Stollen with Rosa

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.