Christmas Stollen

Ingredients

Fruit

1/2 pound golden raisins
Spiced rum like Captain Morgan

Sponge

1 pkg active dry yeast, 2 1/4 tsp.
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1/2 cup scalded whole milk, cooled to under 110°
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar

Dough

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
6 tbsp softened butter
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup sliced or slivered or finely chopped almonds
1/4 cup of the recovered rum

Instructions

The night before

1. Place the raisins into a bowl or jar and cover with rum, stir to coat. Soak overnight in the refrigerator.

Make the sponge

1. Scald the 1/2 cup of milk
2. In a 2-cup measuring cup or something of similar size, dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar into the 1/4 cup luke-warm water
3. Add in the still hot milk
4. Monitor the temperature, when it drops to 110 dissolve in the package of yeast and let the yeast wake up, about 5 min
5. Stir in 3/4 cup flour, cover, and let it get started, 25 minutes

Make the dough

1. Strain the rum out of the raisins, save 1/4 cup for use in the dough
2. Place all additional dough ingredient, (minus the raisins and almonds), into the stand mixer bowl. Mix with paddle attachment until thoroughly mixed.
3. When the sponge is ready add it to the mixer, mix for about 5 minutes, switching to the dough hook when necessary.
4. Add in the raisins and almonds, keep mixing until thoroughly incorporated.
5. Add in a tablespoon at a time more flour, until the dough becomes less sticky and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
6. Cover, and let rise for 2 hours (70-80 degree room temp)

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Form the loaf by pressing the dough into a rectangle approx 10" by 8". Fold one of the 10" sides over to make a loaf approx. 10" by 5". Crimp the joined dough well with your fingers.
2. Place the loaf on the parchment, cover again, and let rise for 1 hour
3. Preheat oven to 350°.
4. Place the stollen into the oven until the internal temperature is at least 190°, around 40 minutes. If the loaves seem to be getting too brown, tent them with foil.
5. Once cooled to room temperature, place the loaves into plastic bags or fully enclose in plastic wrap. Store at room temperature until ready to eat. The flavor improves with aging 1 to 2 weeks. Store in a cool place for longer storage times.

Modified from: https://www.joeshealthymeals.com/dresden-style-german-christmas-stollen/ and my grandmother's recipe.