If you've been following along with my weekly recipe posts, you may have noticed I occasionally share traditional German recipes such as these Spaetzle Noodles or this Zwiebel Kuchen.
This week, just in time for Easter, I have another super delicious German recipe for you. Rosinenbrot, or Raisin Bread, is a traditional style of bread baked for and served on Easter Sunday. Raisins used to be quite expensive and a treat to be enjoyed on special occasions. Their inclusion in this Easter sweet raisin bread makes it the perfect treat after Lent when families would fast or give up sweets.
Featured in Easter Dinner Ideas (With a German Twist)
Growing up, my father always baked bread at home. I can only recall my parents buying bread, such as baguettes, for family gatherings, special occasions, etc. Usually, he would make Sourdough Multigrain Bread or Dark Rye bread, so when Easter came along, my brothers and I would eagerly await the fresh loaves of soft and fluffy raisin bread. Once in a while, he would also bake a variety of Brötchen (breakfast rolls) for Sunday breakfast, but the Rosinenbrot had its special place at the table studded with bursts of sweetness.
The recipe I am sharing today is not actually my own and has been adapted from the book Classic German Baking by Luisa Weiss from The Wednesday Chef. The instructions and pictures below are my own. I hope you enjoy this loaf of raisin bread as much as I do, and don't forget to check out Luisa's book for more German Baking Recipes!
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Table of Contents
German Raisin Bread (Rosinenbrot) Recipe
You'll need:
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 3 teaspoon active dry yeast (or 2 teaspoon instant yeast)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk - slightly warmed
- 5 tablespoon soft butter
- 1 egg
- ½ cup raisins
Almond Topping: (optional)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon milk
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
Instructions
- Start by warming your milk in a pot on the stove, and activate the active dry yeast by dissolving it in the warm milk. Let it sit for about 5 minutes. Make sure the milk is not HOT as it will kill the yeast.
- In a separate bowl mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Make a well in the middle of the flour mix and add the yeast/milk mixture. (If using instant yeast simply mix it into the flour in this step and do not activate it as you do the active dry yeast.)
- Add the butter and egg to the liquid mixture and then using a wooden spoon start stirring in the flour from the sides until you have created one tacky ball of dough.
- Sprinkle a little flour on the counter, and knead the ball of dough for at least 15 minutes until it is super smooth, very soft, and supple. Form a round ball and place it back in the mixing bowl. Cover with a clean dishcloth and let it rise in a warm area of your kitchen, (such as on top of the pre-heated stove) for 1 hour or until double in size.
- Once the dough has risen, loosen it from the bowl and return it to the countertop. You shouldn't need much more flour to keep it from sticking to the surface. Flatten the dough and sprinkle the raisins on top. Fold the dough over itself twice, and then start kneading it until the raisins are completely incorporated. If a few "fall" out its ok, either stick them back in or just set them aside.
- Cut the dough into 3 equal pieces and roll each piece into rolls 16 inches long and about an inch in diameter. Braid the three strands of dough into one big braid. If you have never braided anything before, it is very simple! Start by collecting the ends of all three strands at one end and pressing them together to connect them. Have the loose ends pointing towards you with each roll lying side by side. Then simply start by moving the outside roll over the middle one, and so on and so forth until you have braided the whole loaf. Tuck the ends of the loaf under to hide any loose sections.
- Transfer the braided loaf to the parchment-lined sheet pan and again cover it with the dishcloth. Let the loaf rise for another 20 minutes.
- At this point, preheat your oven to 350°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Once the dough is nice and fluffy, brush the loaf with the topping mixture of egg yolk and milk. Sprinkle the sliced almonds on top. You can also sprinkle coarse sugar over the raisin bread if you like.
- Bake the loaf for 20 to 30 minutes until it is nice and golden brown.
Let the raisin bread cool on a wire rack before slicing.
While best served fresh the same day, for most people, this is not realistic for breakfast unless you get up at five in the morning to bake. Once cooled, store the raisin bread in a brown paper bag or bread box if you have it and serve as soon as possible. If all else fails, use plastic wrap to avoid it from drying out.
More German Recipes
If you loved this German recipe, try out some of my other traditional German foods such as these:
- Hearty German Goulash
- German Schnitzel
- Jägerschnitzel (Hunter's Schnitzel)
- Braised German Red Cabbage Recipe (Rotkohl) with Blueberries & Cloves
- German Meat Fondue (Fleischfondue)
- Spaetzle Noodles
- Käse Spaetzle with Caramelized Onions (The Ultimate Mac & Cheese)
- German Glühwein - German Mulled Wine
- How To Make German Style Sauerkraut
- German Cucumber Salad - Gurkensalat
- German Sugar Candied Almonds (Gebrannte Mandeln)
- or my Grandmother's Apple Pie!
Made the recipe? Comment & Rate it below, then take a picture and tag me on Facebook. For more from scratch recipes, follow me on Facebook & Pinterest.
Recipe
German Raisin Bread (Rosinenbrot)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 3 teaspoon active dry yeast or 2 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk - slightly warmed
- 5 tablespoon butter melted
- 1 whole egg
- ½ cup raisins
Almond Topping
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon milk
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
Instructions
- Start by warming the milk in a pot on the stove until luke warm. Add in the active dry yeast and let it sit for 5 minutes to activate.
- In a large stainless steel bowl mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. If using instant yeast simply mix it into the flour and skip the above step. Pour the warm milk/yeast mix into the flour well.
- Add the butter and egg to the liquid mixture and using a wooden spoon stir in the flour from all sides until you have created a ball of dough.
- Sprinkle a little flour on the counter, and knead the ball of dough for at least 15 minutes until it is super smooth, and supple. Form a round ball and place it back in the mixing bowl. Cover with a clean dishcloth and let it rise in a warm area of your kitchen for 1 hour or until double in size.
- Remove the dough from the bowl, flatten the dough on the counter and sprinkle the raisins on top. Fold over the dough and knead in the raisins.
- Cut the dough into 3 equal pieces and roll each piece into rolls 16 inches long. Braid the three strands of dough into one big braid. Tuck the ends of the loaf under to hide any loose sections.
- Transfer the braided dough to the parchment lined sheet pan, cover and let the loaf rise for another 20 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Once the loaf has doubled in size, brush it with the topping mixture of egg yolk and milk. Sprinkle the sliced almonds on top.
- Bake the loaf for 20 to 30 minutes until it is nice and golden brown. Let the Rosinenbrot cool on a wire rack before slicing.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Heidi
Hi Chef Markus, Your recipe for German Rosinenbrot looks delicious and might try to making it. Just wanted to know is the butter "salted or unsalted?"
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Heidi, the butter is unsalted. Baking generally use unsalted butter, as the recipes will otherwise potentially turn out to salty!
I will add it to my list of things to update!
Happy baking!
Bonnie
Can you use a bread machine.
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Bonnie, I have never used a bread machine in my life, so I can not answer that. I would guess you could play around and adapt the recipe to work in whatever process a bread machine uses. I can not guarantee results though.
Hilda
Hi Markus,
Hi,
I just wanted to let you know that I added this raisin bread recipe to my Easter Roundup. Here is the link if you would like to comment, pin, or share the post.
Also, I tried contacting you via the form but the form is not working, thought you might want to know!
https://hildaskitchenblog.com/recipe/35-tasty-easter-recipe-ideas/
Have a great weekend!
Hilda Sterner
https://hildaskitchenblog.com
Chef Markus Mueller
Thanks for including our recipe Hilda! Of course we will share your roundup. Which form isn't working?
Geimy
Just tried my hand at this for the very first time and it's so yummy. Golden, soft, fluffy, and not to sweet at all. Wishing I could share pics, even if it's not as pretty as yours. Thank you for sharing!
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Geimy, glad you loved our German raisin bread recipe post, you can share picture on our social media @earthfoodandfire on Instagram and Facebook.
Gail Russom
It was delicious, thank you!
Chef Markus Mueller
Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Keri
Delicious! Made this this morning and it was perfect. Super easy to prepare with a light tasty result. Thank you for sharing ?this will be made on a regular basis in our home.
Chef Markus Mueller
You're very welcome Keri! Glad you enjoyed the recipe. If you took a picture tag us on social media! (@earthfoodandfire)
Manal
I make something similar to this i put nutella or dates inside instead of the raisins it’s so good but i will definitely give your recipe a try
Chef Markus Mueller
Oh that sounds delicious! I'll have to try that!
Maria T. W.
I also grew up enjoying fresh homemade bread baked by my mom. O so good!
For a long time I simply did not make any bread. Browsing through pinterest I found this recipe. I have made it at least 5 times. It's the best! Thank you for sharing.
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Maria, I'm so happy that you love this recipe, I also make it even outside of the Easter holiday! Thanks for commenting and your 5 star rating!
Ursula EMMONS
I added a little lemon zest
Chef Markus Mueller
What a good idea! I'm sure it was delicious!
erika vilchez
INSTEAD OF KNEEDING BY HAND CAN IT BE DONE BY MACHINE
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Erika, yes instead of kneading the dough by hand you can mix and knead the dough in a stand mixer with a dough hook such as a kitchen aid mixer.
Monica
Really the preheat information should be listed after the last rising. There's no point in having the oven heating up for over an hour. This came out good, it's just an odd way to write up a recipe.
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Monica, That is a very good point, I will make the adjustment to make the recipe more user friendly!
Brittney
My dough wasn’t wet enough, I guess? I’ve never been good at making bread. I used instant yeast. When I was kneading it, within minutes it just seemed too dry.
Do you have a YouTube video on doing this?
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Brittney, Im sorry to here you are having trouble with the recipe. I don't currently have a video for it, but I will work on one and let you know when its up. If you have a picture you can tag me on social media (@earthfoodandfire) or message me on facebook (facebook.com/earthfoodandfire) and I can help you trouble shoot.
When using instant yeast you simply add it into the flour before adding the liquid. Then you would add the milk, egg, and butter.You would continue to mix the dough and then knead and let the dough rise as normal.
minhchau
Thanks for your sharing. I'm going to make this bread.
Chef Markus Mueller
You're very welcome! I hope you enjoy it!
Shanee
Can this be froze to use later?
Markus Mueller
Hi Shanee, it can be frozen through it may not be quite as soft after freezing/thawing. I would suggest wrapping it really well in seran wrap and then in a ziploc bag to freeze( to keep it from freezer burning and drying out) and then when you go to thaw it let it thaw completely in the wrap so it retains all original moisture. Hope this helps!
ann marie whitten ( Murray)
Oh I cant wait to attempt this recipe today!
Markus Mueller
It's so good! Hope you enjoy it!
Annika
I make a very similar bread only without the egg... I will have to give yours a try! Love all the step-by-step photos here.
Markus Mueller
I'd love to see pictures of the bread you make! I hope the pictures make the instructions clear! I highly recommend Classic German Baking though, a great book food with many delicious recipes!