Stollen
Dresden’s Christmas sweet bread, with more than 500 years of history: a buttery dough with candied fruit, raisins and almonds, covered in icing sugar. It’s made weeks ahead because it improves with time.
Ingredients
- 500 g flour
- 20 g fresh yeast
- 150 ml warm milk
- 80 g sugar
- 200 g soft butter
- 250 g raisins soaked in rum
- 100 g candied orange and lemon peel
- 100 g chopped almonds
- 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom and the zest of 1 lemon
- 100 g melted butter and icing sugar for the coating
How to make it at home
- Dissolve the yeast in the milk with a little flour and leave it to ferment for 20 minutes.
- Knead with the rest of the flour, the sugar, butter, cardamom, zest and a pinch of salt.
- Work in the raisins, candied fruit and almonds, and leave to rest for 1 hour.
- Shape it into an oval, fold one third over the rest (the shape of the swaddled Christ child) and leave to rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 180 °C for about 50 minutes.
- While it’s hot, brush it several times with melted butter and cover it with plenty of icing sugar. Wrap it and leave it to rest for at least a week.
The trick: Well wrapped it keeps for weeks, and tastes better every week.