Christmas Stollen Traditional German Holiday Bread
With love to my husband and children of German descent.Stollen is a rich, sweet cake filled with fruits and nuts, and Stollen from Dresden are particularly well-known. A masterpiece of baking, treasured around the world. The product's long shelf life also makes it a perfect gift for any food lover. A very special Christmas treat. By law of the European Union, commercially sold Dresden Stollen can only be made in Dresden based on certain standards.
Ingredients
- 2-1/2 cups raisins
- 4 tablespoons rum
- 8 cups flour
- 1-2 cups milk
- 2 packages dry yeast or 2 cubes of fresh yeast if available
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Grated rind of 1 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 lb unsalted butter
- 3.5 oz almonds ground or finely chopped
- 4 oz candied lemon peel finely chopped
- 4 oz candied orange peel finely chopped
- Unsalted butter for coating
- Confectioner's sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Soak raisins in rum overnight.
- Combine flour, milk, yeast, sugar, salt and butter to form a smooth yeast dough.
- Incorporate almonds, candied lemon and orange peel, nutmeg and raisins, one after another always kneading the dough thoroughly.
- Let rest for 1 hour.
- Knead the dough once more, divide into two and shape two Stollen loaves.
- Bake for about 1 hour in a preheated oven at 350° oven.
- After baking the Stollen, brush them with melted butter and dust generously with confectioner's sugar.
- Stollen has a long shelf life and can be made weeks ahead of Christmas.