Kerstbrood Christmas Bread)

It just wouldn?t be Christmas in The Netherlands if there wasn?t some
Christmas Bread served at each festive gathering. Krestbrood is a morning,
noon and night bread. Just dust the portion being served with powdered
sugar, slice and serve. You’ll have a hearty sample of one of the best
Dutch Treats ever made.

In a large mixing bowl stir yeast into warm water and dissolve. Add the
milk, sugar, salt, butter and 2 whole eggs plus the yolk from a third egg
and blend well.

In a separate bowl, dust the raisins, currants, citron and orange peel or
candied fruit with a little flour and cinnamon. Add the almonds to the
fruit mixture.

Add half of the flour to the yeast mixture and stir until smooth. Cover and
let raise in a warm place until doubled, at least 1-hour. Add the remaining
flour and kneed the dough until smooth and elastic, approximately
5-minutes. Knead in the fruits and almonds. Place dough in an oiled bowl,
turning the dough so it is completely coated and covered. Let dough raise
for about 30-minutes.

Divide the dough into two equal portions and press each ball into a large,
flat circle. Fold each circle over so the top half is 1-inch from the edge
of the bottom half, forming a split-loaf shape.

Place loaves on a greased baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Let
raise again until doubled in size, approximately 30-minutes. bake in a
pre-heated 357-F degree oven for 40-minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a
wire rack and sprinkle the top generously with powdered sugar before
serving sliced.