Recipe - Orange And Nut Christmas Stollen

DOUGH
2 teaspoon Active dry yeast
2 One half cup Unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon Salt
3 tablespoon Granulated sugar
3 tablespoon Lora Brody's Dough Relaxer
3 tablespoon Almond paste
2 Oranges; zest only, or 1/2
teaspoon orange oil
4 tablespoon Sweet (unsalted) butter;
melted and slightly cooled
1 lg Egg
Three fourths Water
1 cup Toasted pecans; coarsely
chopped

TO FINISH THE STOLLEN
2 tablespoon Sweet (unsalted) butter;
melted
1 tablespoon Coarse sugar

This traditional European Christmas pastry made with fresh orange zest and
pecans calls for a rich, buttery dough. Lora Brody's Dough Relaxer makes
the dough not only easy to work with, but add a richness and tenderness as
well.

Bread machine: place all ingredients except pecans in the bread machine.
Program for manual, or dough. The dough should form a very soft ball. Allow
the dough to have one rise, then another short knead. Add the pecans during
the last few minutes of kneading, or restart the machine and knead until
the nuts are incorporated.

Stand Mixer: fitted with the kneading attachment or Food Processor fitted
with plastic blade: Add all ingredients except the pecans and knead or
process until you have a soft dough that does not quite form a ball. Don't
be tempted to add more flour or the stollen will be dry. Allow the dough to
rise until almost double in bulk, then knead in the pecans. Don't do this
in the processor as the pieces get too small.

To finish the stollen: Cover the dough and allow it to rest for 15 minutes
With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 14 inch long
oval. Add flour only as necessary to keep the stollen from sticking to the
work surface. Brush the surface of the dough with half the melted butter
and fold the dough in half length wise. Press lightly on the fold of the
dough, pressing towards the open folds. To give the stollen its traditional
shape do not press the outer edges together: Transfer the oval onto a
greased and floured cookie sheet, cover the dough, and allow it to rise for
40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375F. with the rack in the center position. Brush the
top of the stollen with melted butter and sprinkle generously with the
sugar. Bake the stollen for approximately 30 35 minutes or until it is
golden brown on top and has an internal temperature of 190F on an instant
read thermometer.

Cool the stollen on a rack before slicing to serve.
Posted to Digest breadbakers.v097.n076 by Blanche007@aol.com on Dec 2,
1997