Ever wondered what seasonal confectionary looked like in the days before Big Food and the advent of refined sugar? This is one answer:
Bavarian Fruit Bread, a traditional christmas bakery that dates back to the middle ages. Originally, it was made with sourdough and the nuts and dried fruits available in the region, such as hazelnuts, raisins, prunes and dried pears (hutzeln), although even then, townspeople used to show their wealth by including precious, imported ingredients such as almonds, dried figs and dates or candied citrus peel, which are common ingredients today, whereas dried pears are ironically hard to come by.
Here is a very simple recipe:
200 g whole wheat or spelt flour
4 medium sized eggs
100 g honey
200 g nuts
500 g dried fruits
1 tbsp rum
2 tsp baking agent
2 tsp cinnamon
For the bread shown above I used hazelnuts, raisins, figs, dates and candied lemon peel, but you can really use any types of nuts and dried fruits you like, as long as the fruits are rather soft and sweet. For the sake of convenience, this recipe uses eggs and baking agent, but for a vegan version you can use the more traditional sourdough (in this case it is recommended to first bake a small loaf of bread without nuts or fruits to see if the dough raises properly in order not to risk wasting all the precious ingredients). Cinnamon is the most commonly used spice, but if you like, you can add a pinch of other spices such as ginger, cloves, cardamom, mace and all-spice.
Preparation:
Cut larger fruits into several pieces and put all the fruits into a pot, add rum and 2 tsbp of water, cover with lid and set it sit for a few hours or over night.
Whip the eggs with honey and add the flour mixed with baking agent and spices. Add the nuts and the soaked fruits and mix carefully. Put the dough into a fatted loaf pan and bake for about an hour at 160° C until the crust is gently browned.
Obviously, this fruit bread is quite caloric and high in sugar, but it is also very high in fiber and polyphenols. You'd be surprised how filling it is, compared to the usual sweet bakery made with lots of fat and refined flour. Thusm delicious as it is, you won't be tempted to gorge on it.
