Julekake Bread Recipe (Norwegian Christmas Bread)

Julekake bread is a traditional Christmas bread in Norway, although both Sweden and Denmark lay claim to it as well with slightly different spellings. It's a sweet bread lightly flavored with cardamom and dotted with golden raisins and candied fruits. My version doesn't include the traditional candied cherries although the recipe provides that option.

This bread requires three rises, so reserve a day for making this bread. There's very little work on your part, especially if you have a standing mixer with a dough hook attachment. But there is a fair amount of rising time while you do a couple errands or walk your dog. 🐶

Jump to Recipe

Want to make this recipe perfectly the first time? I want to help with that. So, check out this Table of Contents to see which sections of this post will help you the most.

Jump to:

• 👩‍🍳 What is Julekake Christmas Bread?
• ❤️ Why you'll love this Julekake bread recipe
• 🧅 Main Ingredients + Notes
• 🔪 Recommended Equipment
• 📝 Instructions Overview
• 🎯 Why This Recipe Works
• 👩‍🍳 Tips for Success
• 🧊 What's the best way to store this bread?
• 💡Ideas for Possible Variations
• 🏔️ Making This Recipe at High Altitude
• 📇 More Holiday Treats You Might Like
• Welcome to Christmas Breads From Around the World Month by the Bread Bakers!
• Julekake Bread Recipe (Norwegian Christmas Bread)

For me, the Christmas season always pulls me into the kitchen to bake breads like these soft, fluffy cinnamon rolls. But julekake is my new favorite Christmas bread. In fact, I love it so much it will be Christmas gifts to friends here.

You can think of julekake as a Norwegian version of the fruit bread that's a popular Christmas bread in the States. It's fantastic freshly warm from the oven or toasted the next morning topped with butter or jam.

👩‍🍳 What is Julekake Christmas Bread?

Julekake is a sweet yeasted bread, lightly spiced with cardamom, and dotted with golden raisins and candied fruits such as candied orange peel and candied cherries. It's considered a rich bread because of the large amounts of both milk and butter that are incorporated into the dough.

Although you can use any candied fruit when making this traditional Norwegian Christmas bread, the cardamom is the signature flavor and shouldn't be substituted. 

The original recipe for julekake used rye flour but the modern version seen today is typically made with white flour.

It doesn't use bread flour, so this bread doesn't have the stretchy texture of higher gluten breads. The white flour gives it a lighter texture with a crisp crust, almost like cake.

The bread is always finished with an egg wash (details in the recipe).

❤️ Why you'll love this Julekake bread recipe

• Although it takes a long time to make because of the risings, it's a very easy bread to make.
• This recipe calls for all-purpose white flour, making this a lighter bread.
• It's a perfect bread for breakfast, brunch, or (thanks to the all-purpose flour) a Christmas cake for dessert during the holiday season.
• Use whatever mix of candied fruits you wish.
• The cardamom gives the bread a warming holiday flavor.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to products and foods I use in my kitchen. This means that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. To view my entire storefront of recommended kitchen tools and equipment, check out my shop on Amazon.

📝 Instructions Overview

Detailed instructions for making this julekake recipe are in the recipe card below, but here's an overview! 

Step 1

Bloom yeast. This is the process of stirring dry yeast into warm water in a small bowl and putting it in a warm place for it to expand and become bubbly. This is also called proofing yeast. If it doesn't bubble and expand, the yeast is no longer any good and should be discarded. 

Step 2

Scald the milk. Heat the milk on the stovetop over medium heat until small bubbles appear all around the pot. Don't bring the milk to a simmer. This is the stage before milk simmers. Remove from the heat and pour into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the sugar, melted butter, and salt. Cool on the countertop to between room temperature and 115˚F. If the liquid is too hot, it can kill the yeast. 

Step 3

First Rising. Stir the yeast mixture and 4 cups (18 ounces) of the all-purpose flour into the lukewarm milk mixture. It won't form a traditional dough yet but will be more liquid-y. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and set in a warm place that's free of any drafts. Let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours. 

Step 4 

Second Rising. Punch the dough down with a wooden spoon and stir the dough a bit. Stir in the raisins, dried fruit, and cardamom. Work in the remaining flour until you have a soft dough that's very smooth. If you live in a more humid climate, you may need 4 ½ cups of the flour. I live in a very dry climate and only needed 4 cups. Working in the flour is much easier with a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic or a kitchen towel, set in a warm place, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 2-3 hours. This rising will take longer than the first rising.

Step 5

Divide the dough into 4 round loaves. Transfer the bread dough to a work surface. You shouldn't need a lightly floured surface in order to work with the dough, but you can use a little flour if you need to. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. I do this with a kitchen scale so that the loaves will all bake at the same rate. Cover 3 pieces of dough with plastic. Knead the fourth piece of dough a few times and form into a round loaf. Cover with plastic and do the same with the other 3 pieces of dough.

Step 6

Third rising. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and place 2 loaves on each baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.

Step 7

Bake. Make the egg wash by whisking together the egg and some milk in a small bowl. Brush it onto the tops of the loaves and immediately bake at 350˚F for 30-35 minutes at sea level and 40-43 minutes at high altitude (higher than 5000 feet). Cool on a cooling rack for 5-10 minutes before serving.

🎯 Why This Recipe Works

• All-purpose white flour makes this bread into a lighter texture than one made with bread flour and highlights the cardamom and fruit flavors. It also makes this as a cross between a bread and a Christmas cake.
• The combination of cardamom, golden raisins, and candied citrus peel is perfect for the holiday season. 

👩‍🍳 Tips for Success

• If you want to hurry the yeast blooming along, add a pinch of sugar to the water with the yeast.
• Use a liquid measuring cup for blooming the yeast so that you can easily track the progress of the expanding yeast.
• It's important to cool the milk mixture to room temperature or no more than 115˚F. If it is too warm, it can kill the yeast.
• Check the temperature of the bread to ensure it's done. Insert the prong of an instant thermometer into the bottom of the loaves. The temperature should be 200˚F at sea level and 193-195˚F at high altitude.
• Be sure to brush on the egg wash with a very well beaten egg and milk. There's no need for a thick coating on the loaves but be sure to cover all the top and side surfaces of the bread. Don't do this in advance - only brush on the egg wash just before baking the bread. 

🧊 What's the best way to store this bread?

There are several ways to store this bread to make it last longer. Before wrapping the loaves in plastic, however, make sure they've cooled to room temperature. This is particularly important if you plan to freeze the bread. 

• Countertop: Wrap in plastic wrap and keep on the countertop for 2 - 3 days.
• Refrigerator: Store wrapped in plastic wrap and slipped into a plastic bag that can be sealed for 4 - 5 days. 
• Freezer: Freeze wrapped in plastic wrap and slipped into a freezer-safe plastic bag that can be sealed for 2 months.

💡Ideas for Possible Variations

• Use half whole wheat all-purpose flour and half white flour to make the bread a little healthier.
• Chop up and fold in other dried fruits to either replace or be in addition to the raisins, such as dried apricots. 
• Instead of forming round loaves, you can bake the bread in a baking pan. You will probably need two baking pans, although I haven't done this myself.

🏔️ Making This Recipe at High Altitude

• There is no need to adjust the amount of dry yeast in this Julekake bread recipe.
• You likely won't need the entire amount of flour. I used 8 cups (18 ounces) at 7100 feet.
• The rising times will be less, but the longer the better and this process builds flavor into the bread.
• The baking times will be 5-10 minutes longer.

📇 More Holiday Treats You Might Like

This Easy Spiced Persimmon Bread uses two different types of persimmons along with the warming spices cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom.

A tradition for us every year for Christmas Eve and Day is this Cranberry Orange Cake. There's not a lot of flour, so it's a gooey cake loaded with fresh cranberries, apple, and orange zest. The batter is just poured over the fruit and baked. Super simple.

I've been making this Yogurt Cake with Pears for about 10 years or more now and it never fails me.

Boston Brown Bread is a New England classic dating back to the colonial days. It's often baked in cans, because that's what they had on hand in the 1600's, and it's steamed on the stovetop. Not everyone had ovens in colonial America. It's a dark molasses bread that's perfect all day long.

These decadently super chocolately brownies are gently modified from the Queen of Chocolate, Alice Medrich, with a little added warming spices for the best brownies you'll ever make.

Welcome to Christmas Breads From Around the World Month by the Bread Bakers!

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to [email protected].

This month the Bread Bakers baked Christmas breads from around the world. They're all so fun to try and a wonderful way to bring Christmas into your kitchen this year.

• Passion Kneaded: Christopsomo (Greek Christmas Bread)
• A Messy Kitchen: Joululimppu
• The Wimpy Vegetarian: Julekake: A Norwegian Christmas Bread
• Food Lust People Love: Lassy Raisin Bread 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Laufabraud 
• Zesty South Indian Kitchen:
  Sourdough Bobalki (Slovak Christmas Eve Bread)
• Sneha's Recipe: Vánočka/Vanocka - Czech Christmas Bread
• Karen's Kitchen Stories: Venezuelan Christmas Ham Bread - Pan de Jamón

Don't have time to run to the grocery store? Order the ingredients for this recipe using Instacart (affiliate link). Just click on the Instacart button in the recipe card below, and the ingredients will all be organized for you on their site. Plug in your zip code, choose the store you prefer, and select the ingredients you want delivered to your home.