Bishop's Bread Made With Egg Whites is a classic European recipe that uses leftover egg whites, candied fruits, nuts, pieces of chocolate, dried fruits, etc. This sweet bread is baked around the holidays.
This recipe is inspired by one of my favorite Romanian websites, "Savori Urbane," a blog that belongs to one of my good friends I admire a lot. Oana cooks and bakes like no other, and her recipes are always successful.
Jump to:
What is Bishop's Bread?
Get ready to embark on a delicious journey into the heart of European cuisine with Bishop's Bread made with egg whites.
This timeless recipe has been a beloved treat across continents and generations, captivating taste buds with its incredible flavor and tempting aroma.
Bishop's Bread, also known as pain d'évêque in French, is a traditional cake-like bread that holds a special place in European culinary heritage.
Each version of this bread is different, as many countries make the recipe based on the ingredients available or preferred in their cuisine.
This particular recipe that I will share with you today is probably 200 to 300 years old, and it seems to come to Transylvania via Germany. The name in German is Bischof's Brot.
Passed down through families and cherished in countless kitchens, this recipe has stood the test of time for its irresistible charm and unforgettable taste. It is popular during holidays, like Christmas or Easter.
Why do I like this recipe
- Texture and taste. What makes this unique recipe of Bishop's Bread so unique is its clever use of egg whites. By separating the yolks from the whites, the bread becomes lighter and fluffier, delivering a delightful melt-in-your-mouth experience.
- Versatility. The beauty of Bishop's Bread lies not only in its simplicity but also in its versatility. It provides a canvas for creativity, allowing bakers to add their personal touch by incorporating nuts, dried fruits, or even a touch of chocolate. With every variation, Bishop's Bread becomes a unique expression of the baker's imagination and culinary skills.
- Simplicity. This bread uses ingredients that most people have in their pantries. Flour, sugar, eggs, butter, and extra flavors, like lemon or dried fruits, are common ingredients in a pantry.
In Romanian cuisine, Christmas and Easter are the biggest opportunities to cook and bake a lot. There are cakes and cookies and Romanian traditional sweet bread, mayonnaise made from scratch, and other products that use lots of egg yolks.
Egg whites are not discarded but used in other baked goods like meringue desserts or this fabulous bread.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour: This versatile flour gives the cookies a sturdy structure while still allowing them to remain tender and chewy. Look for a high-quality brand of flour that's unbleached and has a protein content of around 10-12%.
- Granulated sugar. Granulated sugar adds sweetness and helps to create a crisp outer layer.
- Egg Whites. This is a straightforward recipe to make if you have a stand-up mixer. However, you can also do it using a hand mixer or by hand. You will definitely get some upper body workout with the egg whites, but hey, it is all worth it, right?
Tip: The bowl that you will use to beat the egg whites needs to be very clean (if you are not sure, rewash it with hot water and soap, rinse well, and dry). Greasy spots will prevent the egg whites from rising and will ruin the recipe.
- Unsalted Butter. Using unsalted butter allows you to control the amount of salt in your recipe, which is important since we already add a bit of salt separately. High-quality butter also has a richer, creamier flavor that will shine through in the finished product.
- Salt. A pinch of salt enhances the flavor of the bread. Skip it if you plan to use salted butter, which I do not recommend.
- Candied orange peel. This little treasure ingredient gives a fantastic flavor to the bread, so don't forget to add it if you have some.
- Vanilla. Please use the best vanilla extract you can afford.
- Lemon/orange zest is very important for the flavor profile.
- Nuts. 🌰 🥜 I used walnuts this time, but a combination of walnuts, hazelnuts, or almonds works as well. Roast the nuts in a skillet for 2-3 minutes until they develop the flavor. Please do not add anything to the pan, but keep an eye on them all the time so they don't burn. This technique intensifies the flavor of the nuts.
After they cool down a little bit, chop them with a knife, but in big chunks for a good texture.
- Dried fruits: I used raisins, but if you do not like them, use cranberries or sour cherries or a mixture of them. Dried apricots chopped really small are good as well.
In this particular recipe, rehydrate the dried fruits with vanilla extract and lemon juice and set them aside until it's time to use them.
Plump raisins are always preferable because they give your baked goods a more delicate texture.
Even when you put raisins in a very wet mixture like the one in the Sweet Cheese Slab Pie, you still want your raisins to be plump and moist.
Instructions
Step one. Prepare the ingredients and the pans.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
Note: I have an oven thermometer that I use every time I bake. I think everyone should have that in their kitchen. Sometimes the oven temperature sensor is not working right, and you never know the actual temperature inside.
- Butter and flour the insides of two loaf pans. It is important to get them ready before we start anything else. Set them aside.
- Melt the butter and mix it with the lemon zest. Set it aside.
- Measure the sugar.
- Sift the flour: The recipe asks for sifted flour, which is a VERY IMPORTANT step. The difference in volume between sifted and unsifted flour is very different. The way I sift my flour is through a fine-mesh strainer. It gets rid of impurities and makes the flour fluffier and perfect for this delicate bread. After you sift the flour, measure it and set it aside.
- Weigh the nuts, then roast them for 2-3 minutes to develop their aroma. Chop them but not very small.
- Prepare the candied fruits. Place the dried and candied fruits in a little bowl and squeeze the juice from half the lemon over them.
Step two. Beat the egg whites.
In a clean mixer bowl, place the egg whites and the salt. Salt is essential in many baked goods as it enhances the taste of the final product. Please do not skip it.
Beat the egg whites to a soft peak. Add the sugar all at once, and continue to beat them to a stiff peak, the same way you would beat the egg whites for meringue. They have to look stiff and glossy.
Now, we are done with the mixer. Everything forward needs to be worked with a spatula.
Step three. Add the rest of the ingredients.
Over the egg whites, start adding the rest of the ingredients. Flour, dried fruits, nuts, half of the melted butter, everything goes inside the bowl.
Very important! Do not add the dry ingredients one by one. Mixing the egg whites too much makes them lose all the air built by beating them stiff, ruining the recipe. Your bread will be dense, small, and gummy.
With large moves and using a spatula, incorporate the ingredients slowly. The easiest way is to move the spatula from underneath to the surface. Make sure you touch the bottom and the bowl's walls.
Add the rest of the butter and incorporate it slowly, making sure you have a pretty homogeneous mixture.
Immediately pour the batter into the two prepared loaf pans and level the batter gently.
Step 4. Bake.
I hope you now understand why I insisted on preparing everything in advance. Your oven should now be ready to use.
Place the pans in the oven and DO NOT OPEN the oven's door for the first 25 minutes. This bread will bake for about 35-40 minutes.
If you have an oven that burns in certain areas and there is a need to move the pans around to make sure they bake everywhere, move them, but only after the first 25 minutes.
Check the loaves of bread with a toothpick in the middle, and make sure the toothpick comes out clean and dry. If it comes out sticky and wet, return the loaves of bread to the oven and bake them for 1-2 minutes more.
When ready, remove the pans from the oven and do not mess with them for about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, you can remove them from the pans on a metal rack and allow them to cool slowly.
How to serve this bread
This delicate bread made with egg whites can be cut only after it is completely cool. The easiest way to cut it is using a serrated knife.
It has a perfect texture, and it should not be sticky or wet in the middle. The butter makes it delicious and delicate.
The fruits and nuts are distributed nicely inside the bread and do not sink to the bottom.
Each slice of this bread is basically melting in your mouth, and there is texture from the nuts and dried fruits and also flavor from everything we added to it.
This Bishop's Bread made with egg whites recipe is perfect for using the leftover egg whites.
It is easy to make and you will be so pleased with the results.
It also packs well for lunches, and the walnuts make it a bit more nutritious. They are dense in nutrients like heart-healthy fats and proteins.
Let me know if you made this bread and if your friends and family liked it!
Looking for another delicious coffee bread recipe? Try this delicious cinnamon swirl coffee cake.
More recipes to love
Savory Quick Bread With Cheese And Olives
Low Sugar Bread With Dried Fruit And Nuts
Candied Orange Salted Chocolate Ganache Yellow Cake
📖 Recipe
Bishop's Bread Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 egg whites from 10 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 medium lemon, use the zest and juice
- 16 tablespoons melted unsalted butter 2 sticks + 1 ½ tablespoons OR 8.8 ounces
- 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cups nuts walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans etc- choose what you like
- ½ cup raisins or other chopped dried fruits combined with candied fruits like orange peel
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
- Butter and flour the insides of two loaf pans.
- Zest the lemon. Melt the butter and mix it with the lemon zest. Set it aside.
- Measure the nuts, then roast them in a pan on the stove for 2-3 minute to develop their aroma. Chop them but not very small.
- Measure the ingredients and set them aside. Sift the flour.
- Place the dried and candied fruits in a little bowl and squeeze the juice from half lemon over them.
- In a clean mixer bowl place the egg whites and the salt. Beat the egg whites to a soft peak.
- Add the sugar, all at once and continue to beat them to a stiff peak, exactly the same way you would beat the egg whites for a meringue. They have to look stiff and glossy.
- Add the rest of the ingrediends all at once.
- Very important! Do not add the dry ingredients one by one. Mixing the egg whites too much makes them lose all the air built by beating them stiff and the recipe will be ruined. Your breads will be dense, small and gummy.
- With large moves and using a spatula, incorporate the ingredients slowly. The easiest way is to move the spatula from underneath to the surface, making sure you touch the bottom and the walls of the bowl.
- Add the rest of the butter and incorporate it slowly making sure you have a pretty homogenous mixture.
- Immediately pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans and level the batter gently.
- Place the pans in the oven and DO NOT OPEN the oven’s door for the first 25 minutes. These breads will bake for about 35-40 minutes.
- If you have an oven that burns in certain areas and you need to move the pans around to make sure they bake everywhere, move them, but only after the first 25 minutes.
- Check the breads with a toothpick in the middle and make sure the toothpick comes out clean and dry. If it comes out sticky and with batter on it, return the breads to the oven and bake them 1-2 minutes more.
- When ready, remove the pans from the oven and let them cool for about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes you can remove them from the pans, on a metal rack and allow them to cool completely.
- The easiest way to cut it is using a serrated knife.
- The bread can be frozen up to 3 months for later consumption.
Robin Combs says
Yum ... only had 8 whites so I adjusted a bit. I used Gran Gala orange liquor instead of vanilla and lemon juice and added a 1/2 tsp of cardamom (cuz I'm a Nord 😁). I baked it as one cake in my chiffon pan - worked fine. I added golden raisins, pecans and candied orange peel. I'll be keeping this recipe!! Thanks!!
Carolin says
We like the bread, but think it is very sweet. Do you think it will work without the sugar or at least with maybe only the half of it? The dried fruits and nuts are giving enough flavor for our taste.
The Bossy Kitchen says
Well, I would not remove the entire amount of sugar, because this is a sweet bread after all, but you can use less, of course.