On paper it looked like it might be a bit of a faff, but it was actually really easy, if a bit sticky.  The day before baking I put some raisins, sultanas and candied peel to soak in a LOT of brandy.  I also made some marzipan from ground almonds, caster sugar,  icing sugar and egg and kept it in a plastic bag in the fridge.

The stollen dough was a slight variation on normal dough, with an egg, sugar and butter added.  It used a 2-stage ferment and dough process,  which takes a bit longer but you need less yeast.  Get the ferment going and keep it somewhere warm for about an hour, then just add the dough ingredients, knead energetically (this is one of the sticky bits) and leave it to rise for another hour.

Finally you drain the fruit, drink the brandy (mmm) and fold it into the dough.  Roll the dough into a rectangle, roll the marzipan into a slightly smaller rectangle (another sticky bit), and place it on top.  The whole thing can then be rolled lengthways into a long sausage shape.  Brush with some egg and leave it to prove (rise a bit more), before baking for about 30-40 minutes at about 180C.  As soon as its ready you brush it with melted butter, and after it’s cooled you can dust with icing sugar.

Fruits:

• 180g mixed sultanas, raisins and candied peel
• Lots of brandy or rum!

Marxipan:

• 60g ground almonds
• 20g caster sugar
• 20g icing sugar
• Egg (beaten)

Ferment:

• 5g sugar
• 5g fresh yeast
• 60g milk or water (at 32C)
• 50g stoneground wholemeal flour

Dough:

• 30g sugar
• 70g strong white flour
• 40g stoneground wholemeal flour
• 1 egg
• 50g salted butter

We made a few of these over Christmas for various people, and a couple of tips we picked up:

1.  It’s definitely worth making the marzipan the day before and then keeping it in the fridge – it’s much less sticky and easier to roll this way.

2. Use your hands to fold the fruit into the dough. It’s easier to get it mixed in well, otherwise it all seems to end up on the outside.  You need to be careful not to break up the structure of the dough.

3. Dust with icing sugar just before serving otherwise it gets soaked up really quickly and disappears.  Andrew says shop-bought stollen contains lots of chemicals to stop the icing sugar getting absorbed.

4. The whole thing seems quite messy while you’re making it and doesn’t sound anything like the instructions, but it comes out really well once it’s cooked.  I prefer the rustic look anyway….

And that’s it.

I’m really impressed with the Bread Matters book – thanks Alice!  It’s worth reading some of the theory before getting started.  More adventures in baking to follow soon…

I’ve tried a couple of times in the past to make Pirozhki but I’ve never been pleased with the result – either the filling or the pastry wasn’t right. Given another surplus of cabbage from our veg box and a new recipe for them in the Bread Matters book, I tried it again, this time with tasty results.

This recipe might not be the quickest one around but the results were certainly worth the wait. The bread ended up taking a day and a half to make with lots of waiting to allow the sponge mixture had to ferment properly. I really hate those breads you get, typically from supermarkets, with tasteless burnt cheese on the top, so I paid special attention to when it looked perfectly cooked. Warm, fresh bread and soup is certainly a decent lunch combination.