As I pen my note to you this week I’m up early waiting for the sun to rise. Today the column ‘chatter’ will be a bit shorter than usual because the recipe is a bit on the long side.
But, do not let the length of this recipe steer you away! If you want to tantalize your palate and those of your friends, family and guests, this is it. This recipe was written several years ago, and it’s one of my all-time favorites. Friends are coming for the holiday season and I can’t wait to prepare this bread for them.
The ‘key’ step in the recipe, in my opinion, is the soaking of the dried fruits, overnight. If you think you cannot soak the fruit in amaretto the ‘only’ thought I have is an amaretto extract or almond extract. I can’t quote amounts because I wouldn’t use this approach, however I can steer you just a bit. Perhaps apple juice spiced with the extract, totaling the amount of amaretto would work. The how much, on the extract is the biggest question. Currently I’m ‘guessing’ 2-3 teaspoons of extract. With that said let me share a bit of information for you regarding extracts and alcohol.
Professional bakers don’t always use extracts or alcohols because they bake off and the loss of flavor is too great. Instead they use emulsions which have no alcohol content. The emulsions are actually stronger and less expensive to use than extracts, big time!! Where do you get them? Walmart, on line, has around 12 different flavors. Wilton is another source to check.
For the dried fruit try procuring them at Aldi’s. The fruit is very fresh and the prices are terrific. I just made a batch of my mother’s sugarplums and all the dried fruit was from this great German company.
Like many of you I’m in a scurry to accomplish all the things on the holiday lists.
Try to step back a bit friends, and remember to keep the reason for the season, on the forefront. Let go of the heavy cooking and go for simplicity. Allow others to lend a hand. I’m hosting an event in my home tomorrow and two of my close friends are helping with food prep. You don’t know how much I appreciate this. Well, so much for a shorter column. Press forward with a smile, make the grinches full of envy! Simply Yours, The Covered Dish.
Holiday Stollen
Fruit
½ cup hand chopped mixed raisins
½ cup hand chopped dried apricots
½ cup hand chopped dried cherries
3 tablespoons amaretto
Starter
1 pkg. active dry yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)
¼ cup warm water (105-110 degrees)
2/3 cup skim milk
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup flour
Bread
8 ounces softened cream cheese
½ cup softened butter (one stick)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon medium grate lemon zest
¾ teaspoon mace
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup toasted almonds, chopped
Eight hours or the night before baking chop dried fruits and place in a small Ziploc bag with the 3 tablespoons of Amaretto. About 30-45 minutes before making the actual bread prepare the starter. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water adding the sugar, skim milk and one cup of flour. Whisk together removing all lumps. Cover with saran and allow to ‘work’ for about 30-45 minutes.
In a large bowl or your Kitchen Aid mix together the cream cheese and butter blending smooth. Add the sugar, mixing; and then the two eggs, blending well.
Add the extracts and lemon zest. Reach for the starter at this time and stir together with the cream mixture.
In a separate bowl place the mace, salt and flour. Whisk together and then add gradually to the cream mixture. As you add more flour you will also find it necessary to switch to the dough hook on the mixer. (Most times I do the entire dough with the regular beater head.) Usually I try to hold off on the dough hook until I have added the dried fruits and the chopped nuts.
After everything is added knead with the dough hook or your hands. This dough will be somewhat wet. Place the dough in a bowl that you’ve sprayed with vegetable spray and then spray the top of the dough. Cover lightly with a tea towel or loose saran and place in a warm place to rise for about one hour. Over time I have noticed that the first rise is a small one and the second rise is much larger. So don’t worry too much.
*If a room is cool you can preheat an oven to 200 degrees and then turn it off. This makes a good proofing oven for the bread to sit inside to rise. This will also cut the rise time in half (usually).
After the first rise punch the dough down and divide into 2 oval tapered loaves. Once again spray the top of the loaves or brush with melted butter. Sometimes finding the pan to bake the stollen in is half the challenge! Many bakers use a jelly roll pan which allows the dough to spread out quite a bit. Be sure to place parchment paper under the bread in order to keep the bottom soft.
Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick comes out of the bread clean. The bread usually requires between 45 -50 minutes. Frequently I will check the bread at 30 minutes and then lay foil over the top for the remainder of the baking time. A thermometer may also be used to check doneness. At about 200 the loaf should be done, remember; like meat it continues to cook after resting for 15 minutes. The top will be lightly brown. It is customary to make a heavy topping of confectionary sugar over the top of the bread. It’s not unheard of to brush butter on the top of the loaves after baking and then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
I have chosen a simple glaze for the top of my bread instead of the powdered sugar. The recipe makes adequate glaze for two loaves.
My dad, Jerry, gave me the following comment on my stollen, he said: ‘It tastes like it came from a professional bakery.’ It made my day!
Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
½ teaspoon almond extract
4 tablespoons half and half
Stollen variations can vary greatly from family to family. My husband’s family is German, however they are ‘low’ German thus Stollen, which is ‘high’ German food was never a part of his upbringing.
Some styles feature almond paste in the center of the loaf representing baby Jesus and the bread surrounding it as the swaddling clothes. Others still may roll the dough out like cinnamon rolls and generously cover the dough with cinnamon and sugar. The dough is then rolled with the ends tucking under.
*Low German means the family came from the Northern part of Germany and they tend to be more Dutch in their cooking styles etc.
*High German means the family came from central or southern Germany.
