American style Stollen

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 200 g raisins, unsulfured
• 200 g cranberries, dried
• 100 g candied lemon, very finely chopped
• 100 g candied orange peel, very finely chopped
• 100 ml brown rum (54%)
• 50 ml brandy or cognac
• 250 g margarine
• 200 ml oil (walnut, sunflower or rapeseed oil)
• 100 ml milk
• 2 large eggs
• 3 sachets of dry yeast
• 125 ml water, lukewarm
• 1 kg wheat flour
• 200 g ground almonds
• 200 g walnuts, chopped
• 1 bag of flavoring (Orange Baking, 5 g)
• 1 sachet flavoring (Citro Back, 5 g)
• 1 tsp salt
• e.g. margarine, melted or
• Oil (as specified above)
• 150 g powdered sugar

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Rest time approx. 12 hours; Total time approx. 12 hours 45 minutes

with cranberries and walnuts – for 2 Stollen

Place the first four ingredients for the fruit mixture in a bowl with a lid, then pour in the rum and brandy. Mix everything thoroughly. Cover the bowl and let the contents sit for at least 12 hours. For the dough, heat the margarine, oil, and milk in a saucepan until the margarine has melted. Let it cool until the liquid is just lukewarm. Meanwhile, gradually mix the dry yeast with the lukewarm water in a small bowl. Set aside. The yeast will “swell,” become foamy, and after about 10 minutes, can be incorporated into the dough. Meanwhile, mix the remaining dough ingredients (flour, ground almonds, chopped walnuts, flavorings, and salt) thoroughly in a large bowl (preferably a yeast dough bowl). Stir the two eggs (yolk and egg white) into the now lukewarm fat-milk mixture. Now add the foamed yeast-water mixture to the flour-nut mixture and mix. Then gradually knead in the fat-milk-egg mixture and knead into a smooth dough. Cover the yeast dough bowl with the lid (or place a thick towel over the bowl to cover) and let the dough rest in a warm, draft-free place (I prefer a warm radiator). Let the dough rest for about 2 hours. Only then knead the risen dough again and evenly knead the fruit-alcohol mixture, including any remaining alcohol, into the dough. Divide this dough-fruit mixture into two equal parts, shape each into an oblong stollen, and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The stollen will only expand slightly during baking—but if you like, you can wrap several folds of aluminum foil around each stollen to act as a baking frame, so to speak. Bake in a preheated oven (190°C) on the middle rack for 30 minutes. Then reduce the oven temperature to 175°C and bake the stollen for another 20-30 minutes. Remove from the oven immediately and, while still hot, brush with melted margarine or cooking oil. Dust generously all over with sifted powdered sugar and allow both stollen to cool completely on the baking sheet. If necessary or desired, dust again with powdered sugar while still cold. Both stollen can now be wrapped thickly in aluminum foil, relatively easily and safely. However, they must be left to mature for at least 4 weeks before eating to allow their full flavor to develop. Variation: Use currants instead of raisins, or both. Instead of candied lemon and orange peel, simply use more raisins/currants and/or cranberries. Of course, you can also use chopped almonds instead of chopped walnuts. The margarine can, of course, be replaced with butter or clarified butter (but reduce the amount by 1/3). The milk can be replaced with soy or rice milk, or a plant-based cream substitute. If you grind or chop the nuts yourself, expect it to take about 90 minutes to prepare.