Donald, you asked for a stollen recipe. There are lots of recipes for
this. Here's one, from The Spice Cookbook by Avanelle Day and Lillie
Stuckey (David White Company, 1964). - Ron
STOLLEN
2 envelopes active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115F.)
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup scalded milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) soft butter or margarine
2 large eggs
6 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1 1/2 cups seedless raisins
1 1/3 cups chopped almonds
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons water
Place the first 3 ingredients in a mixing bowl large enough for mixing the
dough. Let stand until yeast softens. Cool milk to lukewarm and add to
yeast along with the 1/2 cup sugar and butter or margarine. Mix well. Beat
in eggs. Stir in 3 cups of the flour, together with the salt, nutmeg, and
lemon rind. Beat until batter drops in sheets from the spoon. Stir in
remaining flour, raisins, and 1 cup of the almonds. Turn onto a lightly
floured board. Knead until dough is smooth and satiny. Put dough into a
greased bowl, turning to bring the greased side to the top. Cover and let
rise in a warm place (80 to 85F.) 1 hour or until dough has doubled in
size. Punch down dough. Cover and let rest 10 minutes.
Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a rectangular sheet 1/2 inch
thick and about 12 inches long. Brush each with melted butter or
margarine. Mix the 1/4 cup sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle it,
together with the remaining almonds, over the dough. Fold sides of each
piece of dough to the middle and stretch to make long loaves, thick at the
middle, narrow at the ends. Place each on a greased baking sheet. Brush
tops with melted butter or margarine. Cover and let rise in a warm place
(80 to 85F.) 45 minutes or until double in size.
Bake in a preheated moderate oven (375F.) 20 minutes or until
browned. Combine confectioners' sugar and water and spread over top of the
warm loaves when they are placed on wire racks to cool.
YIELD: 2 stollens