Swedish Christmas bread

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• ½ liter of dark beer (porter beer)
• ½ liter malt beer
• 1 tsp, leveled clove powder
• 1 tsp, leveled cardamom powder
• 2 tsp, leveled anise powder
• 2 tsp, chopped fennel, ground
• 2 ½ tbsp, leveled orange peel, dried, ground
• 50 g butter
• 100 g beet syrup
• ½ tbsp, leveled salt
• 1 ½ tsp, sifted dry yeast
• 240 g rye flour
• 360 g wheat flour

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 4 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 4 hours 40 minutes; Total time approx. 9 hours 40 minutes

Combine the porter beer and malt beer in a saucepan and reduce the volume to 0.4 l over low heat. I usually do this the night before baking, as it can take 3-4 hours. Please be careful, as the mixture can boil over very quickly. Patience and low heat are the best options. Let the liquid cool slightly or leave it overnight. Add the spices (cloves, cardamom, anise, fennel, and orange peel, all ground) and let everything soak for about an hour. Melt the butter and add it to the liquid, along with the syrup. Add the flour, yeast, and salt, and knead everything into a dough for about 15-20 minutes. Let the dough rise for one hour. Divide the dough into two equal portions and place them in small loaf pans lined with baking paper. Sprinkle a little water on the surface of the dough. Cover with a cloth and let rise for 2-3 hours. Bake in the center of the oven at 200°C (400°F) for 40 minutes. Notes: This bread is called Vörtbröt in Sweden and is very popular during the Christmas season. Many people bake it with raisins, as is traditional. It’s up to everyone to choose. We prefer to make it without raisins. The bread tastes best the next day. It keeps well in a bread bin. It’s also good for freezing. It tastes good with just butter and salt, with cheese, or with ham.