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Cramique

Cramique: Brussels and Walloon raisin brioche for Sunday breakfast

Cramique is the Sunday breakfast loaf of Brussels and Wallonia: a soft, golden brioche packed with raisins, bought from the bakery on Sunday morning and sliced thickly with salted butter. Its sister, craquelin, swaps the raisins for pearl sugar. A common mistake is adding the raisins at the start of kneading, which tears the gluten and turns the dough grey. Chef's tip: soak the raisins in warm tea for 20 minutes, then knead them in only at the end, gently.
Total time
75 min
Difficulty
medium
Serves
10
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Ingredients

Serves10

For the dough

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Fresh ingredients (4)

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Method

0/4 done
  1. Step 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb strong white flour, ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast, 1 ¾ oz sugar and 1 tsp salt. Add ¾ cup warm milk and 2 eggs and knead 8 minutes. Add 3 ½ oz soft butter in pieces and knead 5 minutes more until silky.

    13 min
  2. Step 2: Knead in 5 ½ oz raisins gently. Common mistake: adding them early; grey dough. Rise 1 hour.

  3. Step 3: Shape into a loaf and put in a buttered 1 kg tin. Rise 45 minutes.

    45 min
  4. Step 4: Heat the oven to 375°F (fan 350°F). Brush with 1 egg and bake 30–35 minutes, until deep golden and hollow-sounding.

    35 min

Nutrition per serving

Calories
320 kcal
Protein
7 g
Carbs
48 g
Fat
11 g
Fibre
2 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

K
Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does cramique take?
About 75 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?
10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
Is it vegetarian?
Yes. It has no meat or fish.
What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
What can I use instead of sugar?
Caster sugar, same amount.

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