, which brings it to about a teaspoon and a half each. Cardamom is the whole point of jule kake, so do not cut it. Grind whole pods yourself if you can, since ready ground fades fast.
Why the paddle instead of a dough hook?
A paddle beats air and butter through a heavy enriched dough better than a hook does at this stage. The fruit then goes in on slow speed for one minute only, because longer tears the raisins and turns the crumb gray. Stop as soon as it looks evenly spread.
Can I start it the day before?
Yes, chill the dough overnight after the first ten minute rest, then let it warm up before shaping. Cold dough will not rise properly in the pan, so give it the full time. For a Christmas bread designed around an overnight rest, try this overnight monkey bread.
What do I do with the leftovers?
Norwegians slice it thin and butter it, and that is still the best answer on day two. By day three it dries out, which is exactly when it turns into very good French toast, much like this cranberry French toast. It also freezes whole for a month.
