It's December, let's bake!

Cooks, Bakers, everyone who loves to create edible wonders, meet your Lord and Master: my grandma.

I know, I know, everyone says that their grandma is the best cook in the history of ever, but I'm pretty sure that mine actually is. Like I said in one of my first posts: she makes vegetables taste heavenly. End of discussion.

A few weeks back, my grandma had an arm surgery, and she's still feeling pain when gripping stuff, or kneading dough, so for the first time ever, I helped her do the Christmas baking.
Mind you, we didn't bake as much as she usually does (so many different cookies!), but I call four Stollen and three batches cookies (and lunch) a success none the less.

Sadly, I only have some medium quality pictures and no picture of the end result of the Stollen, or the cookies, but I'll share the recipe anyway.

You must know, I think Stollen is one of the most disgusting Christmas foods ever invented. My dad on the other hand can't have Christmas without them. So I'll let you decide if you want to try making one or not.

The recipe I'm about to share was from a magazine or cookbook, redone by my great grandma, redone by my grandma.

Warning: lots and lots of pictures.

Weihnachtsstollen
(makes two)

1kg flour*
250ml milk
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp flour
100g fresh yeast
350g butter (melted)
125g sugar
750g candied orange and lemon peel, walnuts, raisins, almonds, glacé cherries, etc.
2 packets vanilla sugar
rum
rum extract
almond extract
lemon zest or lemon sugar
nutmeg
salt
more butter (melted)

First, warm up the milk and pour half of it into a big bowl. Add the yeast, 1 tsp of sugar, 1 tbsp of flour, stir, to break up the yeast. Then let it sit somewhere warm until it has risen quite a bit. (This mixture is called 'Dampfl', btw)

Then add:

 flour

 sugar

 a bit of salt

 lemon zest or lemon sugar (1 packet)

 vanilla sugar

 a tiny bit of rum extract

 a bit of almond extract

 some nutmeg

 some rum

 the remaining milk

 and the melted butter

 Now stir!

 Stir some more!

 Doesn't my dad look dashing in my grandma's apron? /cackles
Anyway, start kneading that dough! Or if you're lazy, let your Kitchen Aid knead it for you.

 If the dough is too hard to knead, add some more milk.

Besides kneading, also try slamming it onto the table a few times.
No, really, do it.

 When you're finished kneading, put the dough back into the bowl, cover it with a kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place.

 Dough after it has risen.

 Divide it in half, and knead it one or twice, before rolling out each half.

My grandma put her rolling pin into the oven for a moment so it'd get warm. No idea why, but do it anyway.

The shape doesn't have to be even, just see that it has the same thickness all over.

 Add the filling (the nuts, raisins, candied peel, etc., which were soaked in a bit of rum)

 Spread it evenly.

 Unlike the picture, fold over a piece of the left and right side first, and only then start folding or rolling up the whole thing.

 Fold fold fold

 foooold

 Now take your rolling pin, and press it down at the middle, flattening half of the roll you just did.

 Brush melted butter all over your Stollen (it acts as glue)

 Now fold over the dough...

 ...like so! Yes, that part in the front is supposed to stick out like that. That's the way the Stollen is shaped.

 Now carefully lift it into a buttered pan.

Once again cover it with a kitchen towel and let it rise.

Now this is where my father left, so no more pictures after that.

Preheat your oven to 180°C.

When the Stollen has about doubled in size, put it into the oven and bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Brush the Stollen with melted butter, right after you take it out of the oven, and sprinkle with icing sugar.
Let it cool for a bit.

Put a piece of parchment onto a cookie sheet, and turn over the pan, letting the Stollen fall out.

Turn the Stollen back over (since it just landed on its sugary side), and do the same with the other one.

Now flip the parchment over the Stollen, and put them in a plastic bag (while they're still warm).

And that is it!

Now you only have to wait for about two weeks until you can have a taste.

Wait.

What?

Yes, you heard me correctly. You have to let the Stollen rest for at least two weeks.

It has to do with flavour and other stuff...which I don't know about.
But grandma says do it, so do it.

Until my next post!

 * my great grandma noted on the recipe that she used half and half, meaning one half 'griffig' flour and one half 'glatt'. I tried googling for an equivalent of that in English, but let me tell you, flour is confusing. But you can of course just use 1kg of normal all purpose flour.