Stollen
Ingredients
1 cup chopped candied citrus peels
½ cup sliced almonds
1 cup raisins
¼ cup spiced rum
¾ cup milk
2 ¼ teaspoons yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
4 cups flour
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 egg
1 stick butter, extremely softened
7 ounces almond paste
½ stick butter, melted
Powdered sugar
Steps
If you haven’t done so already, chop a handful of candied citrus peel strips into small half inch size pieces
To a bowl, add 1 cup of the chopped candied peels, ½ cup sliced almonds, and 1 cup raisins
Pour ¼ cup spiced rum all over the dried fruits and nuts and stir the mixture together letting everything soak while you make the dough
Warm ¾ cup milk in a small pot over the stove to just about 80 degrees Fahrenheit
Pour the warmed milk into a mixer bowl and add 2 ¼ teaspoons yeast and 2 tablespoons sugar
To the yeast mixture, add 3 cups all purpose flour, ½ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon cardamom, and ½ teaspoon nutmeg
Stir all the ingredients together to combine
Add 1 egg and stir again to incorporate
Next fold in 1 stick of extremely softened butter with the rest of the ingredients
Secure the bowl in a stand mixer and affix the dough hook attachment and begin kneading the dough together
Add one more cup of flour and knead the dough again to distribute the flour
Scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl to ensure all the loose flour and bits of dough get incorporated
Knead the dough again to ensure everything is fully combined and scrape down the mixer bowl once more to remove any sticky flour of dough pieces
Then knead the dough one last time until it’s smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl
Transfer the dough to a large greased bowl
Cover the dough and allow it to rise for 1 to 2 hours or until doubled in size
Spread some flour out on the counter and turn out the dough
Punch the dough down a few times
To the middle of the dough, add about half of the rum soaked fruit and nut mixture
Then fold the dough together to work, knead and incorporate the fruit and nuts with the rest of the dough
Each time you push down on the dough, rotate it 90 degrees and fold it over again to knead
Add the remaining fruit and nuts to the dough and continue to work the dough until everything is incorporated and there are no loose fruit or nut pieces
With the dough in a ball shape, cut it in an even half
Separate the 2 halves of dough and if needed, spread out some more flour
Place one half of dough onto the flour
Then push, flatten and spread the dough into an oval about 8 inches wide and 11 inches long
Open a 7 ounce log of almond paste and cut it in half lengthwise
Horizontally place the halved almond paste log in the middle of the dough
Then fold one half of the dough completely over the almond paste log
Fold the other half of the dough over so the end just barely overlaps, pushing the edge down to secure
Then fold and pinch the open ends of the loaf secure to completely enclose the almond paste
Repeat the process for the second half of the dough, flattening the dough out into an oval 8 by 11 inches, placing the almond paste in the center and folding the dough over each other, pushing down to secure and pinching the ends of the loaf to enclose the almond paste
Place each loaf on a parchment paper lined tray, cover with a tea towel, and allow to rise again for 45 minutes
Remove the towels from the bread before baking
Bake the stollen in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes and remove from the oven when they are lightly golden brown
Thoroughly brush the stollen all over with some melted butter, being sure to completely cover every nook and cranny
Lastly sprinkle some powdered sugar all over the stollen until the entire loaf is completely dusted and covered