Stollen

Recipe for Dutch Stollen fruit bread

Perhaps best described as a kind of Dutch fruitcake, Stollen is a delicious, fruity, flaky holiday treat.

Don’t worry about how many steps there are to this recipe. It’s easy to follow, and the result is so very worth it!

Amount	Ingredient
1/2 Cup	Raisins
1/4 Cup	Slivered Almonds
2 Tablespoons	Candied Mixed Peels
1/4 Cup	Dried Cranberries
1	Medium Orange (Zested and Juiced)
1	Medium Lemon (Zested)
2 Tablespoons	Rum or Orange Juice

Amount	Ingredient
1/2 Cup	Unsalted Butter, Softened
1/4 Teaspoon	Salt
1/2 Teaspoon	Speculaas Spice (Recipe)
1 1/2 Tablespoons	Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon	Vanilla Extract
1	Egg, Beaten
3 - 4 Cups	All Purpose Flour
1	Package Fast Acting Yeast
1/2 - 1 Cup	Almond Paste, Room Temperature (Recipe)
	Melted Butter
	Sugar (for sprinkling)

Soak the yeast for 5-10 minutes in ½ cup warm water, and ½ tsp sugar

Place all the fruit mixture ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least overnight.

When making the stollen, add one tablespoon of flour to the fruit, just to soak up any extra liquid.

Beat together the butter, salt, speculaas spice, sugar, and vanilla extract until well blended.
Add the egg, mixing well
Add the flour and yeast to the mixture and mix well. Let stand for 10 minutes.
Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes.

Add the fruit mixture to the dough and knead gently until it is mixed in evenly. It will seem like an awful lot of fruit, but it will come together.
Cover with a clean tea towel and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Shape the almond paste into a short log and set aside.
Gently punch down the dough, and place on a lightly floured surface.
Sprinkle some flour on to a rolling pin, and roll the dough out into a square.
Place the almond paste log onto the middle of the dough. Fold the dough around the almond paste.
Place rolled dough, seam side down, on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise for another 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place a pan with 1 1/2 cups of water in the bottom of oven.
Place dough in the oven and lower the temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the stollen sounds hollow when tapped.
Remove stollen from oven, brush with melted butter, sprinkle with sugar, and allow to cool.
Place glaze ingredients in a small pan and boil 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Brush the glaze over the cooled stollen.
Sprinkle a sheet of parchment paper with icing sugar, and place the stollen on it.
Using a fine sieve, dust the top and sides of the stollen with icing sugar.
Wait 5-10 minutes, then enjoy!