Pain D'epices - Burgundian Spice Bread

18th century recipe for exotic, eastern spicy bread. Mulot au Petitjean is an old fashioned shop in Dijon that specialises in Spice bread. The Mulot family have been producing this bread on the same site since 1838 and is the only spice bread producer left. Recipe courtesy of Anne Willian tweeked. TAKE NOTE: that the spice bread should be slightly under baked so it is soft in the middle and has not started to shrink from the sides of the pan. Let the breads cool and then turn them out.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Serves: 16

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 cups milk
• 1  cup dark brown sugar
• 1 1⁄2 cups  runny honey
• 4  cups flour
• 2  tablespoons  finely chopped  candied orange peel
• 1  teaspoon  ground aniseed
• 1  teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 2  egg yolks
• 2  teaspoons baking soda
• 1  tablespoon water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 250F / 120°C.
2. Heat the milk, sugar and honey in a saucepan, stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring it just to the boil, and then set aside until tepid.
3. Sift the flour into a bowl and make a well in the center. Add three quarters of the cooled honey mixture and stir with a wooden spoon, gradually drawing in the flour to make a smooth batter.
4. In a small bowl, mix the candied peel, spices and salt. Stir in the remaining honey mixture and add it to the batter, stir until smooth. Cover and refrigerate the batter for 8-12 hours.
5. Butter the loaf pans (2 medium loaf pans - 20x8x8 cm), you can also line them with grease-proof paper and butter the paper.
6. To complete the batter, mix the egg yolks and baking soda with the water in a small bowl. Stir this mixture into the batter.
7. Spoon the batter into the pans, filling them half full - the batter rises quite a bit during baking - a cover them loosely with foil.
8. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil. Continue baking for approx 1 ½ to 1 ¾ hours more, or until a skewer inserted near the center comes out clean.