Walk through any Swiss village fair in autumn, the Chilbi, and the smell arrives before the stalls do: cinnamon, cloves and warm chocolate drifting from a mountain of glossy brown nuggets sold by weight into paper bags. That is Magenbrot, which translates rather unpromisingly as stomach bread. The name goes back to the days when apothecaries sold spiced breads as a comfort for the digestion, and the spices, cloves, cinnamon, star anise and mace among them, were thought to be kind to the stomach. Nobody buys it for medical reasons now.

It belongs to northern Switzerland and the southern edge of Germany, but it is sold all over the country, at Christmas markets as well as fairs. The Swiss style is a soft, cake like spice bread baked in logs, sliced, and dipped in a thin glaze of chocolate, cocoa and sugar that dries to a dull sheen. The result is chewy, fragrant and dangerously easy to keep eating from the bag.

It is also the perfect thing to carry to a grandstand: it travels well, keeps for weeks in a tin, and has the rare quality of tasting even better on the third day than the first.

The spice bread

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (190 g) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (60 g) rye flour or whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons Lebkuchengewürz
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) whole milk
• 1/4 cup (85 g) runny honey
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) kirsch

Method

1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with a rack in the middle, and line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk the flours, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, spice mix, cinnamon and salt in the large bowl and make a well in the middle. In the medium bowl, stir the milk and honey until the honey dissolves, and add the kirsch or zest. Pour it into the well and stir with the spatula, pulling the flour in from the sides, until no dry patches remain.
3. Wet your hands. Divide the dough into three equal parts and roll each on the parchment into a log about 12 inches (30 cm) long and 1 1/4 inches (3 cm) thick, spacing them at least 3 inches (7.5 cm) apart because they spread.
4. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes. Let the logs cool on the sheet for 10 minutes, then move them to the cutting board and let them cool for another 20 minutes.
5. Cut the logs on a slight slant into pieces about 3/4 inch (2 cm) wide with the serrated knife, using a gentle sawing motion. Keep the crumbly end pieces; chop them finely to stir into the glaze, as many Swiss home recipes do.

The chocolate glaze

Ingredients

• 2 oz (55 g) dark chocolate
• 1 tablespoon (15 g) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) water
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon Lebkuchengewürz
• 1 1/4 cups (150 g) powdered sugar

Method

1. Put the chocolate, butter and water in the small saucepan over low heat and stir constantly until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Take the pan off the heat.
2. Whisk in the cocoa and spice, then the powdered sugar a little at a time, until smooth. Stir in the chopped end pieces of the spice bread. If the glaze is too thick to coat, whisk in a teaspoon of hot water at a time.
3. Add the sliced pieces to the pan in three batches and fold them gently with the spatula until every side is coated. Lift them out one by one with a fork, let the excess drip back, and spread them on the wire rack without touching each other. Warm the glaze over very low heat for a few seconds if it starts to thicken.
4. Leave the pieces on the rack at room temperature for at least 2 hours, until the glaze has set. Do not put them in the fridge, which makes the glaze sweat.

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