One of my father's favourites is
pear bread or
Birrewegge as we call it. This is a typical product for long and cold winters, because it's mainly made of dried fruits.
However, it happens that my father's birthday is in July. We brought him a dozen bottles of Moscato d'Asti, but what I really wanted to make is Birrewegge. Well, I did it a few weeks later. But looking at the weather it's not so off season any more.
Everything starts with a contradiction. The dough is a shortcrust yeast version. This is quite a contradiction. One is not supposed to knead a shortcrust dough and it has to rest in the cold. On the other hand, a yeast dough has to be kneaded until the hands really hurt and it has to rest at a warm sport. I decided to start with rubbing butter into the plain flour and continued like it is a yeast dough. The ingredients for the dough are: 1 kg flour, 350 g butter, 3 dl water, 15 g salt, 60 g yeast and 1 egg.
On the previous day, I already put 1 kg of dried pears into a bowl and added to bottles of wine. Toño chose a Petit Verdot by Enrique Mendoza.
The other dried ingredients (125 g pears, 125 g figs, 125 g sultanas, 1 lemon (zest and juice), 125 g walnuts) are finely chopped and blended with the pears and the wine. Add about 5 spoons of calvados or apple pomace.
The right seasoning is very important. In Switzerland, you can buy ready-made Birrewegge condiment. If you want to mix it yourself, use 25 g of cinnamon, 5 g cloves, nutmeg and ginger.
Flatten the dough. Add sufficient filling and roll it tight. Make tiny wholes with a fork all over it and paint it with egg. Bake them at 180°C/356°F for about 45 to 60 minutes.
Enjoy it with Moscato d'Asti or some cheese for desert.
