Christmas Baking

There is sooooo much to say about X-mas baking, however I'm not the most competent person in this field, I do make a batch of muffins or cookies from time to time, but I'm deffinately not a boulanger, and I would rather do a four course meal than an ellaborate cake (I have tried, taste is just ok, the look, not so much) But X-mas would not be complete without some baking, so I have found a nearly foolproof recipe and stripped it to it's bare essentials, tested a few times, and it really works, at least in the taste department.

Stollen

Stollen is a traditional German bread made for Christmas, the recipe varies from household to household, and it is charachterised by the vast amount of dried fruit used and almonds as the dominating flavour.

Ingredients:

• 1kg of flour
• 100g fresh yeast (preferred) or 20g of dry bakers yeast (I tested both and fresh yeast just works better, the dough is more moist and pliable and the surface of the loaf comes out smoother)
• 300-350ml milk
• 200g sugar
• A pinch of salt
• a combination of any of the following spices: ground nutmeg, ground cardamom, ground cinnamon, vanilla sugar or essence, ground bitter almonds or bitter almond essence, ground ginger, ground turmeric
• 400g butter
• 200g candied citrus peel
• 150g dark raisins or sultanas
• 150g golden raisins
• 150g candied dried cherries
• 200g sweet almonds
• a small amount of rum(traditional) or cognac, or Amaretto(in that case, do not use bitter almond essence), or Cointreau(for a special twist)
• some extra melted butter
• icing sugar

Method:

Soak raisins and cherries in alcohol overnight. Coarsely grind almonds in a food processor (or wrap them in a kitchen towel and crush with a rolling pin, if you really need to outsource your emotions). Chop candied peel finely.

Heat milk until lukewarm. In a small bowl combine the yeast, a spoonful of sugar and flour and the milk. Let it ferment until frothy and increased in volume (10 minutes or so, do not leave without attention, as you might end up with all the kitchen table covered in foam that acts as, and btw actually is, alive)

While the yeast ''wakes up'', in a big bowl combine flour, rest of sugar, salt and dry spices. Melt butter but do not heat it up to a high temperature as it may kill yeast. Add essences (if using) to butter. Pour yeast mixture and butter in the flour mixture, mix with your hands, add all the fruits and nuts and knead as if you were asked to give a massage to your sweetheart and they had reallllly tense muscles. Do it with love but with enough vigour too.

Shape the dough into a ball and leave to rise for 2 hours in a warm place, than knead lightly and shape into a loaf.

Bake in 180 degrees Celsius for 1.5 hours or a little bit less, test with a skewer, if it comes out clena, the stollen is done.

While still hot, brush with extra melted butter and dust with icing sugar. Keep it in a cool, dark place for at least 5 days to mature, before endulging with a slice of stollen and a glass of fragrant mulled wine.