Christmas Stollen

I never imagined that one day I will be kneading dough for Stollen in my kitchen, or any other kitchen.
I was a bit scared the first time, cause it seemed like a looo-t of work, but it turned out to be much easier than it seems. All the effort is totally worth it – this is one of the most delicious desserts I have ever tasted… you know, bread-like dessert.
I would definitely recommend to follow strictly the recipe, but you are free to add whatever nuts, chocolate or other fruits you prefer.
Stollen is a traditional German holiday dessert but it had become a Christmas tradition for our family, as well.

Ingredients:
Adopted by www.poiresauchocolat.net

30ml lukewarm water (43º C)
1 packages (7 grams) active dry yeast or other type of yeast you have on hands
120 ml milk
90 grams (3 oz) unsalted butter
380 grams (13.5 oz) all-purpose plain flour (plus extra for dusting)
100g (3.5 oz) brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 large eggs
Zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
70 grams (2.5 oz) mixed candied peel
150 grams (5 oz) chocolate chips (optional)
90 grams (3 oz) firmly packed raisins
Rum to cover the raisins
90 grams (3 oz) dates (chopped in small pieces)

100 grams (3,5 oz) marzipan (almond paste)
Melted unsalted butter for coating the Stollen
Powdered sugar for dusting Stollen

Directions:
1 Day
Soak the raisins in a small bowl with enough rum to cover them. Keep soaked overnight.
2 Day
Make the dough by hand:
Pour the water into a small bowl, sprinkle with the yeast and let stand 5 minutes. Stir to dissolve yeast completely.
In a small saucepan, combine milk and butter over medium heat until butter is melted.
Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl and add the lemon and vanilla extracts.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, orange and lemon zests.
Add the yeast, eggs and the lukewarm milk/butter mixture to the flour. Mix well with a rubber spatula. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Transfer the dough to your counter or kneading board, lightly covered with flour and begin kneading the dough.
***Dough might seem a bit sticky at first, but don’t get tempted to add too much flour. Instead, prepare a small bowl of melted butter or canola oil and lightly grease your hands once in a while. You will see that as one point dough will stop be that sticky.
So, keep your hands greased and knead dough for about 10 minutes.
Then, add in the mixed peel, soaked fruit, dates, part by part and mix with your hands.
While adding the raisins and other ingredients, knead to distribute them evenly. The dough should have a reasonable bread-dough consistency.
Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put in the fridge overnight. The dough becomes very firm in the fridge (since the butter goes firm) but it does rise slowly.
Make the dough in a food processor with the dough attachment:
Pour the water into a small bowl, sprinkle with the yeast and let stand 5 minutes. Stir to dissolve yeast completely.
In the mixing bowl of your stand mixer/food processor, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, orange and lemon zests. Add the yeast, milk and eggs to the flour. Mix well with a rubber spatula. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Turn the food processor on and knead for about 10 minutes. Then, slowly, piece by piece start adding the soften butter, waiting for each piece to be incorporated into the dough.  Once all of the butter is incorporated continue to beat for another 10 minutes or until dough is shiny and not sticky to the touch. Now, add the chocolate chips, raisins, candied peel and dates. Continue to knead for another 2 minutes or until evenly distributed.
Transfer the dough to a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Put in the fridge overnight. The dough becomes very firm in the fridge (since the butter goes firm) but it does rise slowly.
3 Day
Take the dough out of the fridge and let it rest for 2-3 hours in order to warm and soften.
Preheat your oven to 180 C (350°F) and center the the oven rack on the middle shelf.
Roll the dough over a piece of parchment paper, into a rectangle, about 1.5 sm. thick.
Place marzipan on the edge of one of the long sides. Roll up the dough tightly, forming a cylinder. Transfer the cylinder roll to your baking pan, brushed with oil (I use a deep rectangular loaf pan).
Let stollen rise again for about 30-60 minutes, then bake in your preheated oven for about 45 minutes.
Transfer to a cooling rack or a wooden board and brush the top with melted butter while it is still hot. Immediately sift powdered sugar over the top.
Let cool at least an hour before serving (the hard part – cause I usually can’t wait for that long).