Pain D'Epices - Burgundian Spice Bread - cooking recipe

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

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 250F / 120\u00b0C.
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.
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.
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.
Butter the loaf pans (2 medium loaf pans - 20x8x8 cm), you can also line them with grease-proof paper and butter the paper.
To complete the batter, mix the egg yolks and baking soda with the water in a small bowl. Stir this mixture into the batter.
Spoon the batter into the pans, filling them half full - the batter rises quite a bit during baking - a cover them loosely with foil.
Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil. Continue baking for approx 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours more, or until a skewer inserted near the center comes out clean.