Catholic Recipe: Christmas Baking: Dried Fruit Bread

Also Called: Kletzenbrot; Christmas Fruit Bread; Austrian Fruit Bread

Kletzenbrot is named after the Tyrolian word for dried pears, but the Christmas bread contains a variety of nuts and fruits. The bread keeps for weeks, and improves with age. Bake this before Christmas, on St. Thomas Apostle's old feast day, December 21. His feast is now July 3rd, but one can still mark this day as the cleaning, baking, cooking -- external preparations for Christmas.

DIRECTIONS

Mix dry ingredients in bowl. Add buttermilk, gradually. Stir to smooth dough consistency. Mix in nuts, raisins, remaining ingredients. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake 1 1/4 to 1-1/2 hours at 350° or until loaf is firm and lightly browned.