Best Old Fashioned Stollen With Almonds Recipes

OLD-FASHIONED STOLLEN

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1/2 teaspoon sugar in warm water; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the milk, butter, salt, cardamom, eggs, egg yolks, remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in the raisins, citron, cherries and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough., Turn out onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/4 hours. , Punch down; divide into thirds. Roll each piece on a floured surface into a 10x6-in. oval. Brush with melted butter. Fold 1 long side over to within 1 in. of the opposite side. Press edges to seal. Place on greased baking sheets. Brush with melted butter. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. , Bake at 375° until lightly browned, about 25 minutes. For icing, combine confectioners' sugar and milk; spread over cooled bread. Decorate with almonds and fruit.

BEST AUTHENTIC STOLLEN (GERMAN CHRISTMAS BREAD)

Steps:

• Place the raisins, candied citrus peel and almonds in a medium bowl and pour the rum over it. Stir to combine. Set aside and let the fruit mixture soak in the rum while the dough rises.
• Stir the yeast and 2 tablespoons of the sugar into the lukewarm milk and let sit in a warm place for 10-15 minutes until very frothy.
• Place the flour, remaining sugar, egg, egg yolks, butter, vanilla extract, lemon zest, salt, cardamom, mace and cinnamon in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the yeast/milk mixture. Use a spoon to stir the mixture until it comes together. Knead the dough on the bread setting for 7-8 minutes. Remove the dough ball, lightly spray the bowl with a little oil, return the dough ball, cover loosely with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place or lightly warmed oven (just barely warm), to rise until nearly doubled in size, at least 1 hour (likely closer to 2 hours depending on the temperature of the environment).
• Punch down the dough and add the soaked fruit/nut mixture to the dough (it should have absorbed all the rum by now but if there is excess liquid, pour it out before adding the mixture to the dough). Using the dough hook, knead the fruit/nut mixture into the dough until combined. If the dough is too wet to handle, add a little bit of flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and cut it in two equal halves. Press or roll each piece into an oval to about 1 inch thickness. Roll each piece of marzipan into a log the length of the oval. Press the marzipan gently into the middle of the dough. Fold the left side of the dough over to cover the marzipan, then fold right side over on top of the left side so that the edge of it sits just left of the middle of the stollen (see pics). In other words, don't fold the right side all the way over to the left edge of the stollen. Pinch and tuck the top and bottom ends of the stollen to cover the marzipan. Use the bottom edge of your hand to press down along the length of the stollen towards the right of the center to create a divot and characteristic hump (see pics). Place the stollen on a lined baking sheet. Cover the stollen loosely with plastic wrap and let them rest in a warm place or lightly warmed oven for 40-60 minutes until puffy. At that point you can pick off any raisins that are sticking out of the dough (they will burn during baking).
• Towards the end of the last rise, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and bake the stollen for 30-40 minutes or until golden. You can use an instant read thermometer to aim for an internal temperature of 190 degrees F. Let the Stollen sit for 5 minutes, then use a toothpick to poke holes all over the stollen (this will allow the butter to seep in), then generously brush the stollen with the melted butter while the stollen are still warm. Immediately sprinkle with a generous amount of powdered sugar, rubbing it into the creases and down the sides. Let the stollen cool completely. You may want to give it another dusting of powdered sugar once cooled.
• The stollen can be sliced and eaten now or wrapped tightly (wrap in plastic wrap then foil) and left to "ripen" in a cool place for 2 weeks. The liquid from the dried fruits will further penetrate the dough for more flavor and moisture. Stollen can also be frozen for longer storage.
• Makes 2 large or 3 medium Stollen.For eating, I like to warm the slices up for a few seconds in the microwave, it makes the crumb nice and soft.

OLD-FASHIONED STOLLEN WITH ALMONDS

Steps:

• For sponge:
• Stir 1 1/2 teaspoons lukewarm milk, 1 1/2 teaspoons lukewarm water and 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar in large bowl. Add yeast cake and stir until smooth. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add flour and remaining 1 1/3 cups lukewarm milk and mix well. Cover and let sponge rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
• For dough:
• Mix 3 tablespoons flour with raisins, slivered almonds and candied fruit in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat unsalted butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, cardamom, vanilla and salt. Beat in sponge. Stir in fruit and nuts. Mix in enough remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time to form slightly sticky dough. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if very sticky, about 10 minutes.
• Lightly oil large bowl. Add dough, turning to coat entire surface. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 1/2 hours.
• Grease heavy large cookie sheet. Punch dough down. Divide dough in half. Pat each half into 10 x 16-inch oval. Fold in half lengthwise; pat gently. Place on prepared sheet. Cover and let rise in warm draft-free area until almost double in volume, about 2 hours.
• Position rack in lowest third of oven and preheat to 350°F. Bake until loaves are golden and sound hollow when tapped on bottom, about 1 hour. Transfer to rack and cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Stollen can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cool completely. Wrap stollen in plastic and store at room temperature.)

TRADITIONAL STOLLEN

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine yeast and 1/2 cup warm water, and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, sift together dry ingredients. Stir in milk and 1 1/4 cups melted butter. Add dissolved yeast and eggs. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead until fairly smooth.
• In two separate bowls, soak currants in cognac, and raisins in orange juice. Let each stand for 10 minutes.
• In a medium-size bowl, mix together currants and raisins with their soaking liquids, the orange peel, lemon zest, citron, apricots, and almonds. Work mixture into dough. Continue kneading for about 10 minutes. If dough is sticky, knead in more flour, but be careful not to overwork.
• Place dough in a large buttered bowl. Cover bowl with a kitchen towel, and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.
• Punch down the dough, and cut in quarters. Roll each piece into a 12-by-8-inch rectangle. Brush with melted butter, then fold one long side to the center. Fold other long side over first side, overlapping it by 1 inch. Turn dough over, taper the ends, and place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat for remaining 3 loaves, using a second parchment-lined baking sheet for the third and fourth loaves. Cover loaves with plastic wrap; let rise again in a warm place, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees, with two racks centered. Bake stollen until golden brown, about 35 minutes, rotating the sheets between the racks halfway through baking. Cool on wire rack; dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve.

ALMOND-FILLED STOLLEN

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine candied fruits and 1/2 cup rum; let stand, covered, 1 hour., In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. In a large bowl, combine milk, butter, sugar, salt, lemon zest, almond extract, remaining rum, yeast mixture and 4 cups flour; beat on medium speed until smooth. Cover and let stand in a warm place, about 30 minutes., Beat in eggs. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky). Drain candied fruit, reserving rum for glaze. Reserve 1/2 cup candied fruit for topping. Stir almonds and remaining candied fruit into dough., Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch down dough; divide into 3 portions. On a greased baking sheet, roll each portion into a 12-in. circle. Crumble one-third of the almond paste over one-half of each circle. Fold dough partially in half, covering filling and placing top layer within 1 in. of bottom edge. Cover with kitchen towels and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375°., In a small bowl, whisk egg yolk and water; brush over loaves. Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cover loosely with foil if tops brown too quickly. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely. , In a small bowl, mix reserved rum with enough confectioners' sugar to make a thin glaze. Drizzle over stollen. Sprinkle with reserved candied fruit.

OLD FASHIONED STOLLEN

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, heat milk until hot, but not boiling; mix in 1/2 cup sugar, salt, lemon zest, and butter. Remove from heat, and cool slightly. In a small bowl, mix together yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/4 cup water; stir into milk. Beat in 2 eggs and egg yolks. Mix in 3 cups flour. Cover, and let rise in a warm place.
• Mix in the raisins and nuts. Gradually mix in enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough. Place dough in a well-oiled bowl, cover, and set aside to rise.
• Divide dough into 3 balls. Roll each ball out into a thick log, braid, and tuck the ends under. Place on a large cookie sheet, and set aside to rise one more time.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Brush beaten egg over the dough. It gives a shine to it.
• Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.