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Hutzelbrot: a German Fruit Bread Recipe for People who Hate Fruit Cake

November 27, 2018

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Is there a smell the immediately transports you back to your childhood?  For me, it’s a special blend of yeast, lemon zest, cloves, cinnamon, and fruit that takes me back to December at my grandma’s house.  There would be baking piled high on the counters, more on it’s way to the freezer, and plenty of loaves of Hutzelbrot destined for friends, family, and our own bellies.

Hate fruitcake?  You'll love this German-Canadian hybrid of hutzelbrot and stollen.  It's a delicious Christmas fruit bread recipe in a loaf pan that your friends and family will actually want to eat this holiday.  Make it for Christmas breakfast or as an easy homemade gift. #fruitbread #christmas #bread #hutzelbrot #stollen

I didn’t know the bread had an actual name, I just knew it as the fruit bread that reminded me of fruit cake that was made only during the Christmas season.  I thought it was okay, but all the adults in my life seemed to practically fight over a loaf.  Now that I’m an adult myself I can see why.

Fun fact: I probably would have liked the bread better if my grandma cut the apricots up in smaller pieces.  But of course as a child you can’t articulate that, so I foolishly asked her if she could make the bread with less fruit in it. . . totally defeating the point.  Bless her heart, she did make some for me with half the fruit in it.  Can you tell I was her only grandchild?

Hate fruitcake?  You'll love this German-Canadian hybrid of hutzelbrot and stollen.  It's a delicious Christmas fruit bread recipe in a loaf pan that your friends and family will actually want to eat this holiday.  Think of it as the best white fruitcake. #fruitbread #christmas #bread #hutzelbrot #stollen

Finally, I must thank my substitute Grandma, former babysitter, and much beloved relative Lois for teaching me how to make Hutzelbrot (and bread in general) one winter afternoon a couple of years ago.  By the time I was interested in making my own bread well, my grandma was not healthy enough or strong enough to teach me how.  She tried to show me as a child, but I didn’t do it often enough with her to cement it into my memory.

You can make bread by reading and trying recipes.  However, if you know someone who makes it well, I highly recommend making a batch with them one afternoon.  There’s a certain feel to the dough that you just can’t figure out from reading a recipe or watching a Youtube video.  You need someone to actually show you how properly kneaded dough feels.

Hate fruitcake?  You'll love this German-Canadian hybrid of hutzelbrot and stollen.  It's a delicious Christmas fruit bread recipe in a loaf pan that your friends and family will actually want to eat this holiday. #fruitbread #christmas #bread #hutzelbrot #stollen

A Fruitcake for People who Hate Fruitcake

Our family’s version of Hutzelbrot is actually some sort of odd combination of hutzelbrot (apricot bread), white fruit bread, and stollen.  The ingredients resemble Bremer Klaben, but there are no nuts or alcohol and ratio of bread to fruit is wrong.  I personally like to think of it as fruit cake (actually, bread) for people who hate fruit cake.

It’s best served at breakfast or for a snack, with heaps of butter or jam.  Traditionally you’re supposed to let fruit bread cure for a couple of days, but I wouldn’t recommend it with this version.  I don’t think the sugar or alcohol content is high enough to preserve it.  And honestly, who can resist a slice of warm, fresh bread straight out of the oven?

Hutzelbrot makes a beautiful homemade gift for a hostess, neighbours, or your kids teachers.

Hate fruitcake?  You'll love this German-Canadian hybrid of hutzelbrot and stollen.  It's a delicious Christmas fruit bread recipe in a loaf pan that your friends and family will actually want to eat this holiday.  It makes a lovely homemade gift or Christmas breakfast. #fruitbread #christmas #bread #hutzelbrot #stollen

A few tips for making Christmas Fruit Bread

If you’re expecting hutzelbrot to rise like regular bread, don’t.  The dried fruit is so heavy that it takes forever to rise.  Super dry Prairie air in the winter doesn’t help matters either.

I’ve put the ingredients in the recipe exactly as I’ve used them in the pictures.  However, you can use any combination of dried peaches, pears, apples, apricots, figs, or prunes you like.  Cranberries & currents weren’t on the list in the original recipe, but I like them and they were in my cupboard, so in they went.  The only non-negotiable is the 1/2 cup of raisins.  I used golden raisins to appease my yellow-loving son.

Hate fruitcake?  You'll love this German-Canadian hybrid of hutzelbrot and stollen.  It's a delicious Christmas fruit bread recipe in a loaf pan that your friends and family will actually want to eat this holiday.  Think of it as the best white fruitcake. #fruitbread #christmas #bread #hutzelbrot #stollen

Hutzelbrot

Yields 2 full sized loaves or 5 small loaves

A German-Canadian take on Hutzelbrot, a classic Christmas fruit bread. It's also the perfect recipe to try for people who hate fruitcake.

2 hr, 30 Prep Time

40 minCook Time

3 hr, 10 Total Time

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Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups dried fruit such as peaches, pears, apples, figs, apricots, prunes, cranberries, or currants.
  • 1/2 cup of raisins
  • 5 1/4 cups unbleached white flour
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1 1/2 tbsp dry yeast
  • 1/2 tsp sugar or honey
  • 1 cup liquid from cooking fruit
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp grated lemon or orange peel
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup melted butter

Instructions

  1. Boil all fruit except raisins. Drain and set one cup of liquid aside for use in the bread recipe.
  2. Combine sugar, yeast and 1/2 cup warm water and let yeast rise for 10 minutes.
  3. Put all ingredients in a mixer and mix with a dough hook until the dough makes a nice soft ball. You can mix by hand, but it is very difficult dough to work with and don't recommend it for beginners.
  4. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a tea towel, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. This can range from 1-2 hours depending on the humidity level where you live.
  5. Punch down and shape into loaves. Place in greased bread pans and poke holes in the top with a fork. Let rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
  6. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes, or 25-30 minutes if you use smaller loaf pans.

Notes

Rising times vary greatly depending on how much humidity is in the air on baking day. Even though the recipe takes a long time, most of that is spent impatiently waiting for the dough to rise.

Nutrition

Calories

4932 cal

Fat

104 g

Carbs

960 g

Protein

104 g
Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info
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https://www.shiftingroots.com/hutzelbrot-german-fruit-bread/

Hate fruitcake?  You'll love this German-Canadian hybrid of hutzelbrot and stollen.  It's a delicious Christmas fruit bread recipe in a loaf pan that your friends and family will actually want to eat this holiday.  Think of it as the best white fruitcake. #fruitbread #christmas #bread #hutzelbrot #stollen

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

1 Comment
Filed Under: Baking, Christmas, Recipes Tagged: Baking, Christmas baking, Christmas bread, Christmas fruit bread, Christmas traditions, fruit cake, German fruit bread, hutzelbrot

About Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

Comments

  1. Chelsea says

    November 29, 2018 at 4:33 pm

    haha I'm glad you specified in the title that this is for people who hate fruit cake because this is me! I'm definitely tempted to try it now! :) Thanks for sharing. I'll pin it for later! xo Chelsea | https://completelychelsea.com
    Reply

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Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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