Tiny multi-lingual Switzerland is a country of culinary contrasts. In her Cooking in Switzerland, Marianne Kaltenbach writes, “Switzerland’s cuisine is as varied as its landscape.” Ingredients vary from canton to canton depending on whether in a mountainous area, the shores of a lake, or a fertile valley. In cantons where cows and sheep graze on alpine meadows, cooks rely heavily on dairy products such as milk, butter, cream and cheese. The country’s lakes and rivers produce varied fish such as char, pike, and whitefish while the valleys and plains offer an abundance of fruits, vegetables and meats.
The food of German-speaking cantons in the center of the country often mirrors German cuisine, including many meat-heavy dishes such as a version of sauerbraten and a “Bernese platter” of ham, bacon, blood-and liver sausages, boiled beef, pork parts such as shank, snout, tongue, ears and tails served on a bed of sauerkraut or beans. The cooking in French-speaking cantons surrounding Lake Geneva in the west has strong influences of French cuisine, including fondue, raclette, gigot d’agneau and savory and sweet tarts. And cooking in the southern cantons, close to the Italian boarder, reflects Italian cookery of Lombardy and Piedmont with its polenta, osso bucco, risotto, minestrone and various pasta dishes. The cooking in Graubünden canton, a Romansh-speaking region in the southeast bordering on Austria and Italy, contains influences of Italian and Hapsburg cuisines such as traditional dumpling variations combined with vegetables and dried fruit, as well as lamb and venison dishes and meat pies, nut cakes and a local variant resembling linzer torte. Some previously regional dishes achieved national status with particular riffs added by cooks in other cantons. Thus, fondue, raclette, rosti and many breads with minor variations, are now served throughout Switzerland. visited different parts of the country on numerous occasions and I enjoyed local fare. But except for the two fondues (au fromage and bourguignonne), no meal stood out as a “must” repeat or must cook at home. Most Swiss cooking has rural roots and is plain, hearty fare. Menus center around meat or fish, cheese, potatoes and chocolate. So while Swiss food is delicious and comforting, especially in the winter, I never expect to encounter a stunning dish, even in up-scale restaurants.
On a recent trip to Davos, however, I was pleasantly surprised. After a dinner of baked char (an indigenous fish from Lake Geneva), served with a sauce of white wine, butter and eggs, and a small rosti (pan-fried grated potatoes, the national dish of German-speaking Switzerland), my dining companions and I opted for a cheese course rather than a chocolate dessert. And I am so glad that we did.
The cheese course was a still life work of art: five Swiss cheeses – Emmenthal ( a savory, mild tasting, medium-hard Swiss cheese made from raw milk), Gruyere (a sweet, slightly salty hard cheese), Bündener Bergkäse (a semi-soft cheese with an aromatic herby taste), Tomme Vaudois (a delicate and buttery milk cheese) and Tête de Moine (a dense, fruity flavored semi-soft cheese), surrounded by walnuts, dried apricots, grapes, a drizzle of honey, a few thin slices of baguette and several very thin slices of what looked like a dried sausage but turned out to be an unusual bread with a dark, fruit and nut filled center encased in a shiny wrapping of dough. This cheese course was literally too beautiful to eat. Since there was an unfortunate request on the menu not to take pictures, I tried to remember the details so I could re-create the plate.
The cheese selections, served at room temperature, were wonderfully complementary and paired well with the walnuts, fruit and honey. I enjoyed every morsel. But the most intriguing item on the plate was the dark bread in a shiny wrapper. It worked well with the cheese, but I kept tasting bits without the cheese to determine how it was made. Finally I asked the server to tell me what it was and she laconically replied, ”Bündner Birnbrot.” Not much help, but at least I had a name to research.
So as soon as I had access to the internet, I learned that Bündner Birnbrot is a dried pear bread originally baked in the Swiss Alps and Alpine foothills of Graubünden canton. It is filled with dried pears, raisins, nuts, plums, sometimes figs and dried apple slices, marinated in pear schnapps, kirsch or wine with the addition of candied citrus fruit and spices: coriander, cinnamon, star anise, anise seed and cloves. Birnbrot differs in appearance from region to region of Switzerland. In one version, the dense filling is wrapped in a thin layer of dough like the one served to me; in another, the bread is called Birnweggen and the filling is evenly spread over the dough then wrapped into a roulade. In still another region, the dried pear filling is baked as a loaf by itself.
I also learned that Birnbrot was originally the bread of poor Alpine cowherders who added dried fruit and nuts to the dough to stretch expensive flour from the lowlands. Eventually, Birnbrot became a traditional cake throughout Switzerland during Advent and Christmas. Today it is available year round. It is popular with hikers and skiers because it retains moisture for many days. In addition, as a complement to cheese, Birnbrot is also savored thinly buttered.
Before finding the ingredients for this recipe, I researched whether Birnbrot could be bought in the US. Only one American bakery, New Glarus Bakery in Wisconsin, bakes Birnbrot in November for Christmas holidays.
Swiss Dried Pear Bread — Bündner Birnbrot
Dough ingredients
2 teaspoons dried yeast
½ cup (100 ml) whole milk
Scant 2 cups (250 g) whole wheat flour
2 cups (250 g) all purpose flour
2 ounces (50 g) butter, melted
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
¾ cup (180 ml) clabber (substitute with buttermilk)
Filling ingredients
10.5 ounces (300g) dried pears
3.5 ounces (100 g) each golden and dark raisins
7 ounces (200 g) prunes
1.75 ounces (50 g) candied orange peel
1.75 ounces (50 g) candied lemon peel
5.25 ounces (150 g) walnuts
3.5 ounces (100g) hazelnuts, whole
3.5 ounces (100g) almonds
Scant ½ teaspoon anise seed, ground
Scant ½ teaspoon star anise, ground
1 teaspoon coriander, ground
½ teaspoon cloves, ground
½ teaspoon, ginger, ground
1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
2 tablespoon pear concentrate*
Scant ½ cup (75 ml) pear schnapps*
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon whipping cream
Dissolve yeast in lukewarm milk (about 110°F, 43°C) with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Set aside for 15 minutes until yeast blooms.
Combine flour and sugar in large mixer bowl and, with mixer on low speed, slowly pour in yeast. Turn mixer off when combined (dough will look dry and lumpy) and let dough rest for 10 minutes. Then add butter, clabber or buttermilk and salt, kneading at medium speed until dough comes away from sides of bowl, about 7 minutes. Remove dough from bowl and shape into a ball. Place in oiled bowl and cover to rise until doubled, about 1-1 ½ hours.
While dough is rising, prepare filling. Coarsely chop dried fruit, candied fruit and nuts. Place in large bowl, adding schnapps, concentrate and all spices. Stir to moisten and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
Once the dough has risen, remove from bowl and divide in half. Place half of the dough in a bowl with fruit and knead by hand or mixer until fruit mixture and dough are combined. If kneading by hand, it may take 20 minutes to thoroughly combine so the dough is no longer visible. Kneading by mixer on low speed may take 10 minutes. Set filling aside to rest for 30 minutes. Then place the filling on a sheet of parchment paper and divide the filling in half, forming each half into a compact log. Wrap each log in parchment paper, squeezing tightly to eliminate air pockets.
On a lightly floured kitchen counter, divide remaining dough in half. Roll each half into a thin sheet, large enough to encase one of the filling logs. Place a filling log on the sheet of dough and seal tightly around filling. Place log seam side down on a parchment paper lined and oiled sheet pan, pressing down to form an oval loaf. Prepare second loaf.
Beat yolk and cream together and, with a pastry brush, glaze the loaves several times. Pierce surface of loaves all over with a fork.
Bake for 50-60 minutes, checking periodically and covering with aluminum foil if browning too fast.
Once baked, cool to room temperature. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate. The next day, serve with cheese or butter, cut into thin slices.
Birnbrot, wrapped tightly in ziplock bag or vacuum sealed, can be frozen for several months.
* All ingredients are available in most grocery stores. In Chicago, however, it took some searching to find pear concentrate and pear schnapps. I used Jumex brand pear nectar, which is a canned thick puree of pears available in the drink sections of Hispanic groceries. Another alternative for pear concentrate could be a few spoons of Gerbers All Natural Pear Baby food, diluted with water to yogurt consistency. I substituted pear brandy for the schnapps. While pear brandy is slightly sweeter than schnapps, I don’t think it made a material difference in the taste of the bread.
When I started replicating the cheese course I enjoyed in Switzerland, I found only two of the five cheeses (Emmenthal and Gruyere Reserve) at Whole Foods. So I substituted cheeses from neighboring countries which had similar taste profile. Thus, I included Tomme de Crayeuse ( a soft cheese with a mushroomy, earthy taste), Fleur du Maquis (sheeps’ milk flavored with aromatic herbs savory, rosemary, juniper berries and chilies.) and Bleu d’Auvergne.
Photo credits: Slava Johnson
One year ago: http://www.kitchenepiphanies.com/cuba-restarting-the-clock/