Christmas Stollen
Every year I have every intention of making stollen, and every year I don’t get around to it. Among fancy Christmas breads it seems like the simplest – I set my sights below fancy wreaths and braids to a lumpy oval with one side flopped over – but it still seems to come down to timing – wouldn’t it be a great thing to deliver around to friends in the days before Christmas? I always think so too, but when I leave it until the days before Christmas I inevitably wind up with other stuff to do and settle for quicker things like mandarin jam and fleur de sel caramels, if that.
So I jumped the gun and made some already, and it turns out it’s nowhere near the big deal, time-wise, that I’ve created in my head. So this week I’ve been limbering up my gut for the deluge of Christmas parties and turkey dinners to come by eating lightly toasted and (heavily) buttered stollen with my coffee in the morning, my second coffee in the afternoon, and every time I pass the toaster in between. Today I brought the end of the loaf across the street and we nibbled from it as we painted, and then set another batch to rise (you can slow it down in the fridge overnight) to bake and bring to a Christmas party tomorrow night. I’ve loaded up on currants and almonds and I’m set to turn this kitchen into a North Pole sweatshop, cranking out loaves between now and Thursday.
December 18 2009 | bread | 57 Comments »
