Macro Monday and the Christmas Stollen Recipe

I thought I’d share something different for this Macro Monday.
After all, 'it IS the baking season par excellence, so …

There is nothing like home made bread. This festive Christmassy bread originates from Germany and is filled with lots of dried fruits and nuts, and rum flavored almond paste.

Just imagine a white carpet of snow outside while inside your house is filled with the aromas of this sweet and lovely wintery goodness….

Am I beginning to sound like Nigella Lawson?

Are you hungry yet ?
Do you want to sniff those aromas too?
Okay, here’s what you do.
Light a scented candle …

OR get into that kitchen of yours and try the recipe!!
I tried to make the recipe as complete as possible but if there are any more questions, just leave me a comment and I’ll update the post.

You need:
- 170g - 1 1/4 cup of all purpose flour
- 70ml - about 5 tbsp of water ( I added some milk to the water instead of using milk powder)
- 17g of milk powder ( I skipped that)
- 12g - 1 tbsp of sugar
- 12g of fresh yeast OR 5g (= one teaspoon) of dried yeast
- 3g = 1/2 a teaspoon of salt
- 1 egg ( half of it goes in the dough, use the rest to egg wash the crust.
- 30g - 1 ounce of butter
- grated zest of one clementine ( you could use lemon or orange instead)
- 17g - about 1/5 of a cup of roasted hazelnuts
- 17g of candied fruits
- 130g - 1 cup of raisins. ( I made an assorted mixture with died apricots and prunes, figs …)
- 75g of almond paste flavored with rum ( mine was Cointreau flavored)

Mix all the ingredients except the almond paste, the nuts and the dried fruits. Knead until the dough becomes elastic. Let it rest for 20 minutes.
Mix the fruits and the nuts in and shape into a ball.
Shape the almond paste into a sausage. Flatten the dough and place the almond paste in the middle. Roll tightly around the almond paste and shape the bread.
Place it onto a baking sheet in the oven ( 40°C - 100° F ) to rest and rise for about one hour.
Brush the rest of the beaten egg over the dough to give it a shine.
OR
A little bit of research told me you could brush it with melted butter, which would probably produce a softer crust. (I still need to try this next time)
Bake for half an hour at 165-175° C - 350°F