Tuesday 18 December 2012

Stollen

I'm learning to be a little cautious in publishing recipes for foods from other parts of the world, after my recipe for M'hanncha caused concern. I am more than likely to get things wrong and my recipe for stolen is no exception, I can already hear roars of laughter from Hamburg to Munich. The result I have to say though was pleasing enough and far better than the poor examples available in the shops over here.



You will need:
400g of Strong White Flour
60g of sugar
70g of soft unsalted butter
2 eggs
7g of instant yeast
9g of salt
Enough milk to form a soft dough, roughly 150ml
200g of mixed dried fruit and peel
I teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of mixed spice
200g of marzipan Click here for recipe

Mix all the ingredients apart from the fruit,candied peel and marzipan, to form a soft sticky dough. Add the dried fruit and peel, I used a mixture of Lexia raisins, golden sultanas, golden glacé cherries and candied orange peel and mix well into the dough to distribute evenly. Knead on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes before leaving in a bowl, covered to prove for and hour or so.
Divide the dough in half, press each half out into a circular shape, roll out the marzipan into two sausage shapes and place each piece in a disc of dough, cover the marzipan to form a roughly oval shape and leave to rise for a further hour or so until risen but not doubled in size. Bake at 180 C for 35 to 40 minutes, cover the loaves with a piece of kitchen foil after 20 minutes if the tops are beginning to brown too quickly. Cool and decorate with a little icing made of icing sugar and lemon juice and some glacé cherries. I added a few slivers of pistachio for colour.

Notes:

I find this dough being enriched with eggs and sugar doesn't rise a great deal, unlike most breads or even brioche or panattone, but I think s it's all the better for being a little more dense. If a lighter texture is what you enjoy, add a further sachet (7g) of instant yeast.

8 comments:

  1. I will most DEFINATELY be using this recipe for my Stollen this year! Your particular Stollen looks amazing (as usual) and I love the decoration as most Stollen that I have seen (eaten) have only had a dusting of icing sugar, your emblellishments make it much more festive and a fantastic Christmas centrepiece for the table. Thank you for this wonderful recipe and personally, I don't think that Stollen needs to be as light as brioche or panattone...it stands alone as a delicious rich and unctuous mouthful. I hope that your Christmas is as wonderful as your recipes are :)

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  2. I wonder if you know how much it gladdens my heart that my efforts on this blog have such an affect on someone I have never met, not to mention someone on the other side of the world in Tasmania. What better could you ask for than to have your endeavours add something to other people's lives, especially at this time when cynicism seems to have hijacked Christmas. I must say this stollen is good, though I imagine it will need toasting in a day or two. I hope your Christmas is all you hope for, mine already is, thank you for your kind comments, best wishes Tôbi

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  3. Thank YOU Tobi :) I have to ask, would you mind if I linked this amazing recipe and your blog to my coming blog post? I am making 3 batches of your amazing Stollen recipe to be shared out with some of our neighbours to spread your wonderful Christmas cheer all around our own tiny little village here in Tasmania. I just made your recipe for almond paste and it is wonderful. It tastes just like the almond paste that my mum used to make and she passed away this year before giving the recipe to me so I am overjoyed that I have been able to replicate it so closely. I will no doubt turn out stollen that in no WAY approach the magnificence of your beautiful creations but it's the thought that counts and these amazing sweet breads need to be shared to be appreciated. I will check back later to see if it's O.K. to link :)

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  4. Hello again, it's always good to hear that my recipes work for others, I am very happy of course for you to link my blog or posts in any way you wish in order to spread the word about producing our own food. I always spot the people (rare these days) who buy only ingredients, at the supermarket, rather than already prepared foods. I hope you have a great Christmas, I'm sure your stollen will be every bit as good as mine. Best wishes, Tôbi.

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    Replies
    1. The Stollen turned out magnificently! I didn't realise that I would get 2 loaves from each recipe and made 3 recipes...being nice and warm here in Tasmania it went mental and I ended up with 6 large loaves that I spread good Christmas cheer around the neighbourhood with and shared one with our 90 year old next door neighbour along with a home made raised pork pie to remind her of the U.K. The Stollen has been consumed with gusto and the almond paste is a triumph because some of the consumers didn't even like almond paste and asked "what is that delicious circle in the centre?"...Your recipe is a decided first place in my books Tobi and certainly spread the Christmas cheer around our local little rural antipodian outpost :)

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  5. I guess you are about as different as you could be when it comes to temperature, over in Tasmania and my recipes are going to be a bit of a challenge when it comes to the action of yeast, wild or commercial. It sounds as though your stollen was a triumph though and like me you have managed to convert others to the delights of good marzipan. Best wishes Tôbi.

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  6. Hi Tobi. Your Stollen looks fabulous. I'm over here from Fran's Serendipity Farm blog and look forward to reading more of your recipes.

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