Old Fashioned Stollen

My great-grandmother’s recipe for stollen, a German Holiday Bread. Most people put frosting on top, but I don’t.

Step: 1

In a small saucepan, heat milk until hot, but not boiling; mix in 1/2 cup sugar, salt, lemon zest, and butter. Remove from heat, and cool slightly. In a small bowl, mix together yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/4 cup water; stir into milk. Beat in 2 eggs and egg yolks. Mix in 3 cups flour. Cover, and let rise in a warm place.

Step: 2

Mix in the raisins and nuts. Gradually mix in enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough. Place dough in a well-oiled bowl, cover, and set aside to rise.

Step: 3

Divide dough into 3 balls. Roll each ball out into a thick log, braid, and tuck the ends under. Place on a large cookie sheet, and set aside to rise one more time.

Step: 4

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Brush beaten egg over the dough. It gives a shine to it.

Step: 5

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.

Per Serving: 234 calories; protein 5.3g; carbohydrates 33.6g; fat 9g; cholesterol 56.8mg; sodium 203.4mg.

The quality of the flour could make a real deal to your bread. Different makers do vary. Great taste or Canadian flours, which are bet higher in gluten, may give you a best rise than standard bread flours – especially if you’re make wholemeal bread , which not always getting bigger as well as clear bread.

To make this in a breadmaker , add all the menus to your breadmaker and follow the makers instructions.

A dough’s first rising can be done in the fridge overnight . This slows down the time it takes to rise to double its size, giving it a deeper flavour. It’s also a great timesaver , as you can work it night before , then finish it off the next day.