Bread Baking Babes: Stollen for Christmas

   For the last time this year we managed to get around the table with Susan steering us towards a true Christmas Stollen! A stollen with a twist, because this one is made with an overnight preferment and loads of butter.

Of course there should be butter in your stollen but this one called quite some and then some more!

The dried fruit got it’s overnight soak in a little rum, smelling lovely in the morning. (I’m allowed to sniff a whiff although it’s early morning right?). Then my predicament began… the dough with all the spices smelled so good, the preferment was incorporated well and nice, the dough spinning it’s circles in the mixer, getting stronger and pliable at the same time. So far so good.
Our Susan is an excellent recipe writer, taking you by the hand and leading the way, she specifically mentioned that this dough needs a long time to knead (around 20 minutes depending on your mixer)  but I overlooked the fact that it doesn’t rise much in it’s first stage. I was waiting and waiting, willed it to show some progress. Worried I put it in the steamer oven on the rise setting, get it to move! By the time it did, it was late at night. Too late to bake. I felt horrible but deflated it (poor thing, did all it could only to get deflated!) and put it in the fridge. The next morning I had a pathetic cookie like dough. Waited a couple of hours but decided this wasn’t going to work. All my fault! Today I baked stollen. Not Susan’s but my own recipe because I wanted to show and tell and had no time to set the preferment yesterday. Please head to Susan’s for her recipe, do as she tells you to do and I am sure you’ll have a wonderful Stollen with extra depth from the preferment and the spices! Go on and make your family some great Stollen and become our Bread Baking Buddy!

Above is mine… those marbles you see peeking out? They are marzipan balls coated in cocao. Left over from our Sinterklaas celebration and although Susan didn’t call for any almond paste/marzipan in her recipe I know I’m in trouble with my family when there’s no “pot o’ gold” inside. I made three Stollen, one with traditional almond paste and two with the marzipan balls inside.

They’re all baked and sitting out on the counter all nice and golden but this is no time to make pictures. Will post tomorrow with final pics and the recipe.

Oh and please? Do make your own candied citrus peel…. it is so darn good!!

Thanks Susan for having us, especially today, hope you had a great day!