Cramique —¶

The smell of cramique is very special: it’s a mixture of fresh yeast, butter and sweet fluffiness. To me, cramique has always been an essential Belgian delicacy and the only thing I want to eat for breakfast when I am there. Recently, my craving overtook my fearful respect for baking and I attempted to bake cramique at home for the first time. The smell was almost satisfying but the taste and especially the texture was a huge disappointment. My stomach felt heavy for days after having eaten just one slice. Not fun. ¶

Three weeks later, on the morning of the last day of the year 2024, I woke up with enough courage for a second attempt : ¶

Start with rehydrating the dried raisins in 30ml of boiling water.
Put the flour, eggs, milk, sugar, salt and yeast in a bowl and knead the dough. If you have a kitchen aid, you are lucky. When your dough is really well mixed and smooth, add the cold butter step by step. Then, add the rehydrated raisins little by little. Cover the dough with a clean towel and leave to rest for 2,5 hours. ¶

Bless you and your patience… ¶

Shape the dough into a ball and let it sit on your kitchen counter for another 30 minutes. In the meantime, rub the mould with butter and place a piece of baking paper at the bottom of the mould only.
Roll the dough back and forth with both hands to reach a sausage-shaped dough the length of your mould. Place it inside and let rest another 2,5 hours covered with your previously used clean towel.¶

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, brush the dough with a beaten egg and make one or two crosses on the top of the dough before baking. ¶