California-Style Stollen

A boozy, make-ahead holiday bread studded with citrus, raisins, and almonds

Every year, I start the holiday season off with a very specific project: I make stollen. It’s an event—first I have to candy orange and lemon peels, then I soak the peels and other dried fruit in brandy, rum, or bourbon, and then I knead it all into a rich, buttery dough. I make a bunch of loaves all at once, so by the time I’m done, the counter (and usually part of the floor) is covered in flour and a scattering of raisins and almonds that have escaped from the dough. Then I wait. Stollen is the kind of fortified bread that needs to sit and rest so the flavors can meld, like fruitcake. Fortunately, this gives me time to send them to friends across the country. Here’s my most California-influenced version of the recipe:

California Christmas Stollen

This recipe is my take on my great-aunt’s classic German stollen. I fill it with local California ingredients—almonds and raisins and homemade candied citrus peels—and flavor it with bourbon, instead of the brandy or rum my aunt favored. But you can swap in all kinds of candied fruit or nuts here; dried apricots are nice, and I imagine some pineapple and mango would make a nice tropical version with a good dark rum. I also make huge batches of this recipe, at least three times what I’ve listed below, and make lots of small loaves. That way, I can send them to friends and family across the country. If you want to do this as well, plan to knead the dough (both before it rises and after you add the fruit and nuts) for a lot longer than the times listed here.

The trick to this boozy bread is that you need to let it sit for at least two weeks before cutting into it, so the flavors will meld. So make it this weekend, and it will be perfect on Christmas morning—I suggest trying it with a slice of brie, for an extra-decadent addition to your holiday breakfast.

Makes 2 medium or 4 small loaves

½ cup golden raisins
½ cup Zante currants
⅓ cup dried cranberries
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon bourbon
¼ cup diced candied orange peel
¼ cup diced candied lemon peel
2 tablespoons diced candied ginger
¼ cup slivered almonds
¾ cup whole milk
1 (¼-ounce package) active dry yeast
2 tablespoons warm water
3 ¼ cups plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the bowl and for finishing
⅓ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 large egg yolk
¾ teaspoon grated lemon zest
¾ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Confectioners’ sugar

1. The night before baking: Mix the raisins, currants, and cranberries with ½ cup of bourbon in a medium bowl; let the mixture soak overnight. In the morning, add the citrus peels, ginger, and almonds to bowl and stir everything well; set aside.

2. Make a starter: Heat the milk in a small pot on low until lukewarm, or about 100°F (it should feel barely warm if you put a clean finger in it). In a large bowl, whisk the yeast with 2 tablespoons of warm water, then slowly add the warm milk, whisking to break up clumps. While whisking, slowly add 1 cup of flour, stirring until the mixture is homogeneous. Wet a kitchen towel with very hot water, wring it out well, and use it to cover the bowl. Set the bowl in a warm spot* with a temperature of about 80°F and let the yeast develop for 1 hour.

3. When the starter is almost ready, melt the butter, then add the sugar and salt to it, whisking until the sugar melts. Add the egg yolk, whisk until the mixture is homogeneous, then add the lemon zest and nutmeg, whisking to combine.

4. Once the starter is ready, slowly add the butter mixture to it, stirring to combine. While stirring, add 1 cup of flour, then mix in the remaining 1 tablespoon of bourbon. Stir in another 1¼ cups of flour. If the dough becomes too stiff to mix with a spoon, gently knead the flour into it.

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until it is soft, pliable, and shiny, about 10 minutes. Form the dough into a ball and place in a large buttered bowl. Cover the bowl with a cloth soaked in hot water and wrung out well, and set it aside in a warm spot until it has doubled in size, 1½ to 2 hours.

6. Once dough has risen, heat the oven to 350°F. Gently remove the dough from the bowl and transfer it to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough 2 to 3 times, then gently roll it out with a rolling pin, pulling and stretching it until it is ¼- to ½-inch thick, ideally without ripping it as you go.

7. Drain the fruit and almonds (reserving the soaking bourbon to make a sweet cocktail) and mix them with 3 tablespoons of flour. Spread the mixture on the dough and roll the whole thing up, folding the ends over so the fruit is encased in dough.

8. Knead the dough to distribute the fruit and nuts evenly. Fruit will fall out of dough; just tuck those pieces back in, over and over, and keep kneading until everything stays together. (As my great-aunt said in her version of the recipe, this will seem impossible, but keep going!) Re-flour your work surface as necessary to keep the dough from sticking or getting too sticky.

9. Divide the dough into 2 pieces (or 4, if you’re making smaller loaves). Pull and pat each piece into a long, fairly flat rectangle, about 16 inches long, 5 inches wide and 1 inch thick (or 8 inches long and 3 to 4 inches wide), then fold each end of the rectangle over, on top of the center ⅓ of the dough, like you’d fold a letter.

10. Place the loaves on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake them until the tops are golden brown, 35 minutes for both small and medium sizes. (The loaves will spread and flatten a little bit during baking.)

11. Remove the loaves from oven and, while they are still warm, brush them with some melted butter and cover them with a thick dusting of confectioners’ sugar. Allow the loaves to cool, then dust them with another thick layer of confectioners’ sugar. Wrap them well in two layers of plastic wrap and let them rest at room temperature for 2 to 3 weeks before eating, to allow flavors to develop.

    *when my house is cold, I turn the oven on low for a minute, then turn it off and put the bowl in the oven with the light on

    

More California Holiday Recipes

For another flavorful treat full of nuts and dried fruit (one you can eat right away), check out chef Nora Haron’s IndoMex Christmas Cookies, along with the interview I did with her last year. The LA Times also has recipes for a bunch of delicious bar cookies, including flavors like eggnog caramel brownies and salted peppermint and macadamia biscotti, and the Sacramento Bee is making fruitcake cookies. The OC Register has recipes for breakfast foods to make ahead for holiday houseguests, including an apple cider doughnut loaf that looks like the one I make a lot this time of year. Need something to drink with all your sweets? Sunset Magazine has a features on large-batch cocktails and punches that you can make ahead for a party.

Photos: Georgia Freedman