Stollen

Stollen  (German Christmas Bread)

Ingredients:

6 to 8 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 ½ cups of milk or water at 105 to 115 degrees F
2 pkgs active dry yeast
½ lb raisins
½ lb. chopped blanched almonds
½ cup chopped candied fruits
1 ½ cups butter
¾ cup sifted sugar
3 eggs
¾ tsp. salt
¾ tsp. grated lemon rind
Melted butter
Powdered sugar

Directions:

Combine the warm milk with the yeast and let stand 3 to 5 minutes.  Add one cup of the flour.  Cover this sponge and let it rest in a warm place until light and foamy, about one hour.  In a separate bowl, combine raisins, almonds, and candied fruit.  Sprinkle a little of the flour over the mixture and set aside.  In a different bowl, beat the butter until soft.  Gradually add the sugar and blend until light and creamy.  Beat in each egg, one at a time.  Add salt and lemon rind.  Add the sponge and enough flour to knead the dough until smooth and elastic.  Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk.  Toss it onto a floured board.  Knead in the fruit and nuts.    Divide the dough into two equal pieces.  Roll each into and 8 x 15 inch oval.  Fold in half lengthwise and place loaves on greased baking sheets.  Brush the tops with melted butter.  Let the loaves rise, covered, until they again almost double in bulk, about 45 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake 30-40 minutes or until done.  When cool, sprinkle  top with powdered sugar.

Notes:  I found Mom’s handwritten recipe for stollen.  It only contained the ingredients list, so I got some help from “The Joy of Cooking” for preparation.  I have made this recipe myself.  It tasted good, but I found it is difficult to get the stollen  loaves all the way baked through to the center.  If I make it again, I may try baking 4 smaller loaves instead of the 2 large loaves.  Mom made stollen every year and sometimes gave away loaves as gifts.