Ann Byrd's Jule Cake

This is an adaptation of my grandmother's recipe. Be careful to not add too much flour; the dough will be sticky to work with, but worth it. 

Jule Cake is a delicate, buttery bread studded with pungent fruit peel. My mother and I have always used candied fruit peel mix and raisins to make this bread, but this year I opted for homemade candied orange & lemon peel mixed with a dried cherry blend. It was delicious.  (Since the homemade peel was drier than the store bought mix I usually use, I soaked it and the dried cherries in a little bit of hot water before adding it to the bread. Drain the water off before adding the fruit to your bread batter.)



2 T yeast in 1/4 warm water
1 pt. (2 cups) milk
1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
 1/2 c. honey
1 1/2 t. salt
2 eggs, beaten
 7-8 c. all purpose flour
 4-8 oz candied or dried fruit

Dissolve the yeast in the 1/4 cup of warm water. Add about 1 T of the sugar to feed the yeast.

Heat the milk in a medium saucepan until it is hot, but not boiling. Remove from heat. Stir in butter until it melts then add the sugar and honey. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. When the milk is cool, add the beaten egg.

In a large mixing bowl begin with 2 cups of flour and the salt. Then add in the yeast & warm water mixture followed by the cooled milk, butter, sugar, honey mixture. Beat well for several minutes. Then add in the dried fruit. Mix well. 

Add in one cup of flour at a time, beating well between each addition. When the dough becomes too thick to mix with a wooden spoon, turn out onto a well-floured board/counter and knead in the rest of the flour. If the dough is too sticky to work with, add in small amounts of flour, but just enough so that you can knead the bread without it sticking too much to your hands. Try not to add too much extra flour (beyond the 8 cups) -  the dough will be sticky because of all the sugar and honey, but you should be able to knead it until it is elastic. Knead for a few minutes until all of the flour is incorporated.

When you complete the kneading process, return the dough to a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a lid. Place in a warm area and let rise until double; it will may take several hours to rise because this is a RICH bread. Don't rush it. It's worth the extra time it takes to get this bread to rise properly. Once the bread has doubled, punch it down and turn it out on a clean counter or board. 

Depending on how many loaves you decide to make, divide it into equal pieces. (Dividing the recipe into 4 pieces makes about 4 standard loaf size braids, so that is what I will proceed with from here.)

Working with one of the four pieces - divide it into three equal pieces. Form each piece into a log about a foot long and lay them next to one another - parallel - on the board.  Gather the left ends of the 3 logs and pinch them together; finish braiding the 3 logs together and pinch the ends firmly and tuck under the loaf. Place on a greased cookie sheet and form the other 3 loaves in a similar fashion. 

2 medium sized loaves should fit easily on a standard cookie sheet. Don't overcrowd the baking sheets. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until nearly double. When the loaves have risen, place the baking sheet/s in a pre-heated oven (350 degrees). Baking time and temperatures may vary depending on the size and hotness of your oven. This bread burns easily, so keep an eye on it! Let your nose guide you.

You can glaze this bread just before baking with:

1 egg white

2 t. water

I do not glaze my Jule Cake before baking.

Jule Cake is best served warm with butter; you can also put a powdered sugar icing on the top before slicing.
 

2 or 3  large braids - (You can make these larger loaves, but it is harder to judge doneness for them. Standard tapping on the bread does not work to check doneness for it and I don't have a baking time for them - it will probably be closer to 45-55 minutes and you might want to bake only on the top rack since the bottoms tend to over- brown. If you opt to make these larger loaves, the logs for braiding will be about 18" long.)

 

or

4 braids medium (roughly equivalent to a standard loaf)

Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees. If baking on two baking sheets, switch positions halfway through baking to keep the bottoms from burning and to make sure the tops brown nicely.

or

6-8 small braids (the logs for braiding will only be about 8-9 inches long)
Bake 20-25 minutes for the small