christmas bread (This is good.)

Published: Sat, 12/20/25

** legends * home * backpack * poor image quality today sorry **

christmas bread (slice of bread with fruity bits in it) This is good. / My mom, my aunt, my cousins, and I all make this differently, for various kooky reasons, kind of the same way proto-Indo-European eventually got us to English and Spanish and German and so on. / Everyone's recipe has in common an absurd amount of butter and an ingredient called (among those in the know) frootie patootie. / (container of candied fruit) / I use a stollen recipe from an old Joy
of Cooking edition, but with my own various twists.

When I spent a college semester in Nepal, I planned to be away from home for Christmas, but at the last minute and without telling anyone I decided to go home early. I took the long, long flight with hardly anyone on earth knowing where I was, and I arrived at our house in the dark cold evening on December 23. As soon as my mom opened the door I could smell that she'd been baking Christmas bread that day.

(Young skinny carolyn at the door wearing big round glasses and a huge backpack, starry sky behind her. Mom opening the door saying !!!!!!!

Mom and young carolyn at the door, arms up, about to embrace.

It is not always easy to find the frootie patootie. I've learned to grab it if I ever happen across it any time after August or so, because there's no store where it reliably shows up.

During 2020, it wasn't at our neighborhood store and rather than venture into any other public places I tried to make it myself using pineapple and citrus peels and food coloring and a lot of sugar syrup. Results were mixed. / (carolyn holding a spoon over a hot steamy pot of boiling fruit and syrup)

Once when I was a kid my mom accidentally kneaded a yellow dishrag into the dough. She only discovered it when she went to form the loaves. / (small blonde carolyn and small redheaded bryan look on with ??? as mom holds up a yellow dishrag and laughs her head off./ THE INGREDIENTS 1 1/2 c warm milk; 1 1/2 T yeast; 6-8 c flour (a mix of all-purpose and bread flour); 3 sticks butter, softened; 3/4 c sugar; 3/4 t salt; 1 t grated lemon zest; 2 pints frootie
patootie aka "candied fruit"; 1 cup slivered blanched almonds / THE SPONGE Combine milk & yeast in a medium bowl & let stand until yeast is dissolved. Add 1 cup flour. Cover and let rest in a warm place until light and foamy.

THE DOUGH : Beat butter & sugar in a large bowl until light and creamy; add salt & lemon zest ; Add & beat in the sponge ; Using dough hook attachment, gradually knead in about 5 more cups of flour. ; When dough comes together, switch to kneading by hand. It will be sticky! Add more flour as needed. ; Knead until smooth and elastic. ; Cover & let rise until doubled — 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

THE LOAVES: In a medium bowl, toss the frootie patootie with a few tablespoons flour. ; On a floured surface, knead almonds and f.p. into dough. ; It's a lot of stuff to knead in. It seems impossible. It's hilarious. Go with it. / Cut in half and shape loaves. ; Let rise in pans about 45 minutes, until almost doubled. ; THE BAKE: Brush the tops with an egg white if you have one. Bake at 350 for 50 to 60 minutes.

Christmas bread is an integral part of our traditional Christmas breakfast: basted eggs, bacon, frozen/defrosted raspberries, coffee. Not pictured: OJ. Some people even like to spread a little bit more butter on the bread. / (plate of eggs, bacon, raspberries, xmas bread; mug of coffee. In background: sliced-open loaf; xmas tree.)

I love it when you send This is good. to others who might like it. Thank you!

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