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Stollen – a traditional German yeast bread – may be wrapped
in cellophane with a
pretty wire bow and presented as a
thoughtful and festive Christmas gift. Fiori di Sicilia
flavoring adds the delicate aroma of flowers, citrus and vanilla
and can
be ordered from www.kingarthurflour.com.
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Fruit
Mixture
¼
cup butter
½
cup raisins
½
cup glacé fruit mix
¼
cup water
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Yeast
Mixture
1
cup fat-free milk
¼
cup dark brown sugar
2
large eggs
2
packages active dry yeast
1
½ cups all-purpose flour
½
teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia
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Flour
Mixture
2
½ cups all-purpose flour
½
teaspoon salt
¼
teaspoon ground cloves
¼
teaspoon ground cardamom
¼
teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼
teaspoon powdered ginger
¼
teaspoon ground nutmeg
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Confectioners’
Icing
2
cups confectioners’ sugar
2
teaspoons dried egg whites
½
teaspoon lemon juice
3
tablespoons fat-free milk
2
tablespoons sliced almonds
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1. Melt the butter in a 2-quart saucepan. Stir
in the raisins, fruit
mixture
and water and simmer for a minute. Remove from heat
and let this mixture
sit for 10 minutes to allow the fruit to soften.
2. Stir in the milk, sugar, eggs, yeast, 1 ½
cups flour and Fiori di Sicilia.
3. In an extra large bowl, sift the 2 ½ cups
flour, salt, cloves,
cardamom, cinnamon,
ginger and nutmeg. Stir in the yeast/fruit
mixture to form a soft
dough.
4. Flour a large breadboard and knead the dough for 2 minutes.
Set the
dough in an oiled bowl and turn once to coat with oil.
Cover with a
damp kitchen towel.
5. Turn the oven on to 200˚. When you can feel the heat on
your
hand, turn
the oven off. Set the dough in the oven to rise for
1 ½ hours.
6. Punch the dough down and divide in half. Roll each piece into
a
flattened oblong shape, which is about 12-inches long by
6-inches wide.
7. Set each piece on a baking sheet and fold one third of the
longest side of
the dough up over itself. Let the loaves
rise for 1 hour.
8. Bake in a 350˚ oven for 20 minutes. Once you have
removed
the bread, you can toast the almonds for
2–3 minutes.
9. Make a decorative icing by mixing the confectioner’s sugar,
dried egg
whites, lemon juice and milk. Spread over loaves
and sprinkle with
toasted almonds.
To Serve: Slice bread and toast in a toaster.
Serve with butter
and a
sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar.
Makes 2 large loaves
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