Birebrot
Lou will be back tomorrow from his hut trip with Louie and friends. It’s been snowing in the Elk Mountains and I’m sure he will update Wildsnow with lovely shots of Colorado backcountry pow.
In the meantime, I’m at home preparing for the CPA exam — a torturous drag. I plan to study for a few more hours, then go on a short ski tour for fresh air. Before I leave, I’ll put dough in the oven. My boys will return home to a fresh loaf of Birebrot, a favorite recipe that my Swiss sister-in-law, Tabea, adapted for a bread maker. Before you complain that Lou’s backcountry page has turned into a recipe site, let me repeat the words of Julia Child, how can a nation be great if its bread tastes like Kleenex?”
BIREBROT
1-1/2 lbs dried pears
4 oz dried figs
2 oz prunes
1/2 lbs raisins
Spice mix (made from 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ginger, 1/8 tsp cardamom)
Cut all fruit in small pieces, put in large bowl, and add the spice mix. Add 2 cl (shot glass) Kirsch Wasser, add 1 1/2 cup water, mix all ingredients well. Let sit over night. The water and Kirsch will be absorbed, making the fruit bits nice and moist. Make a batch of bread dough in your bread maker (recipe follows).
Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare two regular size bread pans with cooking spray. With your hands, mix the fruit and bread dough until well combined. Divide in two batches, fill bread pans. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and the top of loaf is darkish brown. The Birebrot will stay fresh for 1-2 weeks when wrapped in aluminum foil and stored in the refrigerator.
Bread Dough
All ingredients at room temperature, except milk.
1/4 cup water
1 egg
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2-3/4 cups bread flour
2 tsp active dry yeast
Measure all ingredients into bread pan. Select dough setting.
En Guete!
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My Swiss heart beats faster when I see those good Swiss recipes. Finding some good bread in the US is definitely a task. In the last few years it improved quite a bit though. The best in the Denver area you will find at Udi’s. (www.udisfood.com) Try the filone.