Dresdner Christmas Stollen (former Gdr)

Total Time: 1 hr 3 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 3 mins

Ingredients

• 2 kg flour
• 100 g clarified butter
• 100 g suet, rasped (firm, but at room temp)
• 800 g margarine, unsalted
• 850 g sultanas
• 150 g blanched almonds, ground
• 65 g bitter almonds (ground)
• 100 g candied lemon peel
• 1 lemon, zest of
• 330 g sugar
• 1/2 liter warm milk
• 150 g fresh yeast
• 20 g salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 400 g butter
• 125 g powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar

Recipe

• 1 all ingredients need to be at room temperature.
• 2 sift flour into a very large bowl, make a well in the middle, keep 1 c flour.
• 3 mix 2/3 of the handwarm milk with the yeast and add a bit of sugar.
• 4 pour into the flour well.
• 5 cover with a damp towel and let rise at a warm, draft-free location for 20 minutes or the yeast foams up.
• 6 in the meantime, mix remaining ingredients (except the last 3).
• 7 knead the yeast and flour into a dough.
• 8 add the yeast dough to the fruit-date mix and knead, until the dough doesn't stick to the hands any more (you might need extra flour, but not too much).
• 9 let rest at a warm location for a minimum of 2 hours, but not too warm, for the fat not to "sweat out".
• 10 divide dough into 2 equal parts, knead again and form into oval shapes.
• 11 press down a wooden stick lengthwise the shape, marking the oval into a 2/3 wide part and a 1/3 wide part (don't separate the 2 parts!).
• 12 flip 1/3 part over the depression onto the 2/3 wide part, so it looks like a long turnover, with the rims not meeting, but the top rim being some way over the middle.
• 13 preheat oven to about 375°f.
• 14 let stollen rest on baking sheet and rise for 30 minutes.
• 15 bake for about 1 hour at 370°f.
• 16 tap the top and if it sounds hollow, take the stollen out immediately.
• 17 brush with butter and powder very generously with sugar mix.
• 18 after cooling completely, wrap tightly with saran wrap and let sit in a cool, dark place for 1 week.
• 19 powder with sugar a second time before serving.
• 20 to serve, cut in 1/2-inch slices.
• 21 do not add too much sugar, as it will spread the stollen too flat.
• 22 this is a very work-intensive recipe and not suitable for an unexperienced baker.