Baking Bread: Luxembourg

 In the multimedia series "Baking Bread," EU correspondent Georg Matthes bakes 28 loaves from 28 EU countries and spices his baking instructions with typical anecdotes about each land. This time he prepares raisin bread from Luxembourg.

Ingredients

• 420g plain flour
• 20g fresh yeast
• 100g lukewarm milk
• 75g + 1 tsp sugar
• 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk for the glaze
• 60g soft butter
• 1tbs vanilla sugar (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
• a pinch of salt
• 120g raisins

 

And here is how you prepare Kiirmeskuch – Luxembourg's Raisin Bread:

1. Measure the flour out into a large bowl and form a small hollow. Crumble the fresh yeast into the hollow and mix with a teaspoon of sugar and 100ml lukewarm water.
2. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let the mixture stand for 15 minutes. You should start seeing lots of little bubbles develop.
3. Now add the sugar, eggs, softened butter, a tablespoon of vanilla sugar and a pinch of salt. Knead all the ingredients on a low setting in a stand mixer for 10 minutes. The dough should be stretchy and not stick to the side of the bowl.
4. Add the raisins and knead them into the dough.
5. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes until it has doubled in size.
6. Now shape the dough. Take dough from all sides and fold it in the middle to build elasticity, repeating the process ten times until you have a round loaf. Then turn the loaf upside down onto a clean, non-floured surface and, using both hands, pull it towards you.
7. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
8. Place the dough in a greased rectangular bread pan and leave it to rise for a further 45 minutes.
9. Glaze the top of the loaf with the beaten egg yolk and place in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes. Turn the bread out of the bread pan and leave to cool on a wire rack.