This delicious German bread was usually made by “Aunt Sarah” one week before Christmas.  It may be kept two weeks, and at the end of that time still be good.  It is rather expensive as regards fruit and nuts, but as no eggs are used, and a very small quantity of butter; and as bread containing fruit is so much more wholesome than rich fruit cake.  I think American housewives would do well to bake this German bread occasionally.  Mary took one-fourth the quantity of everything called for in the recipe, except yeast.  She used 3/4 of a cake of Fleischman’s yeast and 1/4 of each of the other ingredients, and from these baked three loaves of bread.  The prunes and pears should be covered with cold water at night and allowed to stand until the following morning, when, after stewing until tender, the juice should be drained from the fruit and water added to the fruit-juice to measure two quarts.  Remove pits from prunes, cut pears and prunes in small pieces; stand aside.  Clean currants and raisins, blanch and shred almonds, chop walnut meats, citron, orange peel and figs; add cinnamon, cloves and anise seed.  Mix together flour and one quart of the fruit juice; add the compressed yeast cakes (dissolved in a little warm water), knead well, set a sponge as for ordinary bread; when raised, add the remaining quart of fruit juice, sugar, butter and salt.  A small quantity of brandy or sherry may be added, but if not liked, fruit juice may be substituted.

Add the remaining ingredients, and knead thoroughly.  Allow dough to raise from two to three hours and when light form into loaves and allow to stand an hour, when bake.  This quantity of dough should be made into twelve small loaves.  Should the flour and liquid used be warmed before mixing, the dough will raise more quickly.  It simplifies the work if the fruits and nuts be prepared the day before the bread is baked.

AUNT SARAH’S WHITE BREAD AND ROLLS

1 quart potato water. 1 mashed potato. 1 tablespoonful butter or lard. 1 tablespoonful sugar. 1 Fleischman yeast cake, or 1 cup good yeast. 1/2 tablespoonful salt.  Flour to stiffen (about three quarts).

At 9 o’clock in the evening put in a large bowl the mashed potato, the quart of luke-warm potato water (water in which potatoes were boiled for dinner), butter or sweet lard, sugar, salt, and mix with flour into a batter, to which add the Fleischman’s or any good yeast cake, dissolved in a little luke-warm water.  Beat well and stir in flour until quite stiff, turn out on a well-floured bake-board and knead well about 25 minutes, until the dough is smooth, fine-grained and elastic, and does not stick lo the bake-board or hands.  Chop a knife through the dough several times; knead and chop again.  This makes the bread finer and closer-grained, or, so Aunt Sarah thought.  Knead in all the flour necessary when first mixing the bread.  When sufficiently kneaded, form into