Temperament of a Stollen
Tradition is defined as a custom that is handed down from one generation to another. These time-honoured rituals are practised and celebrated with care and love, especially during the festive season. Every family has its traditions, whether widely observed by many or a few.
Singing of carols and unwrapping of presents around a candle-lit tree. Silverware and crystal glasses on crisp white linen. Potato salad, sausages and champagne with loved ones. Hands cradling a piping hot cup of mulled wine (or amaretto-spiked hot chocolate) at a crowded Christmas market. Chilly morning walks in the woods with dried foliage crunching under our boots. The aroma of spices and freshly baked goods wafting out of the kitchen.
Those words paint a beautiful picture of a magical white Christmas, almost like watercolour on the front of a Hallmark’s card. For J, every Christmas was exactly that. It was his family’s traditions I got to experience and fall in love with. And for me, one little, delicious custom stood out the most.
It was the kneading, proofing and baking of a very special Christmas goodie: the Dresdner Stollen. It is a recipe that was passed down from mother to daughter, which makes it almost like a precious heirloom. Few families make it at home now, but J’s mother Dora would religiously warm her kitchens and get arms-deep into yeasted dough every winter.
When the proofing starts, we would shut the doors quietly and cautiously behind us as though not to startle the dough. Anyone who dared to enter the kitchen would receive a stern warning. Well, no one needed to go in anyway. There was always Kaffee und Kuchen in the living room if you’re feeling peckish. Stollen-making was basically a cycle of some work, a lot of waiting and some cookie-snacking. A glorious day, if you ask me.
A stollen, however, is a sensitive thing. A draft of cold wind and it will collapse completely (that happened to stollen #1). It feeds off your emotions (I got flustered as we were late for a concert and #2 turned out misshapen). It also needs constant care and attention (#3 was overbaked as I had a call I couldn’t tear away from). But if you give a stollen the love it craves, all it needs after baking is a cool, dark place to develop for the next two months (or at least a week). Yes, it needs plenty of me-time.
Baking a stollen might sound daunting and time-consuming. But in return, you will be rewarded with a decadent, rich loaf mingled with the toasty sweetness of rum, nuttiness of almonds and citrus notes of candied peel. (Reader, if you must know, #2 came out best.) You’re also creating a piece of edible culture and in turn, keeping a legacy intact.
For J, the stollen is his heritage and home. I merely adopted them out of romance and love. This Christmas, we didn’t have candles on a real fir tree or delicate silverware to host with. The least we had is a stollen (or three) mellowing in our study. Well, borrowed traditions can be delicious indeed.
Dora’s Dresdner Stollen
The Dresdner Stollen doesn’t contain any marzipan. The almonds are freshly ground with the candied peel, creating a fragrant paste that beats the marzipan (in my opinion).
Special mention: J’s colleague from Dresden has given this recipe his approval and also devoured three huge slices in a serving.
Makes two large loaves or four small ones
Takes about 3 to 4.5 hours
Notes
On Vanillezucker: Replace Vanillezucker with vanilla seeds or paste for a deeper flavour. I buried the empty pods into a jar of icing sugar and used them later for Vanillekipferl, a classic German Christmas cookie.
On schmaltz: It’s technically rendered animal fat and this recipe uses pork fat. You can definitely replace the schmaltz with the same amount of butter.
On almonds: Bitter almonds are hard to come by. It’s okay to use the standard ones. Or add one or two drops of bitter almond extract. You can definitely use store-bought ground almond, but it won’t taste the same.
On yeast: I’ve never used instant yeast for this recipe, but you can try it with ¼ of the quantity of fresh yeast.
On room temperature and resting: Make sure you have the entire day dedicated just for stollen-making. The temperature in the kitchen must stay constant, preferably at 26°C to 28°C. Dora leaves the oven door open with the covered dough sitting on a chair nearby. If you can shut the kitchen doors and windows close, do so. Stollen is best when given time to mellow. Flavours will become more pronounced and the dough moist. Dora uses the basement at home. We transformed a spare room with cool, dark conditions into our ‘basement’. Just don’t use the refrigerator.
Ingredients
1 kg plain flour (T55 / Type 550)
100g fresh yeast
100ml warm milk
200g caster sugar
2 packets of Vanillezucker (or 1 vanilla pod)
1 tsp salt
2 small lemons, zest only
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/8 tsp ground mace
400g unsalted butter, softened
100g fresh pork schmaltz
250g raisins, soaked in dark rum overnight
250g almonds
50g bitter almonds
200g candied lemon peel, diced
30g candied orange peel, diced
400g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Powdered sugar for dusting
Directions
Preheat your oven to 200°C and leave the oven door open, if your room is cold.
Prepare the ingredients first. Blanch the almonds and bitter almonds (if using) in boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove the skins (they come off really easily) and pat them dry with paper towels. Process the almonds in a food processor until fine. Be careful not to over-process or you might get almond butter instead.
Using the food processor, grind the candied lemon and orange peel until fine or almost paste-like. Add the freshly ground almond and pulse until fully incorporated.
Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the middle. Crumble the yeast into the well and add the warm milk and 3 teaspoons of sugar. Using a rubber spatula, carefully mix the contents within the well. Some flour might slide in – that’s alright. Mix until creamy and there are no big lumps left. Cover the bowl with a dry, clean cloth and let it rest close to the opened oven (or a warm place) for 20 minutes.
The dough should now look frothy and active. Add remaining sugar, Vanillezuker (or vanilla seeds, if using), salt, lemon zest, spices, schmaltz, and softened butter. Knead until it all comes together in a smooth, non-sticky ball. Cover it again and let it rest for another 30 minutes. Go eat a cookie, you deserve it.
The dough would have doubled its size. Add the almond-candied peel paste and soaked raisins (none of the leftover rum). Knead until all fully incorporated. There should be a proportionate amount of raisins dotting throughout the dough. Cover with a cloth and allow to rest for 45 minutes.
Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and divide it into two loaves. Place them on a lined baking sheet. Shape each dough into an oval and create a slit in the middle with a paring knife. Cover and let it sit for the last 10 minutes.
Turn the oven down to 140°C.
Bake the stollen for 40 to 60 minutes. Don’t open the oven door while they are baking. At the 35th minute, you may check for doneness. The toothpick (or cake tester) should come out clean. The crust should be a light golden brown.
Transfer the stollen to a wire rack to cool. Brush generously with the melted butter and then dust icing sugar over. It should cover the stollen like the ground after a night of heavy snow. Leave to cool.
Once the stollen loaves are cool enough, carefully wrap with aluminium foil and a loose plastic bag. Store in a cool, dark place (not the refrigerator) for the next two months or at least a week.
Enjoy during Christmas with a hot cup of coffee! You can dust more icing sugar over it when serving.