Martha Stewarts Stollen Recipes

CHRISTMAS MORNING STOLLEN

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine currants, raisins, and rum. Let soak for at least 4 hours and up to 8 hours. Drain fruit, reserving liquid. Fruit and reserved liquid may be stored separately in the refrigerator in airtight containers.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. Spread almonds in an even layer on a baking sheet. Bake until golden brown and fragrant, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool.
• In the jar of a blender, combine ricotta, eggs, vanilla and almond extracts, and 3 tablespoons of the reserved soaking liquid; blend until smooth. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cardamom, mace, and salt. Add chilled butter; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine fruit, almonds, and lemon peel; stir in ricotta mixture until combined. Add flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead until smooth. Divide dough in half; cover half the dough with a clean kitchen towel.
• Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out dough to a 9-by-8-inch oval. Place rolling pin just off center lengthwise, and press gently to form a slight indentation. Brush top surface of dough with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Carefully fold dough lengthwise along indentation, leaving 1 inch of the bottom edge exposed. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; repeat with remaining dough. Bake until golden and a cake tester inserted in the center of each comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack; let cool completely.
• Wrap cooled breads in parchment paper-lined heavy aluminum foil. Let stand at room temperature for 2 days.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To serve, bake wrapped breads until heated through, about 15 minutes. Brush each loaf with 2 tablespoons melted butter; sprinkle generously with vanilla sugar, if using. Serve with whipped cream cheese, if desired.

STOLLEN

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, mace, nutmeg, and yeast. Stir in warm milk, 1 1/4 cups melted butter and 1/2 cup warm water. Add eggs and stir to combine. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead until fairly smooth.
• Add the dried fruits, candied fruits, almonds, and lemon zest to the dough and continue kneading on a floured board for about 10 minutes. If dough is sticky, knead in more flour.
• Place dough in buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.
• Roll each portion of marzipan into a 12-inch log. Punch down dough and cut into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 12-by-8-inch rectangle. Brush with melted butter to coat, place marzipan log in center of dough and fold one long side to the center then fold the other long side over first side, overlapping it by 1 inch.
• Turn loaves over, taper the ends, and place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Cover loaves with plastic wrap and let rise again in a warm place, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake stollen until golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven. Brush all over with room temperature butter and sprinkle with superfine sugar to cover. Let cool completely before serving.

STOLLEN WREATH BREAD WITH MRS. KOSTYRA

Steps:

• In two separate bowls, soak currants in cognac and golden raisins in orange juice; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, salt, mace, and nutmeg; set aside. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup milk and 10 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat until butter is melted. Let stand until lukewarm, about 5 minutes.
• Pour 1/4 cup warm water into a small bowl; sprinkle with yeast, and let stand 2 to 3 minutes. Stir to dissolve yeast completely. Add the dissolved yeast, warm milk mixture, and eggs to the flour mixture. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, and knead until fairly smooth. Transfer dough to a large bowl.
• Add currants and raisins in their liquid, orange zest, lemon zest, citron, apricots, and almonds, and then work them into the dough with your hands. Transfer dough to work surface, and knead for about 10 minutes. If the dough is sticky, knead in more flour, but be careful not to overwork.
• Butter a large bowl with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat. Cover with a kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Punch dough down, roll into a rectangle about 16 by 24 inches and 1/4 inch thick. Starting with a long side, roll up tightly, forming a long, thin cylinder. Carefully transfer dough to a Silpat- or parchment-lined baking sheet; join ends together, pinching with fingers if necessary to make it stick, forming a large circle.
• Using sharp kitchen scissors, make cuts along outside of circle, in 2-inch intervals, cutting 2/3 of the way through the dough. Twist each segment outward, forming a wreath shape with all the segments overlapping.
• Cover dough with a clean kitchen towel; set aside to rise for 30 minutes. Dough will rise only a little bit. Brush dough with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter. Bake until golden brown and crusty, about 45 minutes, rotating halfway through. Place baking sheet on a wire rack to cool. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

STOLLEN WREATH

Steps:

• Combine raisins, currants, citrus peel, angelica, and cherries in a bowl. Add the rum, tossing to coat fruits evenly. Soak at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
• Pour water into a small bowl; sprinkle with yeast and a pinch of sugar. Let stand 2 to 3 minutes; stir to dissolve yeast completely. Set aside until mixture almost doubles in bulk, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, drain fruit, reserving rum; carefully pat fruit dry with a paper towel. Return fruit to bowl; add almonds. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons flour. Toss; coat evenly. Set aside.
• In a heavy saucepan, combine 1 cup milk, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, and salt. Heat until warm (110 to 115 degrees), stirring until sugar is dissolved. Transfer liquid to bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; add reserved rum, almond extract, and lemon zest. Stir to combine. Stir in yeast mixture and eggs. Gradually add 5 cups flour, 1 cup at a time; beat until combined. Beat in softened butter until well incorporated. Turn dough out onto a surface floured with remaining 1/2 cup flour. Knead dough until all the flour is incorporated and dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Flour hands if dough gets sticky. Knead in one-third of the dried-fruit mixture until incorporated. Brush a large bowl with 1 teaspoon melted butter; drop in dough. Brush top of dough with 2 teaspoons melted butter; drape a kitchen towel over bowl. Set in a warm, draft-free place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment; set aside. Punch dough down; roll into a rectangle about 16 by 24 inches and 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle remaining fruit over pastry. Starting with a long side, roll up tightly, forming a long, thin cylinder. Carefully transfer dough to baking sheet; join ends together, pinching with fingers if necessary to make it stick, forming a large circle.
• Using sharp kitchen scissors, make cuts along outside of circle, in 2-inch intervals, cutting two-thirds of the way through the dough. Twist each segment outward, forming a wreath shape with all segments overlapping. Brush dough with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter.
• Cover pastry with a clean kitchen towel; set aside to rise for 30 minutes. Dough will rise only a little bit. Bake until golden brown and crusty, about 45 minutes, rotating halfway through. Place baking sheet on a wire rack to cool before icing.
• Whisk confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons milk to combine. Drizzle over cooled stollen.

MARTHA STEWART'S STOLLEN

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine yeast and warm water, let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, stir together dry ingredients. Stir in milk and 1 1/4 cups melted butter. Add dissolved yeast and eggs. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead until fairly smooth.
• In 2 separate bowls, soak currants in the cognac and raisins in the orange juice. Let stand for 10 minutes. (I usually do this before I even start the recipe). (Note - I use a vegetable peeler to get the orange peel as you only want the orange part).
• In a medium bowl mix together currants and raisins with thier soaking liquids, orange peel, lemon zest, citron, apricots and almonds. Work mixture into dough. Continue kneading for about 10 minutes. If dough is sticky, knead in more flour but be careful not to overwork the dough. (Note - I usually have someone help with this part. I have them add the fruit mix and extra flour as I knead. Everytime I have needed extra flour as the soaking liquids make the dough very sticky but they add flavor so don't omit them).
• Place dough in a large buttered bowl ( I use my largest Tupperware bowl to be able to hold the risen dough). Cover bowl with a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1-2 hours.
• Punch down dough and cut into quarters (more if you want to make smaller loaves as I do. I eyeball it to determine how many loaves to cut it into). Roll each piece of dough into a 12"x8" rectangle. Brush with melted butter, then fold one long side to the center. Fold other long side over first, overlapping by 1". ( I just roll mine). Turn dough over and taper the ends. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat for remaining loaves. You can put 2 loaves on each baking sheet. Cover loaves with plastic wrap; let rise again in a warm place 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees with 2 racks centered. Bake stollen until golden brown, about 35 minutes, rotating the sheets between the racks halfway through baking. Cool on wire racks; dust with confectioners sugar and serve.