Stollen Recipe

I adapted it, actually. This is a variation on a formula I came across a few years ago and loved. Notice that the dried and candied fruits are all light in color. No raisins or currants, not even any brown-skinned nuts. This is intentional, since unlike an English-style fruitcake, a light, golden crumb is part of the aesthetic of a perfect stollen. Like fruitcake, however, it is a two-day process.

Day 1:

The fruit mix:

2 cups golden raisins
1/2 cup candies orange peel
1/2 cup candied lemon peel
1/2 cup candied cherries, chopped
1/2 cup candied citron
1 cup slivered almonds
3 tablespoons dark rum
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon

Combine all in a large bowl and toss until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and macerate at room temperature overnight.

Day 2

Preheat your oven to 375.

The sponge:

7 ounces all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons (2 envelopes) instant yeast
2/3 cup milk, room temperature

Whisk together the flour, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer, then stir in the milk until a thick batter is formed. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap let sit for 30 minutes until bubbly.

The dough:

10 ounces all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
the sponge
1 egg, room temperature
5 egg yolks, room temperature
3 ounces milk, room temperature
10 tablespoons butter, room temperature

then:

6 ounces marzipan, chopped

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Lightly beat the egg, yolks and milk together. Attach the dough hook and turn the mixer on low. Add the dry ingredients, sponge and the egg mixture, turn the mixer up to medium and knead until the dough is fairly smooth. Add the butter tablespoon by tablespoon, letting each be incorporated before adding the next.

Turn the mixer back down to low and add half the marzipan and then the fruit mixture from day 1 (draining off any excess liquid first). If necessary, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead by hand until all the marzipan and macerated fruit is evenly incorporated. Let the dough rise for half an hour more.

Cut the dough in half and roll each half out into an oval roughly 12″ long and an inch thick. With the rolling pin, make a depression in the dough running end to end and fill each trench with halk the rest of the marzipan pieces. Fold the dough in half to enclose the marzipan. Place the breads on a sheet pan or cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Let rise a further 20-30 minutes.

Bake for 30 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake for 20-30 minutes more until the outside is well browned. Cool on a rack, then paint each stollen liberally with butter (about half a stick) and dust amply with powdered sugar (about a cup).