Stollen

You saw the dough and mention of Stollen in my last post so here is the finished product and this is a fantastic recipe. I will be honest, I had my doubts, the dough doesn’t get puffy, it feels quite heavy and dense and struggles to double in bulk but the end product is wonderfully light, rich with butter and egg, just the right amount of boozy fruit and nuts, it’s a keeper,  almost too easy, when we make bread it can be laborious, lots of steps well this bread is so easy to make so few steps and result is amazing. I made a few changes to the recipe and explained in some detail what to expect, there are no clues or hints in the recipe on Food52 and I really didn’t know what to expect. The original recipe calls for candied fruit soaked in booze, I used the leftover dried fruit soaked in port ( don’t like candied fruit), I added salt, there was no mention of salt. I also used my food processor to break up the butter into the flour and that made it quicker and easier. Instead of the glaze that Chef June uses I dusted with powdered sugar. Thats it, easy peasy, delicious and so festive.

Because this bread just screams the Holidays I am bringing it to Fiesta Friday #150 and the co hosts this week are Caroline @ Caroline’s Cooking and Tânia @ Iwanttobeacook

Stollen

From Food52  by Chef June

Makes 2 large loaves or 8 mini loafs

1 heaping cup assorted dried fruit that has had a good soak in booze ( I used the same fruit for the fruitcakes I made)

4 cups all purpose flour

1 cup (2 sticks, 8 oz) unsalted cold butter cut into pieces

1 tbs yeast (I used instant yeast, SAF)

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 cup cold whole milk

3 tbs granulated sugar

3 large or extra large eggs beaten

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts and pecans)

soft butter, sugar and cinnamon for the filling

Add flour, salt and butter to the food processor and pulse until it resembles crumbs. Pour into a large mixing bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix with a wooden spoon until combined and the flour is completely incorporated. The dough will be very soft and shaggy, thats ok, you don’t need to knead it, just gather it with your hands into a ball and put it in a greased bowl, turn it over once so the top is oiled. Cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel and place in the refirigerator where it will rise overnight. Note: I mixed everything by hand, no stand mixer with dough attachment, no kneading.

Stollen dough ready for an overnight chilly rise

The next morning remove the dough and cut in half or quarters depending on the shape and size you want your bread. I divided into quarters and let it rise in mini loaf pans. Roll out or pat out the dough into a rectangle spread it out thinly. Brush with soft butter and a mixture of cinnamon and sugar (you also can put marzipan or almond paste if you like) roll it like you would a jelly roll or cinnamon rolls. Pinch any seams so it’s sealed. My dough was divided into quarters, each quarter made 2 mini loaves. I rolled, cut in half and pinched the seams and ends. Sprayed mini loaf pans with cooking spray and placed the dough seam side down in the pans. Cover loosely with plastic and a tea towel and let rise until doubled in bulk. (It took almost 3 hours in my cold kitchen and remember you are starting with dough straight from the refrigerator so be patient). Heat oven to 350 degree’s and bake until browned, and when tapped sounds hollow (approximately 20 minutes for mini loaves. For a larger loaf 30-35 minutes

Yesterday I saw a recipe (if you can call it that) for a Earl Grey Vanilla Latte. That sounded really good mainly because Earl Grey or Lady Grey is my favorite tea. I decided to give it a go, the recipe called for almond or coconut milk but I used regular whole milk, strong brewed earl grey tea and a little vanilla bean paste in the milk that I frothed with this really cool gadget. Hot milk is frothed in seconds so you can enjoy a cappucino or latte any time. (This is not a promotion for this gadget I just think it’s cool)

frother

earl grey vanilla latte