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Paasbrod - An Easter Bread from the Netherlands

I was looking for a festive bread to make for this month’s Bread Baking Day. I finally settled on a Paasbrod. This bread, traditionally made in the Netherlands for Easter, contains candied peel, raisins and a sweet almond filling. So this seemed an apt bread to make this month even though we don’t c
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Course breads
Cuisine european
Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients
  

For the Bread :

  • 1 cup milk warm + 1 tbsps
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsps yeast dry active
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 1 egg egg white + white
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom powder

For the Filling:

  • 1 cup almonds , blanched and finely ground
  • 2/3 cup sugar granulated
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 1/2 tsps lemon juice
  • 1 cup golden raisins
  • 2 tbsps lemon peel candied (I left this out as I didnu2019t have any)
  • 1 tbsp lemon rind / zest

Instructions
 

  • To make the almond paste, using the metal blade in the processor combine the ground almonds, sugar, egg yolk and lemon juice into a paste. Roll the paste lengthwise, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for about an hour.
  • For the bread, start by dissolving 1 tbsp sugar in 1 cup warm milk and add the yeast. Mix and allow to prove. Put the flours, egg and egg white, oil, cardamom powder and yeast mixture into the food processor bowl and combine to form a sticky dough. Put the dough on a lightlt floured surface and knead till smooth. Form into a ball, place in an oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise till double in size. This should take about an hour.
  • Punch down the dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Place the raisins and lemon rind/ zest in the middle and knead until this is uniformly incorporated into the dough. Pat the dough into a rectangle (the size should be just enough to wrap around the almond paste roll) and place the almond paste roll in the middle. Fold the dough in at the ends of the roll and then fold over from both sides to completely enclose the filling. Cover and allow to rise for about 20 minutes.
  • Glaze with the 1 tbsp milk and bake at 200C (400F) for about 45 minutes. The bread should be golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.