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Stollen

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Ingredients

Scale

7 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 pound butter, softened

2 pkg. dry yeast

6 large eggs (should be 11/3 cups eggs)

1/2 teaspoon mace

2 teaspoons salt

grated rind of one lemon

11/2 cups milk, lukewarm

Optional

3/4 to 1-1/4 cup finely chopped Vanilla Candied Fruit, mixed with 1 cup Vanilla Plumped Raisins

1 beaten egg for glaze

1 cup blanched almonds to decorate outside

Instructions

Heat oven to 335-350 degrees

In the large Kitchen Aid bowl, starting with mixing paddle: dissolve yeast in milk, add 2 cups flour and 1/4 cup sugar to make a sponge. Mix and let stand while assembling other ingredients. (About 15 min.)

Add eggs, butter, lemon rind, 1 cup flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and mace; mix until smooth.

Add fruit.

Add remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, changing to dough hook when the mixture becomes too stiff for the paddle.

Knead for about 15 minutes, or until dough is smooth and shiny, scraping sides of bowl when necessary. If it is sticky because of the moisture in the fruit, add a little more flour. Dough will be soft, so don’t add too much more flour.

Put into large greased bowl to rise in warm place, about 2 hours, or until doubled.

Turn out on floured board, cut into 4 pieces. (Knead a little flour into each if dough is too soft.

Cut each piece into 3, roll each section into a short rope about 1 1/2-2 inches in diameter and about 9 inches long.

Lay these 3 side by side, pinch together at one end, and gently braid, loosely, just a few crossings.

Transfer to cookie sheet (either greased or non-stick.)

Repeat with the other 3 pieces, putting each finished braid on a separate cookie sheet.

Allow to rise until nearly double. (Additional rising will take place in oven.)

Brush with beaten egg, decorate with halves of blanched almonds, and bake at 335-350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

To Blanch Almonds:

Put 1 cup shelled almonds into pan, cover with hot water, bring to boil. Turn off heat, allow to stand 5-10 minutes. Drain off hot water and cover almonds with cold water, letting them stand for a few more minutes. Skins will readily slip off when pinched. Split each almond in half, otherwise they are too bulky, do not cling to the dough as well, and are too hard to cut through after Stollen is baked.

A lot of folks make a folded Stollen that looks like a big parkerhouse roll. The cool thing about it is that it has a 1 inch tube shaped piece of marzipan down the center of it.