Saxon Christmas Stollen

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 1 kg flour
• 120 g yeast
• 200 ml milk
• 200 g sugar
• 15 g salt
• 2 packets of vanilla sugar
• 400 g butter
• 80 g lard
• 100 g candied lemon
• 150 g almond(s), finely chopped
• 45 g almond(s) (bitter almonds), finely chopped
• 650 g raisins
• 10 cl rum
• 2 g nutmeg, grated
• 4 g ginger powder
• 2 g clove(s), crushed
• 3 g cardamom, ground
• 1 lemon(s), grated peel
• 120 g melted butter for spreading
• Butter for the baking tray
• n. B. Sugar for sprinkling
• n. B. Powdered sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 2 hours; Total time approx. 3 hours

enough for 2 Stollen

The night before, soak the raisins that you picked, washed, and briefly dried in rum and let them soak overnight. Have the remaining ingredients ready in the kitchen. On the day you want to bake, put all the flour into a large bowl. Make a small well in the middle and mix a pre-dough from the flour, yeast, and a little lukewarm milk. Cover and let it rise for about 30 minutes in a draft-free place. Then add all the other ingredients—except the raisins and almonds—and knead into a dough. The amount of spices is a matter of taste, but there shouldn’t be any overtaste. When the dough is well kneaded, first add the raisins and knead them in (the dough will be moist), then add the almonds (the dough will be drier again). Cover and let the entire dough rise for about 120 minutes in a draft-free place. After the dough has risen, punch it down again briefly – divide it in half, i.e. two stollen – shape it into a bread-like shape – make a lengthwise cut in the middle with a sharp knife about one centimeter deep – pierce both sides of the cut several times with a rolling pin. Then bake in a preheated oven at medium heat (150°C fan oven (medium heat) on the middle shelf for about 60 – 70 minutes, side by side on a buttered baking tray until golden brown. It is recommended that the insides of the two stollen be separated from each other with aluminum foil. While the stollen are still hot, spread with melted butter and first sprinkle with a thin layer of granulated sugar. Then add layers of melted butter and icing sugar alternately (the thickness is a matter of taste). Once cooled, each stollen is placed individually in a stollen bag (large plastic bag) and sealed airtight and stored in a cool place for at least four weeks. Tip: I’ve personally baked this recipe successfully in a bread maker (program: bread/normal; quantities of ingredients modified). However, the shape and the holes from the kneading swirls take some getting used to. Additional variation: Potato cake: Take about 600g of the Stollen dough and knead it thoroughly with about 150g of boiled potatoes (3 from the previous day). Roll this dough out thinly (!) on a buttered baking sheet. Bake at medium heat as for Stollen for about 25 minutes until golden brown. After baking, immediately brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Should be eaten while still warm.