The Christmas Stollen Project
December 8th, 2017 | bread & pastries
Christmas Stollen never played a role in my childhood. We rather preferred Hamburg brown cookies or spekulatius for our Christmas baking. Anyway, without Christmas Stollen Christmas in some places of Germany is not even imaginable…That’s the reason, why I found it always exciting. A heavy yeast dough with candied fruit, raisins and a dash of good rum. The Stollen must traverse several weeks (minimum two weeks) before you eat it – if you do manage to defend it against the family. Attention: This weekend is your last chance to bake a Stollen, which can be served “well matured” at Christmas on your coffee table. Otherwise, you must wait another year…
I started the Stollen project this year in early November, together with our 15 year old daughter. She is our declared baking expert and always looking for customers, because we four impossibly can eat as much cake as she bakes. OK, we could of course, but would look very different soon… Mid-November we kneaded our first Stollen loafs and noted that it probably is the pastry that requires the most patience of everybody. Due to the long yeast rising and baking times as well as due to the week-long resting time until it is good.
Two weeks later: The long wait is over! Finally, we can try. And I have to say for the first attempt: quite excellent! Best of all is still coated with good butter. By the way, the amount of butter in the dough is the reason that the Stollen survives the storage and does not get mouldy. However, you should switch off the calorie counter when enjoying German Stollen. But may I quote bio chef Christian Kolb: “Calories are the lifeblood for the Cook.” So, close your eyes and go for it…
Here is the recipe for the last Stollen chance this year:
Christmas Stollen
(makes 4 medium-sized Stollen – Attention: Dried fruits have to soak overnight – preparation time: 60 minutes – let allow to rise for almost 3 hours – baking time: 1 hour)
Leave me a message
Cookbook Generation Riesling – Indian chicken
This is how young winemakers cook! The second wine cookbook of the “Generation Riesling” has been published. 60 young winemakers present their favorite recipes – from everyday use to highly refined – and with each recipe, there is information about the respective winery and the appropriate wine recommendation. I started my culinary journey through the Generation Riesling in the wine region Rheinhessen and tried out a recipe from the Oswald winery: Murgh Makhani – Indian butter chicken!
read moreBerry pudding with vanilla sauce
This is pure summer! Now it’s the season of strawberries, cherries, currants, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries and you can find them in abundance on the markets and fruit farms. In this dessert, the sweet fruits are wrapped in fresh, cool jelly. That does not only look gorgeous, but also tastes heavenly.
read moreKale with air-dried ham and warm potato waffles
When I was a child I did not like kale. I qualified this statement when I travelled to Shanghai and tasted sea cucumbers. Today I eat kale, but I still don’t like our traditional German way to prepare kale. Too fat, too ugly, too heavy. And then this sausage called „Pinkel“?!? Last autumn I gave kale a second chance. I must admit it’s a very tasty vegetable. It’s only a matter of how to prepare it. Try this.
read more