In the early 80's my husband made the acquaintance of a German woman, Rosa, who lived in his apartment complex. Rosa was a WWII bride, coming to America in her early 20's. (Oh, the stories she tells of war time, especially of her father who went away to serve and was one of the missing, never to return home). She soon found herself with a husband who was abusive and 5 young children to raise. After 25 years she left the husband and was on her own, with little job-ready skills. But a hard worker she was, as well as a wonderful seamstress. She sewed and did alternations for people and house cleaning. In 1990, with a full-time job and two children under the age of 5, keeping my house in the shape I wanted it to be was becoming a problem. We hired Rosa as our housekeeper. She worked for us for almost 20 years and, during that time, became family to us. She would show up early on the days she had set aside for us, just so we could visit. She has attended our family birthday parties, weddings, and shared in so many of our family's up and downs. We all have a soft spot in our hearts for her.
Rosa will be 84 in February, not as spry as she once was, but still a busy and industrious woman. She lives about 20 miles away so we don't see her as frequently as we once did. I always make a point to see her sometime during the holidays. She usually makes us something to nibble on, we drink tea or coffee and catch up. For years she has made me a loaf of German stollen bread, a slightly sweet bread filled with candied fruits, nuts and lemon zest. This year she asked when I could come by for lunch and to get my stollen. I replied that I wanted her to show me how she makes it instead. We set up a time and we recently got together for our lunch and my baking lesson. It was a fun day. I came home with a loaf of still-warm stollen (I couldn't resist and ate some in the car as I drove down the freeway!) and the recipe. Most importantly, I came home with memories of a day spent with a sweet woman.
Except for the fruit added, the stollen dough is actually quite low in sugar. The finished bread is sprinkled with confectioners' sugar or drizzled with a glaze. Rosa is not a fan of real sweet things so she usually just slathers the bread in butter as soon as it comes out of the oven.
Citron, a dried lemon, is not easy to find here and is pricey so we didn't put that in the stollen this time. Instead we added more lemon zest to the dough. Orange zest can be substituted for the lemon. It's a versatile dough, you can add or subtract the sweet ingredients that are available. This recipe calls for the dough to be refrigerated overnight. Rosa no longer does that, she completes the stollen in one baking session. Either way works! Stollen is most commonly considered a Christmas bread, similar to panettone. I like it any time of year. It makes a big loaf; I usually cut mine in sections and place in freezer bags. During tax season, as now, a slice or two of stollen with my morning coffee is a nice treat!
Stollen
1 package active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 whole eggs
1 egg yolk (reserve white)
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup chopped blanched almonds
1/4 cup cut-up citron
1/4 cup cut-up candied cherries, if desired
1/4 cup raisins
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
In mixer bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water. Add sugar, salt, eggs, egg yolk, butter and half of the flour. Beat 10 minutes on medium speed or by hand. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl frequently. With a spoon blend in remaining flour, nuts, fruits and rind. Scrape batter from sides of bowl. Cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Stir down batter by beating 25 strokes. Cover tightly and store in refrigerator overnight.
Turn dough onto well-floured surface; turn to coat with flour. Press into an oval, about 12/8". Spread with soft butter. Fold in two the long way. Press only folded edge firmly. Place on greased baking sheet. Brush with mixture of 1 slightly beaten egg white and 1 tablespoon water. Let rise until double, 45 to 60 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden brown. Frost while warm with the white icing or dust top of stollen with confectioners sugar.
White Icing:
Mix 1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoon milk with a fork or whisk, until smooth. Decorate, as desired, with pieces of citron and candied cherry halves.
The girls in my family recently met for our 12th annual Christmas tea in my home. This year we only had 8 in attendance. In prior years we had attendance as high as 18. Family issues, illnesses, and busy sports schedules meant I originally had RSVP's for 14, but it kept dwindling down, even on the day of the tea. This was disappointing to me as I spend a lot of time and money trying to make a memorable tea for everyone. I'm not sure I will have the enthusiasm to tackle this next year, only time will tell.
Those of us in attendance had a nice time. The youngest to attend was my 7-month old great-nephew. He was so good, just smiled and played the entire time. The oldest was my 80 year old mom. Mom has dementia and it's becoming increasingly hard for her to do even the most basic tasks. She has always loved our tea parties and she had a wonderful time. Next up was my 79 year old aunt. She, too, has health issues but was a trooper and carried on. The main purpose of our annual tea is to keep the generations together. My 8 year old granddaughter was able to spend time with her older relatives as well as the baby. Family is everything, right?
Red farm trucks and black and white buffalo plaid is very "in" right now. I chose my theme a year ago and started picking up items during the after-Christmas sales last year. Originally I had planned to do a gingerbread farm scene for the large table but I came to my senses about a month ago!
The format of our teas is very traditional. I make scones, lemon curd & strawberry jam for our first course and serve them to the guests. Everyone brings a savory or sweet, some bring both (thank you!) We set these items on my kitchen island and serve them potluck style. My family can cook and bake, we always have plenty of good tasting items to choose from! We share the leftovers, too!
My granddaughter always spends Friday nights with me so she helps me set the tables and decorate, as well as assist with the baking. Earlier in the day I made Rice Krispies treats. We cut them in rectangles and, using melted chocolate, M&M's and candy eyes, she turned them into reindeer. It is fun to watch her confidence in her baking skills grow.
Here is a summary of prior teas:
2017 - Peppermint and Roses Tea
2016 - A Woodland Tea
2016 - A Valentine's Tea
2015 - Let It Snow Tea Party
2013 - A Gingerbread Tea
