Traditional Christmas Stollen

1. Soak the dried fruits (raisins, cranberries and orange peels) and chopped glaced cherries in the brandy.

Soaking the fruits and glaced cherries in alcohol for a longer period will give the bread a more intense taste. We recommend soaking them for more than a week.

2. Add yeast to the warmed milk, and mix them well. Leave the mixture to sit for about 10 minutes.

3. Mix the flour, cinnamon powder and nutmeg powder together, then sieve them in a mixing bowl.

4. Sieve the mixed dried fruits from the brandy.

5. Add the yeast and milk mixture as well as the egg, unsalted butter, sugar, salt, chopped walnuts, sliced almonds and the dried fruits soaked in brandy to the mixing bowl.

6. Knead the dough till it reaches your desired consistency. Place the dough in a bowl and cover it with a damp cloth.

7. Prove the dough in the oven for 20 minutes at 38°C.

8. Dust a handful of flour on the table, place the proved dough on the table and flatten it with a rolling pin.

9. Roll the marzipan into a long tube and place it in the middle of the flattened dough. Cover the marzipan with the dough, and fold it into the shape of a donut.

10. Dust a baking tin with excess flour, and place the stollen in the tin. Cover the tin with a damp cloth.

11. Prove the dough in the Bosch Series 8 Oven at 38°C for 20 minutes and remove cloth.

12. Bake the stollen in the oven at 180°C for 30 to 40 minutes in top-bottom heating mode, till it turns golden brown.

13. Brush melted butter over the stollen and dust it with icing sugar immediately.