Stollen Babka Wreath Recipes

STOLLEN WREATH

Steps:

• Combine raisins, currants, citrus peel, angelica, and cherries in a bowl. Add the rum, tossing to coat fruits evenly. Soak at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
• Pour water into a small bowl; sprinkle with yeast and a pinch of sugar. Let stand 2 to 3 minutes; stir to dissolve yeast completely. Set aside until mixture almost doubles in bulk, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, drain fruit, reserving rum; carefully pat fruit dry with a paper towel. Return fruit to bowl; add almonds. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons flour. Toss; coat evenly. Set aside.
• In a heavy saucepan, combine 1 cup milk, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, and salt. Heat until warm (110 to 115 degrees), stirring until sugar is dissolved. Transfer liquid to bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; add reserved rum, almond extract, and lemon zest. Stir to combine. Stir in yeast mixture and eggs. Gradually add 5 cups flour, 1 cup at a time; beat until combined. Beat in softened butter until well incorporated. Turn dough out onto a surface floured with remaining 1/2 cup flour. Knead dough until all the flour is incorporated and dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Flour hands if dough gets sticky. Knead in one-third of the dried-fruit mixture until incorporated. Brush a large bowl with 1 teaspoon melted butter; drop in dough. Brush top of dough with 2 teaspoons melted butter; drape a kitchen towel over bowl. Set in a warm, draft-free place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment; set aside. Punch dough down; roll into a rectangle about 16 by 24 inches and 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle remaining fruit over pastry. Starting with a long side, roll up tightly, forming a long, thin cylinder. Carefully transfer dough to baking sheet; join ends together, pinching with fingers if necessary to make it stick, forming a large circle.
• Using sharp kitchen scissors, make cuts along outside of circle, in 2-inch intervals, cutting two-thirds of the way through the dough. Twist each segment outward, forming a wreath shape with all segments overlapping. Brush dough with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter.
• Cover pastry with a clean kitchen towel; set aside to rise for 30 minutes. Dough will rise only a little bit. Bake until golden brown and crusty, about 45 minutes, rotating halfway through. Place baking sheet on a wire rack to cool before icing.
• Whisk confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons milk to combine. Drizzle over cooled stollen.

STOLLEN BABKA WREATH

Steps:

• Mix the yeast, flour, mixed spice, sugar and 1 tsp salt in a big bowl. Whisk together the milk, melted butter and egg, then tip into the flour mixture and stir until it forms a sticky dough. Tip onto a work surface and knead for about 8 mins until the dough feels soft and stretchy. Clean the bowl, then butter it. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with buttered cling film and set aside for about 1-2 hrs, or until doubled in size, or chill for up to 24 hrs. In a small pan, simmer the cranberries, mixed dried fruit, zests and orange juice until the fruit looks plump. Leave to cool.
• When you're ready to shape the stollen, heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Tip the dough onto a surface lightly dusted with flour. Roll out to a 50 x 30cm rectangle. Grate the marzipan over the surface of the dough (this is easier to do if the marzipan is cold). Scatter the soaked fruit and half the nuts evenly over the top, then press down lightly with your hands so they stick into the dough a bit.
• With a long side facing you, roll up the dough as tightly as you're able to, like a Swiss roll (see step 1 of our step-by-step guide). Pinch the dough together to seal the open edge, then use a large knife to cut the sausage of dough in half along its length, leaving one end intact by about 5cm (see step 2). You should now have two long strips of dough to work with. Move the dough onto a large baking sheet, oiled and lined with parchment. Twist the two pieces together, turning the cut edges outwards to expose the marzipan and fruit filling (see step 3). Once twisted, connect the two ends to make a wreath shape about 26cm in diameter with a 12cm hole in the middle. Tuck one end under the other to hide the uncut piece of dough (see step 4). Cover loosely with oiled cling film and leave the bread to prove for 30-40 mins until risen by roughly a third.
• Uncover the bread and bake for 40-45 mins until the dough is golden all over. You may want to rotate the tray halfway through cooking to get even results. Leave to cool on the tray for 20 mins.
• Meanwhile, mix the icing sugar with enough lemon juice to make a thick but pourable icing. Drizzle over the wreath, then scatter with the rest of the nuts. Will keep in a tin, or well wrapped, for up to three days.

STOLLEN WREATH BREAD WITH MRS. KOSTYRA

Steps:

• In two separate bowls, soak currants in cognac and golden raisins in orange juice; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, salt, mace, and nutmeg; set aside. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup milk and 10 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat until butter is melted. Let stand until lukewarm, about 5 minutes.
• Pour 1/4 cup warm water into a small bowl; sprinkle with yeast, and let stand 2 to 3 minutes. Stir to dissolve yeast completely. Add the dissolved yeast, warm milk mixture, and eggs to the flour mixture. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, and knead until fairly smooth. Transfer dough to a large bowl.
• Add currants and raisins in their liquid, orange zest, lemon zest, citron, apricots, and almonds, and then work them into the dough with your hands. Transfer dough to work surface, and knead for about 10 minutes. If the dough is sticky, knead in more flour, but be careful not to overwork.
• Butter a large bowl with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat. Cover with a kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Punch dough down, roll into a rectangle about 16 by 24 inches and 1/4 inch thick. Starting with a long side, roll up tightly, forming a long, thin cylinder. Carefully transfer dough to a Silpat- or parchment-lined baking sheet; join ends together, pinching with fingers if necessary to make it stick, forming a large circle.
• Using sharp kitchen scissors, make cuts along outside of circle, in 2-inch intervals, cutting 2/3 of the way through the dough. Twist each segment outward, forming a wreath shape with all the segments overlapping.
• Cover dough with a clean kitchen towel; set aside to rise for 30 minutes. Dough will rise only a little bit. Brush dough with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter. Bake until golden brown and crusty, about 45 minutes, rotating halfway through. Place baking sheet on a wire rack to cool. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

BASIC BABKA

Steps:

• Stir white sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and salt into hot milk in a small bowl until butter is melted and mixture is lukewarm. In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, sprinkle yeast over warm water; stir to dissolve.
• Stir milk mixture into yeast mixture. Add 2 eggs and 2 1/2 cups of the flour; beat on high until combined. With mixer on low, add remaining 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup at a time.
• Switch to the dough hook; mix until dough leaves sides of bowl, about 5 minutes. Set dough in a large, lightly greased bowl, turning dough to coat top. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Prepare walnut filling while dough rises. Lightly beat 3 eggs in a large bowl. Stir in brown sugar, 1/3 cup melted butter, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Fold in walnuts.
• Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a large, lightly floured surface, cover with the bowl, and let rest 10 minutes. Line three 9x5-inch loaf pans with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on long sides.
• Divide dough into thirds; roll each third out to a 12-inch square on a lightly floured surface. Spoon 1/3 of the walnut filling onto each dough square and spread to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Roll up each square tightly as for a jelly roll. Pinch ends and seams closed to seal. With your palms, roll logs back and forth until uniformly round.
• With a sharp knife or dough scraper, cut 1 log in half lengthwise to form 2 striped strands. Working quickly, twist strands loosely together with cut sides facing out, making 2 or 3 wide, horizontal twists. Fit into one of the prepared pans, patting back any loose filling and tucking ends under, if needed. It might look like a mess now, but it comes out beautifully!
• Repeat with remaining logs and pans. Cover pans with a towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Loaves should not rise above top edges of pans.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Brush loaf tops with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter.
• Bake loaves until puffed, well browned, and a thermometer inserted in centers registers 200 degrees F (93 degrees C), 35 to 45 minutes. Tent with foil if tops brown before loaves are done. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then use parchment to lift from pans and transfer to a wire rack.
• Cool completely, about 1 hour. Glaze if desired, then slice crosswise to serve.

OMA'S MARZIPAN STOLLEN

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar and yeast. In a small saucepan, heat milk and butter to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add lemon zest; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky)., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., For filling, in a large bowl, beat almond pastry filling, almonds, milk and extract. Punch dough down; turn onto a floured surface. Divide into thirds. Roll each portion into a 15x6-in. rectangle. Spread each portion with a third of the filling to within 1/4 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long slide; pinch seam to seal. Place ropes on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, make a 1/2-in.-deep cut lengthwise down the center of each rope, stopping 1/2 in. from ends. Keeping cut surfaces facing up, braid ropes. Pinch ends to seal; tuck under., Cover with a kitchen towel; let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°. Bake until golden brown, 30-35 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool. Combine glaze ingredients to desired consistency; drizzle over stollen.