Stollen

I had a really lovely day on a Christmas baking course at Angela Gray’s Cookery School at Llanerch Vineyard.  I’d never made stollen before but it was really easy and so delicious and Christmassy!  The recipe made one big stollen load but it could be halved for a littler one or made into lots of baby loaves.

Ingredients

13 oz strong flour plus extra for flouring

2 ½ oz caster sugar

1 ½ tsp fast action yeast

1 tsp sea salt

4 oz unsalted butter softened

7 fl. oz full-fat milk

Pinch ground nutmeg

Pinch ground cloves

½ tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp almond essence

1 ½ oz blanched almonds, finely chopped

5 oz raisins

2 ½ oz currants

3 oz mixed peel

6 oz marzipan

To serve

2 tbsp butter, melted

2 tbsp icing sugar

Method

1. Put the flour and sugar in a large bowl. Add the yeast on one side of the bowl and the salt on the other. Add the softened butter and three quarters of the milk and stir together.
2. Add the remaining milk and bring the mixture together to form a soft dough. Transfer to a generously floured work surface and knead for 6-7 minutes, or until smooth and pliable.
3. Mix the nutmeg, cloves, vanilla and almond extract, almonds, dried fruit and mixed peel together in a large bowl. Put the dough on top and knead from the outside into the centre incorporating the dried fruit and spices as you go. When everything has been fully incorporated, cover the bowl with cling film and leave to rise for 1-2 hours in a warm place, or until doubled in size.
4. Flatten the dough and roll out on a lightly floured work surface to a rectangle about 18x12” (or so the short side of the dough matches the longest side of your baking tray). Brush with the melted butter.
5. Roll out the marzipan to about 14x6” (the long side should approximately match the width of the dough). Place on top of the dough in the middle.
6. Roll the dough up to enclose the marzipan and transfer to a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Cover and leave to rise for about an hour, or until risen and doubled in size.
7. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
8. When the dough is risen, bake for an hour. Remove from the oven, brush with melted butter, and dust with icing sugar. Serve cold.