German Stollen

German Stollen is a traditional cake eaten round Christmas. Actually, it is a cakeish bread or a breadish cake. and tastes particularly nice with butter. I don't do much (Christmas) baking, mainly to prevent an expanding waist line (there are enough challenges in this department already). But for a Stollen I'll make an exception.

When we got a bread maker years ago I noticed a Christmas Stollen recipe in the booklet. I made it many times, and it's really easy to make. I just needed to be around when it was mixing it, as I varied the recipe, and the dough turns out as either too wet or too dry. The former is a pain when it comes out to rolling it out. The resulting Stollen is very nice. Alternatively, Lidl sells a lovely Stollen.

Bread maker Stollen
Put in bread maker and set on dough/raisin setting:
1 tsp dried yeast, 500 g flour, 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, 50 g butter, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 pinch each of maze, nutmeg, allspice, 1tbsp milk powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 pinch each of maze, nutmeg, allspice, 1tbsp milk powder, 2 eggs, 200-280 ml water, secret ingredient: 5 drops each: orange and lemon essential oil.
For raisin dispenser: 75g raisins, 75g sultanas, 25g mixed peel, flaked almonds or other nuts

Check consistency from time to time, and add water or flour as needed. You need more water for wholemeal flour. A mix of white and wholemeal spelt flour works well.
Can replace water and milk powder with milk, but then don't do it on a timer
Vary the ingredients to taste, add sugar as needed. I like ginger in mine, but this is not traditional.

When finished roll out dough into an 3 cm thick oval and fold so that the edges don't quite meet. You can put a roll of mazipan in the fold. Let it rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 200° C for about an hour. Coat with melted butter, sprinkle with icing and enjoy.

I discussed this with a client. She told me a day later that she had made one and it did not last longer than 2 hours.

Christmas gift suggestions:

To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.

Wishing you lots of joy, peace and wonder in the festive season and during 2012.

I am hoping to see many of you in 2012.

Issue 15a of the Massage Message: 14 December 2011.
Regina Dengler
Touching Well
0115 8457113
regina @ touchingwell.co.uk
facebook.com/TouchingWell