Stollen - German Christmas Bread with Dried Fruit

How to prepare stollen - german christmas bread with dried fruit

1. Prepare the almond paste (marzipan) ahead of time, 1-2 weeks in advance, to let the flavor develop. In a food processor or coffee grinder, grind the almonds with the sugar until they become powder. Put in a bowl and add the water and lemon zest. Knead by hand until you get a bound paste that's firm enough to shape without sticking to your hands. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you prepare the stollen.
2. When I find organic citrus, I zest them and mix with sugar to refrigerate, like our grandmothers used to do, because it's a shame to waste it. Right now I have flavored sugar with orange, lemon, lime, and clementine in my fridge.
   If you don't have this flavored sugar prepared, for this recipe you can mix 20 g sugar with the zest from 1/2 organic orange and 1/2 organic lemon. Rub well so the zest releases its aroma into the sugar. This mixture can also be prepared ahead and kept refrigerated.
3. Dissolve the yeast in warm milk. Add the egg yolk to the milk. Pour these over half the flour (125 g) and mix with a spoon for 1 minute, until you have a viscous, soft dough. Cover the starter with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (around 30°C; I put it in the oven heated to 30°C; or you can place it near a hot radiator) for 30 minutes.
4. While the starter rests, pour boiling water over the dried fruit and let them rehydrate. Chop larger fruit (like apricots) finely with a knife, leave the rest whole. If you have semi-dried fruit, there's no need to soak them. You can add a little rum to the water or an Earl Grey tea bag to infuse the fruit.
5. Take the almond paste out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature. I made the mistake of working with it cold, and after it warmed up, it became a bit too soft and couldn't be shaped. Gradually add beaten egg (about 1 tablespoon at a time) and knead the paste by hand until it's glossy and not too dense, but also not so soft that it flows. You should be able to easily shape it into a log without it sticking to your hands.
6. Add the remaining flour (125 g), flavored sugar, and salt to the starter. Knead until the dough comes together. Then gradually add the soft butter and knead until completely absorbed. When all the butter is incorporated, continue kneading by hand (at least 20 minutes) or with a stand mixer (5 minutes) or one cycle in a bread machine. You'll get a denser but satiny, elastic dough that's very easy to work with.
8. Add the dried fruit (well-drained and patted dry with paper towels) and knead (or mix with the mixer) until evenly incorporated into the dough.
9. Shape into a ball, place in a bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 40 minutes.
10. Turn the dough out onto the work surface (no flour was needed) and flatten with your hands, giving it a slightly oval shape. Shape the marzipan into a log slightly shorter than the length of the oval. Fill and shape the stollen following the method in this video. I took photos too, but the video is clearer. Because my marzipan had softened, I piped it using a pastry bag and it worked satisfactorily. In fact, I liked how it spread along the width of the stollen, so in the end you could taste the cream in almost every bite.
11. Place the shaped stollen on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Put the tray in a bag and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
12. Bake the stollen at 190°C for approximately 30 minutes until nicely golden on top. Brush with melted butter when you take it out of the oven. After cooling, dust with powdered sugar.

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