Vortbrod - Swedish Christmas Beer Bread - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 7/8 ounces fresh yeast
1 1/3 cups porter
1 cup dark beer
1 7/8 ounces butter
1/4 cup rapeseed oil
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 tablespoon ground bitter orange peel
1 1/2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cloves
1/2 tablespoon ground cardamom
1 tablespoon salt
5 2/3 cups flour (rye and wheat)
1 1/3 cups raisins

Preparation

Dissolve the yeast in a big bowl with porter, beer, oil and molasses.
Melt the butter with the spices and salt. Let it cool a little (it shouldn't feel hot when you put your finger in it) before adding to the yeast mixture.
Mix in the raisins and flour a little at the time and work the dough slowly (by hand or y machine) until it's soft and elastic.
Let the dough rise in the bowl to twice its size under a cloth.
Turn on the oven to 200 C / 400 F / Gas mark 6.
Make 2 loaves of bread, put them in an oven pan and let rise under a cloth for 1 hour.
Bake for about 50 minutes, but lower the temperature to 150 C / 300 F / Gas mark 2 after 15 minutes.
Let the loaves cool on a wire tray under a clean cloth.