Best 5 Stollen From Joy Of Cooking Recipes

TRADITIONAL STOLLEN

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine yeast and 1/2 cup warm water, and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, sift together dry ingredients. Stir in milk and 1 1/4 cups melted butter. Add dissolved yeast and eggs. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead until fairly smooth.
• In two separate bowls, soak currants in cognac, and raisins in orange juice. Let each stand for 10 minutes.
• In a medium-size bowl, mix together currants and raisins with their soaking liquids, the orange peel, lemon zest, citron, apricots, and almonds. Work mixture into dough. Continue kneading for about 10 minutes. If dough is sticky, knead in more flour, but be careful not to overwork.
• Place dough in a large buttered bowl. Cover bowl with a kitchen towel, and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.
• Punch down the dough, and cut in quarters. Roll each piece into a 12-by-8-inch rectangle. Brush with melted butter, then fold one long side to the center. Fold other long side over first side, overlapping it by 1 inch. Turn dough over, taper the ends, and place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat for remaining 3 loaves, using a second parchment-lined baking sheet for the third and fourth loaves. Cover loaves with plastic wrap; let rise again in a warm place, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees, with two racks centered. Bake stollen until golden brown, about 35 minutes, rotating the sheets between the racks halfway through baking. Cool on wire rack; dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve.

TRADITIONAL STOLLEN

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, butter, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, salt and 3 cups flour. Add the raisins, candied fruit and almonds. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours. , Punch dough down and divide in half; cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Roll or press each half into a 12x7-in. oval. Fold a long side over to within 1 in. of opposite side; press edge lightly to seal. Place on greased baking sheets; curve ends slightly. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 1 hour. , Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks. Combine confectioners' sugar and enough milk to achieve desired consistency; spread over stollen.

STOLLEN

Steps:

• Prepare Fruit: Combine the mixed fruit, raisins, and rum. Cover and set aside. Shake or stir the mixture every so often to coat the fruit with the rum.
• Prepare Sponge: In a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast in the water to soften. Heat the milk to 110 degrees F and add it to the yeast along with the honey and 1 cup flour. Cover the sponge with plastic wrap and let rise until light and full of bubbles, about 30 minutes.
• By Hand: Add the fruit mixture, honey, egg, butter, zest, salt, mace, almonds, and 2 cups of the flour to the sponge. Beat vigorously for 2 minutes. Gradually add the remaining flour 1/4 cup at a time until the dough begins to pull away from the side of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead, adding flour a little at a time, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
• By Mixer: In the mixer bowl, add the fruit mixture, honey, egg, butter, zest, salt, mace, almonds, and 2 cups of the flour to the sponge. Using the paddle, beat the mixture on medium low speed for 2 minutes. Gradually add the remaining flour 1/4 cup at a time until the dough begins to pull away from the side of the bowl. Change to the dough hook. Continue to add flour 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough just begins to clean the bowl. Knead 4 to 5 minutes on medium-low.
• First rise: Put the dough in an oiled bowl and turn to coat the entire ball of dough with oil. Cover with a tightly woven towel and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Shape and Fill: Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface. For 1 large loaf, roll the dough into a 9 by 13-inch oval. For 2 loaves, divided the dough in half and roll each half into a 7 by 9-inch oval. Brush the melted butter over the top of the oval(s). Combine the cinnamon and granulated sugar and sprinkle over one lengthwise half of the oval(s). Fold the dough in half lengthwise and carefully lift the bread(s) onto a parchment-lined or well-greased baking sheet. Press lightly on the folded side to help the loaf keep its shape during rising and baking.
• Second rise: Cover with a tightly woven towel and let rise for 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven: About 10 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Bake and cool: Bake for 25 minutes until the internal temperature of the bread reaches 190 degrees F. Immediately remove from the baking sheet and place on a rack to cool.
• To serve: Sprinkle heavily with confectioners' sugar just before serving.
• Variation: Between 2 pieces of waxed paper or plastic wrap, roll 3 ounces almond paste or marzipan into the lengthwise shape of half the oval. Omit the butter and cinnamon-sugar filling. Place the marzipan on half of the oval and fold the dough in half. Let rise and bake as directed.
• Notes: One cup coarsely chopped mixed dried fruits may be substituted for the candied fruit. Cover the dried fruit with boiling water and let sit at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours. Drain and use as you would candied fruit. You can also make your own candied fruit and peel. This bread freezes nicely for up to 6 months. If freezing it, do not sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. To serve, first thaw the bread, then bake on a baking sheet in a preheated 375 degree F oven for 7 to 10 minutes. Just before serving, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

STOLLEN FROM JOY OF COOKING

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine warm milk and yeast. Allow to sit 10 minutes until yeast is dissolved. Add 1 cup of the sifted flour and mix to form a sponge. Let sit in a warm place until doubled. Meanwhile, combine cherries, raisins, almonds and citrus peel. Sprinkle a little of the sifted flour over and combine. Set aside. When sponge has sufficiently rested, place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat well. Beat in sugar and blend until light and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, followed by the salt, lemon rind and rum. Mix well. Mix in the fruit and nuts. Add all the sponge and the remaining flour. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if too sticky. Cover dough with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk. To shape dough, toss it onto a floured board and divide in two. Pat dough into a rough oval and fold over one third of the dough lengthwise onto the other two thirds. Repeat with remaining dough. Place on baking sheet -one loaf per sheet- and brush with butter. Allow to rise again until almost doubled in bulk. Preheat oven to 350F. Bake loaves for about 40 minutes until they are a dark golden brown.

STOLLEN WREATH

Steps:

• Combine raisins, currants, citrus peel, angelica, and cherries in a bowl. Add the rum, tossing to coat fruits evenly. Soak at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
• Pour water into a small bowl; sprinkle with yeast and a pinch of sugar. Let stand 2 to 3 minutes; stir to dissolve yeast completely. Set aside until mixture almost doubles in bulk, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, drain fruit, reserving rum; carefully pat fruit dry with a paper towel. Return fruit to bowl; add almonds. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons flour. Toss; coat evenly. Set aside.
• In a heavy saucepan, combine 1 cup milk, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, and salt. Heat until warm (110 to 115 degrees), stirring until sugar is dissolved. Transfer liquid to bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; add reserved rum, almond extract, and lemon zest. Stir to combine. Stir in yeast mixture and eggs. Gradually add 5 cups flour, 1 cup at a time; beat until combined. Beat in softened butter until well incorporated. Turn dough out onto a surface floured with remaining 1/2 cup flour. Knead dough until all the flour is incorporated and dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Flour hands if dough gets sticky. Knead in one-third of the dried-fruit mixture until incorporated. Brush a large bowl with 1 teaspoon melted butter; drop in dough. Brush top of dough with 2 teaspoons melted butter; drape a kitchen towel over bowl. Set in a warm, draft-free place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment; set aside. Punch dough down; roll into a rectangle about 16 by 24 inches and 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle remaining fruit over pastry. Starting with a long side, roll up tightly, forming a long, thin cylinder. Carefully transfer dough to baking sheet; join ends together, pinching with fingers if necessary to make it stick, forming a large circle.
• Using sharp kitchen scissors, make cuts along outside of circle, in 2-inch intervals, cutting two-thirds of the way through the dough. Twist each segment outward, forming a wreath shape with all segments overlapping. Brush dough with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter.
• Cover pastry with a clean kitchen towel; set aside to rise for 30 minutes. Dough will rise only a little bit. Bake until golden brown and crusty, about 45 minutes, rotating halfway through. Place baking sheet on a wire rack to cool before icing.
• Whisk confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons milk to combine. Drizzle over cooled stollen.