This is somehow the bread of my childhood. I did not eat it often as we never had this at home. But my grandmother (the one who didn’t live with us and baked a lot) used to make this as did my uncle. I loved that bread. It is a Northern German sweet yeast bread, a kind of light challah bread. It is soft and very fluffy with only a hint of sweetness. Stuten recipes call for less eggs than a challah recipe would. There are also versions with raisins, they were (and still are) sold at the bakery next to my parent’s house. My grandmother (the one who lived with us and cooked for us but never baked) used to get the raisin version from the bakery and it was so good that I would always eat way too much of it.

I think I came up with the perfect recipe. This bread has a wonderfully soft texture, the perfect amount of sweetness (only a hint) and no weird egg taste (some versions do). I could sink my teeth into this bread all day long, because it is so soft and just good. You should really try this. It is great for breakfast, with some vegan margarine and jam. You can also eat it as an afternoon snack with your coffee.

This recipe makes two small loaves. If you double it, it will make a regular loaf.

Stuten (Sweet Yeast Bread)
280 g all purpose flour (2 1/3 cups)
1 package active dry yeast (7 g or 2 1/4 t)
30 g sugar (2 T)
160 ml vanilla or plain soy milk, room temperature (2/3 cup)
25 g vegetable oil (2 T)
1 pinch salt

Mix soy milk and yeast and let sit until foamy (about ten minutes)
Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Mix with a spoon and add milk mixture. Add oil as well. Knead the dough for 10 minutes to develop the gluten. It will be smoother than in the beginning, but still sticky. Don’t add too much additional flour. Let dough rest for 30 minutes. (You can place it in an oiled bowl and cover with a damp kitchen towel.)
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Grease two mini loaf pans or if you don’t have them, grease a baking sheet.
Divide the dough into two equal parts and shape into loaves. Place in pans or on baking sheet. Cover with damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes. Score with a knife and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool completely before slicing.

This bread post was submitted to Susan’s YeastSpotting.