-
1
At least 12 hours before baking — ideally the night before — combine the diced dried figs, broken walnuts, almonds, pine nuts, raisins, candied citrus peel and candied citron in a bowl. Pour over 100 ml grappa, stir well, cover and leave at room temperature, so the fruit swells slowly and each piece drinks in the spirit evenly rather than sitting slack and waterlogged on the outside. The fruit is sufficiently soaked when it is visibly plump and the grappa has been largely absorbed, with no dry or shrunken pieces remaining.
-
2
Combine the rye flour and wheat flour. Dissolve the yeast in a small quantity of warm water and allow it to activate, so you can see the froth that tells you the yeast is alive before it goes into the dough. In a large bowl, bring together the flours, activated yeast, sugar, beaten eggs, lard, 30 ml grappa, gewürz spice mix and salt, and work the dough until it is cohesive and smooth — it will be stiffer than a standard bread dough given the rye content, and should hold its shape when pressed and pull cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
-
3
Fold the entire grappa-soaked fruit and nut preparation through the dough. This is where the zelten lives or dies: the fruit must be distributed in even, generous pockets throughout, because the dough acts as barely more than a binder and when the loaf is cut, fruit and nut should dominate every slice. Continue folding until no plain dough remains visible, but do not overwork, or the dough will tighten and the fruit will begin to break apart and bleed into it.
-
4
Shape the dough into a loaf or round on a lined baking tray, then brush the surface thoroughly with beaten egg wash so the crust bakes to a deep, even amber rather than a dull, floury finish. Press whole almonds and pine nuts into the surface in a decorative pattern, ensuring they are firmly embedded and will not detach during baking, then set aside to prove for one hour — zelten does not double in volume as a standard bread would, but a modest, perceptible rise confirms the dough is ready for the oven.
-
5
Heat the oven to 160°C. Bake the zelten for 50–60 minutes; the low, steady heat is deliberate, so the dense fruit-laden interior cooks through without the decorative nuts scorching on the surface. Insert a metal skewer into the centre at 50 minutes — the loaf is done when the skewer withdraws clean, with no raw dough clinging to it, and the surface should be deep amber with the decorative nuts lightly coloured but not burnt.
-
6
Remove from the oven and immediately brush the surface with warm sieved apricot glaze, so the heat still leaving the loaf helps the glaze sink into the crust and fix the decorative nut pattern before everything contracts on cooling. Allow the zelten to cool completely on a rack; the glaze is set when the surface is dry to the touch and holds a faint sheen.
-
7
Wrap the cooled zelten tightly in a clean cloth that has been moistened with grappa, so the spirit continues to penetrate the crumb gently over the resting period rather than evaporating into the air. Seal in foil or an airtight container and store in a cool place for a minimum of one week, and ideally two to three weeks, re-moistening the cloth if it dries — the cake is ready when the cut surface reveals fully integrated flavours, the sharpness of the grappa is no longer aggressive, the fruit and rye are unified, and each slice holds together cleanly under a thin knife.