Spice Bread

🛒Ingredients (Grocery List)

• 1 cup Whole Milk

• 1 tbsp Ground Cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp Ground Cloves

• 1/2 tsp Ground Cardamom

• 1 tsp Whole Aniseeds

• 1 1/4 cups Mild Honey

• 6 tbsp Orange Marmalade

• 3 3/4 cups All-purpose Flour

• 1 tsp Baking Soda

• 1 tbsp Warm Water

🍴Serves: 4 to 6

⏰Prep Time: 20 min

⏱️Cook Time: 1 hour 40 min

🥣Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour the loaf pan.

2. Combine the Milk and the Spices in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and whisk gently. As soon as bubbles have formed around the edges of the Milk, remove it from the heat, and let the spices infuse for 10 minutes.

3. Heat the Honey in a small saucepan over low heat just until it is liquid. Do not let it boil. Transfer it to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the Milk, and mix well. Then mix in the Marmalade. Slowly add the Flour, stirring until the mixture is thoroughly combined.

4. Stir together the Baking Soda and Warm Water in a small bowl. The mixture will fizz and bubble. Stir this into the dough and continue to mix (at medium speed, if using a mixer) until the dough is satiny, at least 10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes in a mixer.

5. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf. It will come almost to the edges of the pan. Place the pan on a baking sheet, then place them in the center of the oven. Bake until the loaf is puffed and golden and springs back when you touch it, 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes.

6. Remove the Pain d’Epices from the oven and turn out the loaf onto a wire rack. Once the loaf is cool, wrap it in parchment paper, then either aluminum foil or, in a cotton tea towel. Let it sit for 24 hours to ripen before cutting into it.

💡Tips

• Scalding the Milk with the Spices encourages them to give up more of their flavors into the hot Milk.