Christmas Stollen
Submitted by spitfire
Traditional Christmas stollen with candied citron, cherries, almonds, raisins, and lemon zest folded into a rich, buttery yeast dough shaped into crescents and drizzled with icing.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
45 minREADY
3 hrsStollen is the bread that tells you Christmas has arrived in Northern Europe.
A rich yeast dough, soft with butter, eggs, and warm milk, gets loaded with candied citron, chopped cherries, slivered almonds, raisins, and lemon zest. Shaped into crescents, brushed with melted butter, and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar before folding.
After a second rise and a golden bake, a drizzle of thick powdered sugar icing seals in the moisture and adds a sweet, snowy finish.
Every slice reveals a mosaic of fruit and nuts suspended in tender, fragrant bread.
Chef Tips
- Scald the milk and let it cool to lukewarm. Hot milk kills yeast. Lukewarm means comfortable on the inside of your wrist.
- Give the first rise a full 90 minutes. This is a heavy, enriched dough and it needs the time to double properly.
- Knead until smooth and elastic. The fruit and butter make this dough sticky, so keep adding flour gradually until it feels workable.
- Fold lengthwise, not crosswise. The crescent shape comes from folding the oval in half the long way and then curving the ends inward.
- Ice while still hot so the glaze melts slightly and bonds to the surface.
Ingredients
Directions
Pour milk into a saucepan.
Heat to scalding.
Turn off heat; stir in ½ cup of the granulated sugar and the salt.
Let mixture cool to lukewarm.
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in the ½ cup warm water; let mixture rest for 5 minutes.
Pour lukewarm milk mixture into yeast solution.
Stir in 1 cup of the flour.
Beat dough with electric mixer or egg beater until smooth.
Cover bowl with cloth towel; let dough rise in a warm place 1 hour and 30 minutes or until double in bulk.
Punch down dough in bowl; fold in citron, cherries, almonds, lemon rind and raisins.
Add eggs, ¾ cup (1½ sticks) of the softened butter and the nutmeg.
Stir in 3 more cups flour; mix dough until smooth.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
Knead, working in enough of remaining flour to make dough smooth and elastic.
Divide dough into halves; roll each portion into an oval, about ½ inch thick.
In a small saucepan, melt remaining butter; brush it over ovals.
In a small bowl, combine cinnamon with remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar; sprinkle mixture over ovals.
Fold ovals in half, lengthwise.
Place them on buttered baking sheet.
Twist ends of each oval toward each other to form a crescent.
Loosely cover ovals with wax paper and a cloth towel.
Let Stollen rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until double in bulk.
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).
Bake Stollen 45 minutes or until golden.
In a small bowl, combine confectioners’ sugar with enough of the hot water to make a thick icing.
Dribble icing over hot Stollen; let Stollen cool before slicing.
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