Magenbrot is a Swiss sweet bread with spices like star anise, cloves, and mace, mixed with flour and chocolate. It is glazed and cut into small pieces. Honey, sugar, or molasses can be used to sweeten it.
Magenbrot is a type of sweet bread similar in taste to gingerbread, but much softer. It originated in Switzerland, where it is cooked and served for holidays and other special occasions, although it is also popular in parts of Germany. The ingredients that distinguish the taste include spices such as star anise, cloves and mace, which are combined with flour and chocolate before being cooked. A sugary glaze is applied to the top of the loaf when it has completed baking. The finished magenbrot is usually cut into small candy-sized pieces and has a dark brown color caused by the addition of powdered or melted chocolate.
Honey was originally used to sweeten magenbrot, although white sugar, brown sugar, or molasses may also be used. The first step in making bread is to combine the sweetener and some type of fat, such as butter or milk, in a skillet and heat it until a smooth mixture has formed. Some recipes call for the mixture to be chilled, after which an egg is beaten to add more volume. Other recipes attempt to skip the added fat and just use water.
The spices used to make magenbrot include cinnamon, cloves and a little nutmeg. Some recipes use other spices, including cardamom, star anise, allspice, or mace, which come from the outer shell of nutmeg. The flour is mixed with any spice powder used and cocoa powder.
The dry flour and spice mixture is combined with the sweet liquid mixture and stirred to form a smooth paste. The dough is kneaded, wrapped in plastic wrap and left to rest. Depending on the exact recipe followed, the magenbrot dough can be left to rest for an hour or overnight.
Once rested, the dough is formed into long, thin strips and placed on a baking tray. The strips are cooked until done and then left to cool. At this time, magenbrots are usually covered with a sweet glaze. The icing can be made from sugar and water, molasses, or even chocolate and liqueur.
The treatment can be glazed before or after cutting. The strips are usually cut into very small pieces. If you later glaze the pieces, they can be placed in a bowl a little at a time, tossed with the glaze, and allowed to dry. Once finished, the magenbrot is placed in an airtight bag or container to prevent it from drying out and becoming too difficult to eat.
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