German Dessert

Christmas Bread
Stollen
(Makes 25-30 slices)

It's a dessrt. It's a breakfast. No! It's ... Super Stollen! This fabulous cake/bread, traditionally made at Christmas, can be eaten any season, any meal, anytime.

3/4 C milk
4 T butter (divided)
1 egg (beaten)
3 C flour
2 T sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 T cinnamon
1/2 T nutmeg (freshly grated)
1 pkg. dried yeast
2 T candied lemon peel
2 T candied orange peel
1 lemon (grated zest)
1/4 C raisins
1/2 C almonds
6 oz. marzipan
confectioner’s sugar to coat

Step 1: melt 3 T of the butter in a saucepan with milk. Allow to cool slightly, add eggs, and stir to mix. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour with next 5 ingredients (incl. yeast). Form a well in the center with your fist, pour in milk mixture and knead 5 minutes to form smooth dough. If too sticky, add a touch more flour. Mix in the next 5 ingredients (incl. almonds). Cover with greased paper, set in a warm space for 3 hours, till dough doubles in volume.

Step 2: knead risen dough and roll out (on a floured surface) to a 10" square. Spread marzipan in the center. Fold into thirds: you will have a 10" log. Place seam-side down on a greased baking sheet, cover with greased paper, and let it sit for another hour till dough doubles in volume.

Bake: preheat oven to 375. Bake stollen 45 minutes till golden brown. Remove from oven, brush with remaining 1 T butter and sprinkle with sifted confectioner’s sugar. To die for.

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Tips & Glossary

Beets: how to peel and cook beets is a matter of personal preference. You can cut off the tops, peel them with a vegetable peeler and boil them. Another method: leave on about 1" of the tops, wrap them in foil, and bake for 1 hour in a 350 oven. Cool and use rubber gloves, or handle with a paper towel, to prevent hands from turning...well, beet-red. The skins will slip right off. Most cooks say baking- then-peeling is the tastiest way to cook beets.

Ginger: dried ground ginger is far more potent than freshly-grated from the root. Sweet dessert recipes call for ground powder. If you wish to use freshly grated ginger, use 6 times the amount of ground called for in the recipe.

Nutmeg: use small whole nuts and store them, tightly covered, in a dry dark area. Grate what you need using the smallest grating edge or grind in a food processor. What a difference from store bought ground nutmeg!

Wurst: German sausages— more types than you can shake a stick at. Here are several:
• Bockwurst: smoked; with veal, chives & parsley.
• Bratwurst: pale; with veal, pork, ginger & nutmeg.
• Knockwurst: short & plump, smoked; with pork, beef & garlic.
• Weisswurst: "white"; with veal, pork, cream & eggs.
• Wienerwurst: with beef, pork, coriander & garlic.
• Frankfurter: smoked; with lean pork & bacon fat.