Christmas Stollen

It was going to be really festive with cranberries on top of the sugar glaze. But something went wrong. Not baking catastrophe wrong where I was crying over my dough. I almost did. I was sort of in denial that it wasn’t quite rising as it should. I was heading to a Christmas Eve party and thought by the time I’d come home, it would for sure be doubled in size. It maybe quartered in size. Or maybe it never did and I was just hoping for a Christmas baking miracle.

If you never made a stollen, this recipe is a great recipe to start (and end) with. I’m submitting my successful Christmas Stollen to the wonderful Susan of Wild Yeast for Yeastspotting

You know I’ve been busy with all this holiday baking. I’ve been baking every thing on a new wonderful cookie sheet! This was a batch of citrus glazed cookies I made (recipe to follow).

ManPans just released their baking and pizza line and I’m totally smitten! I’m a huge ManPans fan because of the quality of their products and most importantly, because they are made in the USA.:)

Tis the season for baking and making special treats!! The Cookie Sheet came in the nick of time for all our cookie and holiday bread baking.

The cookies came out perfectly baked on the bottoms. The pan held true to the recipe temperature and baking time. There was no need to grease the cookie sheet and the cookies slid easily off.

The Cookie Sheet is 18″ X 13″ and I was able to fit 20 cookies on the sheet. The last pic was my last batch- so there are less cookies. The pan is flat (no sides all around-other than the grip-lip) which is easy to use.

Christmas Stollen

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 2/3 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1/3 cup currants
• 1/3 cup sultana raisins
• 1/3 cup red candied cherries, quartered (I skipped this and added dried cranberries)
• 2/3 cup diced candied citron (skipped this and added 1 large orange zest)
• 6 ounces marzipan  (I did not have marzipan to do the marzipan surprise)
• 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with the egg, white sugar, salt, butter, and 2 cups bread flour; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition.



When the dough has begun to pull together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead in the currants, raisins, dried cherries, and citrus peel. Continue kneading until smooth, about 8 minutes.

When the dough has begun to pull together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead in the currants, raisins, dried cherries, and citrus peel. Continue kneading until smooth, about 8 minutes.



Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Lightly grease a cookie sheet. (I didn’t have to with one of the loaves because I used the new ManPans baking sheet)

Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the marzipan into a rope and place it in the center of the dough. Fold the dough over to cover it; pinch the seams together to seal. Place the loaf, seam side down, on the prepared baking sheet.

Cover with a damp cloth and combine 1 tablespoon milk and 1 egg. Brush dough gently with milk mixture.
Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), and bake for a further 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow loaf to cool on a wire rack. Dust the cooled loaf with confectioners’ sugar, and sprinkle with the cinnamon.

*This year I did a sugar glaze like on the Cooking Light Magazine. Here is the recipe:
Combine 1 tablespoon milk and powdered sugar, stirring until smooth; drizzle over cooled loaves

Hope you are having a FABULOUS week:)Thank you for stopping by to say HELLO:)