Christmas Stollen

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A traditional German Christmas bread topped with powdered sugar
Active Time: 1 hour Total Time: 10 hours (includes soaking fruit overnight) Makes: 2 loaves

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Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup golden raisins
  • 1/2 cup Zante currants
  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon brandy or dark rum
  • 1/4 cup diced candied orange peel
  • 1/4 cup diced candied lemon peel
  • 1/8 cup diced candied ginger
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 1 (1/4-ounce package) active dry yeast
  • 2 tablespoons warm water
  • 3 1/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for finishing
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 extra-large egg yolk
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • Confectioners’ sugar

Preparation

Step 1

1. The night before baking: In a bowl, combine raisins, currants and cranberries with ½ cup brandy and let mixture soak overnight. In the morning, add citrus peels, ginger and almonds to bowl and set aside.

2. Make a starter: Heat milk in a small pot over low heat until lukewarm, or about 100 degrees (use a candy thermometer to monitor temperature). In a large bowl, whisk yeast with 2 tablespoons warm water, then slowly add warm milk, whisking to break up clumps. While whisking, slowly add 1 cup flour, stirring until mixture is homogeneous. Wet a kitchen towel with hot water, wring it out well and use it to cover bowl. Set bowl in a warm spot with a temperature of about 80 degrees and let yeast develop for 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, melt butter and pour it into a large bowl. Add sugar and salt, whisking until sugar melts. Add yolk, whisk until mixture is homogeneous, then add lemon zest and nutmeg, whisking to combine.

4. Once starter is ready, slowly add butter mixture to it, stirring to combine. While stirring, add 1 cup flour, then mix in remaining brandy. Stir in another 1¼ cups flour. If dough becomes too stiff to mix with a spoon, gently knead flour into it.

5. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until soft, pliable and shiny, 10 minutes. Form dough into a ball and place in a large buttered bowl. Cover bowl with a cloth soaked in hot water and wrung out well, and set aside in a warm spot until doubled in size, 1½-2 hours.

6. Once dough has risen, heat oven to 350 degrees. Gently remove dough from bowl and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Knead dough 2-3 times, then gently pull and stretch it out until it is as flat as possible. Drain fruit and almonds and mix them with 3 tablespoons flour. Pour mixture onto dough and roll the whole thing up, folding ends over so fruit is encased in dough. Knead dough to distribute fruit and nuts evenly. Fruit will fall out of dough at first; just tuck loose pieces back in until everything stays together. Re-flour work surface as necessary to keep dough from sticking.

7. Divide dough into 2 pieces. Pull each piece into a long, fairly flat rectangle, about 16 inches long, 5 inches wide and 1 inch thick, then fold loaves in half crosswise so each is now 8 inches long and 2 inches thick. Place loaves on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake until tops are golden brown, 35 minutes. (Loaves will spread and flatten a little bit during baking.)

8. Remove loaves from oven and, while they are still warm, brush with some melted butter. Cover with a thick dusting of confectioners’ sugar. Allow to cool, then dust loaves with another thick layer of confectioners’ sugar. Wrap well in two layers of plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature 1-2 weeks before eating to allow flavors to develop.

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