Recipe: Julekage (Norwegian Christmas Bread)

Julekage (Norwegian Christmas Bread)
alt.creative-cooking/Gloria

My step-Father was Norwegian and we'd make this every Christmas. Nothing sweeter smelling or better tasting that a slice of toasted Julekage on Christmas morning! This one was in tonight's paper (December 13, 1998).

Julekage

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup lukewarm milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardoman
1 egg
2 Tablespoons shortening
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup citron, chopped
3 1/4 to 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl. Beat in milk, sugar, salt, cardoman, egg, shortening, raisins, citron and 1 and 1/2 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about five minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turn greased side up and cover to let rise in warm place until double in size, about an hour. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.

Punch down dough and shaope into round loaf. Place in greased round layer pan about 9 by 1 1/2 inches. Cover and let rise until double, about 45 minutes. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Brush dough with egg yolk glaze (see below). Bake until golden brown, 30-40 minutes.

Egg yolk glaze: Beat one egg yolk and 2 Tablespoons water together.