Stollen Bites

By á-9642

Stollen is a sweet yeasted bread flavored with bits of fruit served at Christmas. These tiny, bite-sized stollen are perfect to put in a pretty bag and give as a gift!

A native of Germany and Austria, and connected with Dresden in particular, stollen is a must at every holiday groaning board in those countries.

Ingredients

• SPONGE:
• 1 cup (4 1/4-ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 3/4 cup (6-ounces) lukewarm water
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• FRUIT:
• 1/2 cup (2 3/4-ounces) dried pineapple, chopped in 1/4-inch dice
• 1/2 cup (2 3/4-ounces) golden raisins or dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup (3-ounces) candied cherries, snipped into quarters
• 2 tablespoons (1-ounce) rum or brandy
• DOUGH:
• 2 1/2 cups (10 1/2-ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 6 tablespoons (3-ounces) softened butter
• 1/4 cup (1 1/2 ounces) Baker's Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk powder
• 1/3 cup (2 3/8-ounces) granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon orange zest or 1/8 teaspoon orange oil
• 1/2 cup (2 1/2-ounces) toasted almonds, chopped
• TOPPING:
• 1/2 cup (1 stick, 4-ounces) butter, melted
• 2 cups (8-ounces) confectioners' sugar, glazing sugar, or non-melting sugar

Details

Servings 40
Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 165mins
Adapted from kingarthurflour.com

Preparation

Step 1

Sponge:

Mix ingredients together and set aside for 1 hour, or for up to 4 hours.

Fruit:

Mix ingredients together and set aside to allow the fruit to absorb the liquor.

Dough:

Combine the sponge and the dough ingredients (except for the almonds), and mix and knead to make a soft, shiny, elastic dough. Towards the end, knead in the soaked fruits (along with any liquid) and almonds. Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide it into 40 pieces, rolling each piece into a ball. Place the balls on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about 1-inch between them. Cover and let rise for about 45 minutes, until the balls are puffy. Bake the stollen bites in a preheated 350°F oven for about 18 minutes, until they're light brown. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Toss stollen in the melted butter, then the confectioners' sugar. Allow to cool completely before wrapping and storing. Stollen bites keep well for a week at room temperature; freeze for longer storage. Toss with confectioners' sugar again just before serving, if desired.

Note:

Because of stollen's high sugar content, we find you'll make a better loaf by beginning with an overnight sponge. This bubbly mixture of yeast, flour and water is a good base upon which the sugar, milk, and butter-rich stollen can successfully grow.