My First Attempt at Stollen

Stollen, my favorite sweet bread, at least until I try something new again.

Although I definitely do not enjoy spending an entire day reading for class and having to drink coffee by the gallon (one can only read about political theory and history for so many hours before having to fight off sleep), I do enjoy having an entire day devoted to sitting on the couch, which is conveniently located just a few yards from my kitchen.

Such vast amounts of reading need to be punctuated by physical activity, and by "physical activity" I mean kneading dough, measuring ingredients, and pulling various pans and bowls out of my cabinets. This bread definitely kept me busy and provided some nice breaks during my reading. I started it at 7:30am and finished it at about 1pm. Also, since the dough makes 2 loaves, so I baked one and I froze the other just at the stage before baking so that I can have one later when I want something sweet and holiday-like, but do not have the 6 hours to make it.

Overall, grad school and working is a bit hard to juggle (especially when you throw in my 5-day-a-week exercise regimen), but cooking and baking is here to stay... for now.

The beautiful layers of sugar on top remind me of undisturbed snowfall on a winter morning. No wonder this is a great holiday treat.

Stollen
Adapted from David Lebovitz

You can certainly swap out any dried fruits you want although I’d keep the tang of the dried cherries or cranberries in there, if you can find them; the little nuggets will brighten up your winter just a bit.

⅔ cup dark raisins

⅔ cup golden raisins

½ cup dried cranberries or cherries

⅓ cup dark rum

1 cup slivered or sliced almonds, lightly toasted

¼ cup water

2 ½ (one envelope) teaspoons active dry yeast

½ cup milk (whole or low-fat), at room temperature

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup whole wheat flour (or use similar amount all-purpose flour)

½ cup, plus 3 tablespoons sugar

1 ½ teaspoons ground dried ginger

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon grated lemon or orange zest

¾ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract, or 1/2 teaspoon of powdered vanilla

1 cup, plus ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted

1 tablespoon honey

1 large egg yolk

½ cup chopped candied ginger *optional. I feel this would be so good in it, but I did not have any, so I omitted it and the bread was still divine

½ cup diced candied citrus peel (I made my own as per the directions here)

½ cup powdered sugar, or more, if necessary

1. Mix both kinds of raisins with the cranberries or cherries with the dark rum or orange juice, then cover. In another bowl, mix the almonds with the water, and cover. Let both sit at least an hour, or overnight.

2. Pour the milk in a medium bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Stir briefly, then stir in 1 cup of the flour until smooth to make a starter. Cover, and let rest one hour.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, or by hand, stir together the remaining 2 ½ cups flour, the rye flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, ½ teaspoon of the dried ginger, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, citrus zest, and vanilla. Pour in the 1 cup of the melted butter, honey, and the egg yolk, and mix on medium speed until the mixture is moistened uniformly.

4. While mixing, add the yeasted starter, one-third at a time, mixing until thoroughly incorporated. Once added, continue to beat for about four minutes until almost smooth: it should resemble cookie dough. Add the dried fruits (and any liquid), candied ginger, citrus peel, and almonds, and beat until they’re well-distributed

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured surface and knead a few times, then place back in the mixer bowl, cover, and let rest in a warm place for one hour.

6. Remove the dough from the bowl, knead the dough again, then return it to the bowl. Let rest for another hour.

7. Divide the dough into four pieces and shape each one into a oval, and place them evenly-spaced apart on a baking sheet (I used my stoneware one).

8. Cover the loaves with a clean tea towel and let rest in a warm place for one hour.

9. Preheat the oven to 350F. Remove the tea towel and bake the loaves for 45 minutes, or until they’re deep golden brown.

10. While they loaves are baking, mix together the remaining ½ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon dried ginger. When the breads come out of the oven, generously brush the remaining ¾ cup melted butter over the hot loaves, letting the butter saturate the breads, repeating until all the butter is absorbed.

(Feel free to lift the loaves to saturate the bottoms. Just make sure you don’t break the loaves.)

11. Rub the gingered sugar mixture over the top and side of each loaf then let rest on the baking sheet until room temperature.

12. Sift the powdered sugar over, under, and around the breads, rubbing it in with your hands. They wrap the loaves on the baking sheet in a large plastic bag and let them sit for two days. After two days, the loaves are ready to eat, or can be wrapped as gifts. You may wish to sift additional powdered sugar over the top in case they need another dusting.

Storage: Stollen can be stored for at least a week, if well-wrapped, at room temperature. Or frozen for at least one month.