Every year
the day before Christmas my youngest daughter M. and me are baking a Christmas bread.
I’ve baked it myself for about 25 years now and as soon as she was able to assist me she has done so until she
could bake it herself. We still do it together though as a tradition.
After the
final shopping has been done we weigh the ingredients and mix them all
together.
It is a very rich bread with raisins, walnuts and almonds. At the moment
it is rising in the oven (about 35˚C) for about an hour and a halve.
Originally
this bread is a pagan midwinter sacrifice for the Germanic Gods to ensure the
people of the returning sun and the fertility of the land and the animals. It
used to be only made of white flour since that was more difficult to get than whole
wheat flour. Nowadays it is just yummy
but I like to be aware of what it once
really was meant for.
As always
something went wrong. The bread baking machine didn’t do what is was expected
to do and we had to switch to another mixer. So everything lasted longer
And now at
a quarter past four our “Kerststol” is finally where it’s supposed to be: in
the oven!
After an a
lot of excitement we finally have our Christmas bread ready for tomorrow. It smells delicious!
Merry Christmas!
Yummy! I'm a nut about nuts, and love bread with raisins and nuts in it. We have pecans here where I live, so that is normally what gets put in things. I've been cooking myself today - a cheesy apple casserole and a squash casserole in preparation for tomorrow's meal. Hope you and your loved ones have a peaceful, lovely holiday!
ReplyDeleteYour dishes sound delicious too. For me the cooking starts tomorrow afternoon. Lets hope everything tastes as good as it smells and looks. :D
DeleteThat does look yummy! Hope you enjoy the eating part, too ;)
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid, I loved spending Christmas at my grandma's. She was the only other person I knew who got up as early as me, and so we would bake Christmas biscuits together. I loved the smells, and the warmth of the kitchen, and the togetherness! Didn't bake any of my own biscuits this year :( Ah well, maybe next year...
Thanks Kerry it was delicious. That is the same reason I started this Christmas baking tradition. And I am so glad my daughters have followed me in this
DeleteI think you have reason enough to take it slow this time around
Happy holidays Ellen. Your bread looks delicious. And how fun to have help making it. Wish I could try it. Can smell it from here .... xxxxoooo
ReplyDeleteThanks Carol! The making is just as fun as eating it :)
DeleteHappy holidays for you too
hugs