STOLLEN
Printed from Relishmag.com on 12/27/2009 
Arguably Europe’s most well-known Christmas bread, a stollen is a
folded-over, filled yeast pastry (the fold is set to represent the
Christ child in his swaddling clothes). Created in Dresden, Germany,
stollen started as an ordinary bread. Because medieval Catholicism
forbade the use of butter during Christmas, bakers had to do without
the precious fat until Dresden’s prince appealed to Pope Nikolaus V for
an exception. The pope gave in: The famous “butter-letter” of 1491
decreed that Dresden bakers could use richer ingredients if they paid a
fine. Thus, butter built the Saxon cathedral of Freiberg, and stollen
became synonymous with Dresden (there’s an annual stollen festival to
this day). The browned butter on top is divine.
Ingredients
Stollens:
8 cardamom pods
1 cup 2% reduced-fat milk, scalded
1/2 cup yellow raisins
1 cup dried cherries
3 tablespoons dark rum or orange juice
2 (.25-ounce) packages active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
1/3 cup sugar, divided
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
½ cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into 8 pieces
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind
1 egg
2 egg yolks
½ cup slivered almonds, toasted
10 ounces almond paste (all I could find was an 8-oz can as well as a
can of almond pastry filling; I mixed the two together, but for me that
made the filling too oozey.)
Topping:
½ cup salted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
1. Place cardamom pods in a small bowl. Add hot milk. Let stand 10 minutes.
2. Combine raisins and cherries with rum. Let stand.
3. Combine yeast, warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar. Set aside until mixture foams, about 10 minutes.
4. Remove cardamom pods from milk. Squeeze pods open. Scrape small
black seeds into milk. Discard pods. Stir milk into yeast mixture. Add
1 cup flour; beat well. Cover this mixture (called the “sponge”) with
plastic wrap; let rise 30 minutes.
5. As the sponge rises, place 2 cups flour and butter in the bowl of a
food processor. Add salt and remaining sugar. Pulse 6 or 8 times.
6. Drain fruits, reserving soaking liquid. When the sponge is ready,
add it to the processor; add lemon rind, egg and egg yolks, and soaking
liquid from dried fruits. Process 20 or 30 seconds, until dough is
thoroughly mixed. Then, with a few quick pulses, mix in fruits,
almonds, and remaining ½ cup flour. Scrape dough, which will be quite
tender, into a large oiled bowl, and refrigerate overnight.
7. In the morning, punch dough down, and divide into thirds. On a
heavily floured board, gently pull and pat each portion of dough into a
10 x 14-inch oval. Divide almond paste into thirds. Cover half of each
oval, the long way, with bits of almond paste, patting with your hands
(don’t worry about getting it neat). Fold the other half of the dough
over it, enclosing almond paste and making a pastry that is a plump
half oval.
8. Gently transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, shaping if
necessary. Let rise until dough is puffy, though not quite doubled in
bulk, about 1 hour.
9. Preheat oven to 350F.
10. Bake 20 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Using 2 spatulas, transfer to a wire rack; cool about 10 minutes.
11. Towards then end of baking time, place ½ cup butter in a small
saucepan over medium heat. When butter melts, lower heat and let butter
cook until browned and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Don’t stir the butter
as it browns, but you can shake the pan a little.
12. Spoon browned butter over the tops. Sift powdered sugar generously
over tops. Let cool at least 20 minutes, until sugar sets slightly.
Serve, in thin slices, slightly warm or at room temperature. Makes 3
stollens (10 servings each).
Note: Make stollens ahead, wrap well and freeze up to one month.
Recipe by Crescent Dragonwagon, "Holiday Breads," December 2009.
Nutritional Information
Per serving: 220 calories, 10g fat, 36mg chol., 4g prot., 27g carbs., 1.5g fiber,
92mg sodium.