Foodie

Monday, March 10, 2008

Christmas Stollen



Last Christmas, i decided not be make dessert but made a Stollen which is more meaningful. This recipe is from from Peter Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice.


Ingredients:
Makes 1 large or 2 small loaves

Sponge
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4-5 teaspoons (or 2 packets) instant or active dry yeast
Fruit - 2 cups dried fruit (raisins, golden raisins, dried cherries, dried apricots, etc.)
1/2 cup Grand Marnier, brandy, rum, or schnapps
1 tablespoon orange or lemon extract and/or grated lemon or orange rind

Dough
2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
4 tablespoons (1/2 a stick) butter, softened
1/4 to 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup almond slivers or marzipan
Topping
Butter or oil
powdered sugar

Method:
Warm the milk to approximately 100 degrees. Mix the yeast into the milk and stir into the flour. Cover with plastic wrap and ferment for 1 hour until the sponge is very foamy.
While the sponge is fermenting, combine the dried fruit and the liqueur.
When the sponge is ready, combine the remaining flour, salt, sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
Stir in the sponge, egg, softened butter, and enough water to form a soft but not sticky dough.
Stir in the dried fruit and knead in a mixer or by hand for 5 to 10 minutes.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic or a damp towel, and set aside to rise for 45 minutes to an hour.

On a floured surface, shape the dough into something like a rectangle, either by rolling it out or pressing it with your hands.
Place the marzipan or slivered almonds in the center of the loaf. Fold the dough closed and shape the loaf into something resembling a crescent.
Cover the loaf loosely with plastic and set it aside to rise for approximately an hour to an hour and a half.
While it is rising, preheat the oven (and baking stone, if you use one) to 350 degrees.

When fully risen, bake the stollen for approximately 20 minutes. Rotate it and bake it until the internal temperature is approximately 190 degrees. Might have to go an additional 30 minutes depending on your oven.

Remove the stollen from the oven. While still hot, brush the top of the loaf with butter or vegetable oil and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Serves

15 comments:

Dayang said...

lily,is that raisin on the top baked together?

dayang

Unknown said...

dayang

yes they are raisins

Anonymous said...

auntie lily,

i studied in malaysia for 3 years and now doing my internship in Vail, Colorado.

nice to meet you. i miss malaysian food :( especially char kuey teow

Trang.

Unknown said...

Trang

Vail is only about 2 hours away and if you come down to Denver, contact me and i fry you char kuey teow

Little Corner of Mine said...

I have tagged you! :)

wendy said...

how nice of you lily.. i hope i am also 2 hrs alway from denver..hahahahaha! i'm tt wendy that hv tried one or two of ur recipes, at georgia near atlanta.

Unknown said...

wendy

you not too far, just add another 10 hrs perhaps.

if you are coming my way, just emil me.

Anonymous said...

Lily, do you have a recipe for Char Siew Soo? This is the crispy pastry that's available when you haveyum cha.

Unknown said...

anonymous

thanks for reminding me about Char Siew Soo.

i will make some and try and post asap

Yati Harvey said...

Hello auntie Lily,

I have been enjoying your blog and recipes......truly awesome!Helps me cope being away from home.
Yati in Arizona

J.T. said...

Hello Lily

I was on the internet in search of chicken/pork floss (and to see if any store sells it online), and I stumbled across your blog.

All I can say is "wow"! I got hungry just looking at your treasure trove of recipes.

I hope you don't mind if I place you on my blogroll. I would love to return to your blog to try out some recipes myself. I just need to find a good Asian store (in town or around or online) to start building up on my ingredients needed for Asian cooking.

Thanks and have a nice day. :)

Unknown said...

J.T.

you are most welcome

Anonymous said...

that's so nice of you, auntie Lily.

I sure will visit you sometime soon.

My email address is mintluve@yahoo.com

Hope we can meet up some day. Take care, auntie Lily.

Trang

Anonymous said...

This looks so beautiful. I wonder how I can tell the temperature of 190. May I leave a thermometer in the dough in the begining and check it every so often to see if it rise to 190? Will there be enough dough to hold it, or should I stick it in the dough when I need to test it? Thank you.

Unknown said...

anonymous

A cooming thermometer is used to check if the bread is cooked and the reading should be 190 f, so check for doneness only when the bread has been in the oven for the required amount of cooking time.

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