I recently asked on my social media what people would like me to bake for Christmas and the one bake that I had a lot of requests for was Stollen so I had to put it as the top of my to-do list!
Stollen is a fruit bread containing marzipan and coated with a thick layer of icing sugar. It is a traditional German Christmas bread often served for breakfast.
It is quite popular here in the UK now and can be bought in most supermarkets around Christmas time.
I have packed mine with dried fruit, dried cranberries, mixed peel and glacé cherries all soaked in Amaretto. It is not an authentic recipe but one that has all the flavours I love at Christmas. I would happily eat a slice for breakfast with a mug of coffee!
In a medium sized bowl place the dried fruit, dried cranberries, mixed peel, quartered glacé cherries, flaked almonds, lemon zest.
Add the amaretto.
Mix together then cover with cling film and set aside.
Warm the milk in a pan or the microwave until it is just warm - if it is too hot it will kill the yeast.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached place the bread flour, yeast, sugar,salt (do not place next to the yeast) and butter.
Add the egg and milk and mix with the dough hook.
Mix on a medium speed for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth.
Place in a large oiled bowl and cover with cling film.
Leave for at least 2 hours until is has doubled in size.
Take the marzipan and roll into the shape of a log about 24cm in length, then line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
Add the spices to the fruit and mix.
Knock the dough back in the bowl.
Then add the dried fruit mixture and knead into the dough.
Tip the dough out onto a floured surface.
Roll out to a rectangle approximately 20cm x 26cm .
Place the marzipan log on the dough just off centre to the left of the dough.
Wrap the dough over the marzipan log and press down to seal inside the dough.
Take the dough from the right and roll in half then half again so it is tight against the dough encasing the marzipan log.
Pinch the dough at the ends to the marzipan is sealed inside the dough.
Carefully turn over so the seam is underneath and place on the prepared baking sheet.
Cover with cling film and leave to prove again and double in size for at least 1 hour.
When ready to bake preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade (160 fan) Gas mark 4.
Remove the cling film and bake for 55 minutes.
It should be golden brown and if tapped underneath sounds hollow.
Melt the butter and brush over the top of the bread while still warm.
Then sieve the icing sugar over the top in a nice thick covering.
Leave to cool before slicing and serving.
Sarah's Festive Stollen
Sarah's servings: 12
Sarah's skill: Medium
Baking time: 55 minutes
Ingredients:
100g Dried Mixed Fruit
30g Dried Cranberries
30g Mixed Peel
50g Glacé Cherries
30g Flaked Almonds
Zest of 1 Lemon
2 Tbsp Amaretto
125ml Milk
275g Strong White Flour
7g Dried Yeast
30g Caster Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
50g Soft Unsalted Butter
1 Large Egg
1/2 tsp Mixed Spice
1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
200g Marzipan
25g Melted Unsalted Butter
4 - 6 Tbsp Icing Sugar
Method:
In a medium sized bowl place the dried fruit, dried cranberries, mixed peel, quartered glacé cherries, flaked almonds, lemon zest and amaretto and mix together. Cover with cling film and set aside.
Warm the milk in a pan or the microwave until it is just warm - if it is too hot it will kill the yeast.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached place the bread flour, yeast, sugar,salt (do not place next to the yeast) and butter.
Add the egg and milk and mix with the dough hook and mix on a medium speed for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth.
Place in a large oiled bowl and cover with cling film for at least 2 hours until is has doubled in size.
Take the marzipan and roll into the shape of a log about 24cm in length.
Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
Add the spices to the dried fruit and mix.
Knock the dough back in the bowl then add the dried fruit mixture and knead into the dough.
Tip the dough out onto a floured surface and roll out to a rectangle approximately 20cm x 26cm .
Place the marzipan log on the dough just off centre to the left of the dough.
Wrap the dough over the marzipan log and press down to seal inside the dough.
Take the dough from the right and roll in half then half again so it is tight against the dough encasing the marzipan log.
Pinch the dough at the ends to the marzipan is sealed inside the dough.
Carefully turn over so the seam is underneath and place on the prepared baking sheet.
Cover with cling film and leave to prove again and double in size for at least 1 hour.
When ready to bake preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade (160 fan) Gas mark 4.
Remove the cling film and bake for 55 minutes until golden brown and if tapped underneath sounds hollow.
Melt the butter and brush over the top of the bread while still warm then sieve the icing sugar over the top in a nice thick covering.
Leave to cool before slicing and serving.
Sarah's extra slice.....
You can use whatever fruit and nuts you like in this recipe - just keep to the same weights as the recipe.
You can freeze the Stollen wrapped in cling film without the icing sugar topping.