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Thursday, 12 December 2013

Christmas Recipies: Mini Stollen

I am 3/8ths German (don't ask, it gets complicated) & so German Christmas biscuits & Stollen are part of the Christmases I grew up with. Stollen, when made right, is moist, buttery, crumbly & crazy flavourful. They are, however a bind to bake because the enriched dough burns before the bread is fully baked (hence the traditional dusting of icing sugar). I was talking to my mum about this & we both agreed that making mini Stollen would eliminate this problem - plus what isn't improved by an extreme of size? (Cake sized cup cakes, mini layer cakes...you see my point?)
Now you have no excuse NOT to make stollen!
There are two schools of thought about Stollen, those pro-marzipan & those against. The Stollen my dad remembers his Grandma making (& that my mum has been trying to replicate for as long as I can remember) is firmly in the anti-marzipan camp. I love marzipan though so I grated a little into the mixture.
This is mostly my mum's recipe so all praise goes out to her & there is always a lot of praise cause it is the best Stollen ever.

Mini Stollen

Makes 6 hand sized Stollen

Ingredients
  • 150g plain white flour
  • 75g wholemeal flour
  • 150g ground almonds
  • 7g dried yeast (I would recommend fast action yeast as this dough rises really slowly - dried fruit, citrus juice, butter & alcohol do not a happy yeast make)
  • 75g melted butter + a little extra for later
  • 75g grated marzipan (it is easiest to grate this when it is frozen)
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 100ml warm milk
  • 1 beaten egg
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 50g chopped peel
  • 150g raisins
  • 75g sultans
  • grated zest & juice of 1 lemon
  • orange juice
  • rum (German or the cheapest you can find - it needs to be really rough)
  1. Place the dried fruit, chopped peel, lemon juice & lemon zest into a container & cover with a mixture of the rum & orange juice. Cover & leave to soak for as long as possible. (If you get really cheap dried fruit they will soak up more of the liquid & it's actually better for this recipe than nice dried fruit).
  2. Mix the milk, sugar & yeast together & then set aside until frothy.
  3. Combine the flour, ground almonds, spices, butter, beaten egg & milk in a bowl along with the dried fruit & any liquid still remaining. Mix until it forms a dough (it'll be almost wet enough to be a batter at this point but that will make a really moist Stollen).
  4. Kneed the mixture until smooth & then cover the bowl with clingfilm. Leave to prove until the dough has at least doubled in size. (It is best to kneed the mixture in the bowl of a mixer with a dough hook attachment but I don't have one so I used a wooden spoon & a helpful brother.)
  5. Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 6/200 C. Kneed the dough again & divide into 6. Shape each into ovals about the thickness of your finger & double the length of your hand (if possible) & then fold the thin ends in, one over the other. Place onto lined baking sheets, cover with a wet tea towel & then allow to rise for a further 40-45 minutes.
  6. Bake until golden brown on the outside (about 15-25 minutes).
  7. Brush melted butter over the warm Stollen. Dust with icing sugar & enjoy

6 comments:

  1. These look so lovely, and the idea of making them mini to get around them burning is a great idea. I'd make them without marzipan as I don't like it myself, but that's just a matter of personal taste. Can you omit the rum and just soak in orange juice? I know it would be such a small amount, but I can't tolerate alcohol. I'm a fussy begger aren't I lol ;-)
    Froliche Weinachten (I think that's it - I'm a bit rusty)
    Love Vicky
    http://aroundandaroundandupsidedown.blogspot.co.uk/

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    Replies
    1. You can totally make it without the rum, that's just the way it has always been made in my house :)
      I think you might want to add some brown sugar to the orange juice to add a little of the dark sugar taste...or maybe a little molasses, or Black treacle....
      If you don't use the marzipan maybe use all plain flour rather than the plain flour/wholemeal flour blend (the wholemeal flour was there to soak up a little extra moisture from the marzipan).
      Sally

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  2. having tried...unsuccessfully I might add...to make stolen, for the reasons you give. It was dried and over cooked on the outside while the centre was still undercooked, I think the idea of mini stollens is truly an inspiration! My question now is why no one has thought of it before, its such a brilliant solution to the problem of cooking enriched doughs and mini stollens are going to be so much easier to serve. I am printing out your recipe and off to try them today.

    Many thanks for such a great idea.

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    Replies
    1. These are almost too easy to serve, I think all the ones I made are gone...my brother ate...I think 3?
      I'm glad you like the idea, let me know how they work out for you :)
      Sally

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    2. I made some over the weekend and they were really good, a great recipe. I will be making lots more over the holidays as a result of strong 'requests' from my family.

      Thanks again

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    3. I'm really glad they worked for you!!
      Sally x

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