Krentenbrood (Currant and Marzipan Loaf)
As a boy I used to enjoy Krentenbrood (currant loaf) in the Netherlands. That loaf is a white bread made with yeast. I especially looked forward to the almond paste marzipan running through every slice. It is a bread and not a stollen though some of the ingredients are the same. This recipe, Krentenbrood with with speculaas spices is influenced by the flavours of that bread. Eat at breakfast or lunch with just butter or sprinkle with hagelslag (chocolate vermicelli/sprinkles)
Course Bread
Cuisine Dutch
large mixing bowl
Large loaf tin
For the Dough
- 450 g strong white flour
- 1 sachet yeast
- 4 tsp Speculaas spice mix *
- 25 g unsalted butter melted
- 30 g white sugar or honey
- 125 ml lukewarm water
- 175 ml milk or whey
- 6 g Salt
Fruit
- 50 g glazed cherries
- 30 g currants, raisins and/or sultanas
- 100 g marzipan
Glaze
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp boiling water
Make the dough in your usual way, combining all the ingredients except the fruit and marzipan.
Cut the glazed cherries into quarters. Add the cherries and sultanas and repeat this stretching and folding each hour, 2 more times.
Shaping
Roll the marzipan roughly into a cylinder slighly shorter than the length of the loaf tin.
Empty the dough onto a floured surface. Flatten the dough roughly into an oblong the length of the loaf tin and twice as wide.
Place the marzipan cylinder near the edge and roll the dough to enclose it. Roll the opposite side to meet the marzipan covered and turn the dough so that the marzipan is now on top. Seal the join
Grease the loaf tin and dust with flour. Transfer the dough to the loaf tin with marzipan closest to the top.
Cover the loaf tin with a linen cloth or cotton cover and place in the fridge.
Allow to rise (90 minutes) then brush with glaze