December’s Sourdough Surprises is stollen. I did stollen last year, but it wasn’t a sourdough one. Checking my list of planned bakes I found that I’d written down trying to make a wreath version of stollen, similar to the brioche crowns I’ve done before.

BBC Good Food’s stollen wreath has some good ideas. Rather than just using up whatever dried fruit & nuts come to hand they go for xmas themed red cranberries and green pistachios. These are also used to decorate along with white water icing: not the traditional dusting of icing/powdered sugar, but I think the red/green decoration on the outside really works.

What I’m not convinced by with the BBC Good Food recipe is the baking time; just 25 minutes at 170C fan. Last year’s stollen got 35 minutes at 180C fan, and it was a bit undercooked around the marzipan. Martha Stewart goes for 45 minutes at 170C fan. I think I’m going to use my La Cloche to cook it through before forming a crust as I do with my regular sourdough loaves.

Finally The BBC Good Food recipe is also bigger than last year’s stollen. It makes sense that I’ll need more dough for a wreath than a simple folded version, but I need to fit it inside La Cloche, and a 1kg crown gets pretty big… so I’m going got a ~750g dough.

So… taking all that into account, here’s my recipe and method plan.

Bread:

• 375g flour
  • 260g strong (14.8% protein) white flour
  • 75g wholemeal bread flour
  • 40g rye flour
• 150g warm milk
• 1 duck egg
• 60g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 30g golden caster sugar
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground mace
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamon
• 225g refreshed starter (100% hydration)
• 1 tsp salt

Filling:

• 100g cranberries
• 100g candied peel
• 60ml rum
• 100g pistachios

Marzipan / almond paste (at least double what’s needed, but it’s xmas and marzipan will be needed :)

• 375g ground almonds
• 185g golden caster sugar
• 185g icing (confectioners’) sugar
• 1 large egg
• Juice & zest one lemon
• 1 Tbsp amaretto

Glaze:

• 1 duck egg

Decoration:

• Water Amaretto icing
• Extra cranberries & pistachios

Method:

• Refresh starter overnight
• Autolyze flour, spices & liquids

• Make almond paste

• Add salt & starter, knead

• Standard bulk hydration, with stretch and folds

• Soak fruit in rum
• REALISE I DON’T HAVE ANY DRIED CRANBERRIES!
• Run to various local shops to find dried cranberries

• Laminate fruit & nuts into dough

• Make wreath
  • Roll out rectangle

• Cut in half, almond paste on each half

• Roll up each half, make sure no almond paste is exposed

• Twist rolls together and make into crown, La Cloche-sized

• Proof
• Oven to max 230C fan with La Cloche in
• Glaze

• Bake in La Cloche

• Turn oven down once it’s in
  • 30 minutes at 200C fan with the lid on
  • 15 minutes at 180C fan with the lid off
• Cool
• Cover in icing (powdered) sugar

• Then… wait a few days as stollen needs to age
  • Was planning a week, but that was unrealistic…
• Decorate
  • I was planning water icing and extra cranberries & pistachios, but water turned to alcohol… and the extra fruit wasn’t really needed, and I’m not sure the icing would have stuck them on anyway

• Finally… cut and eat!

Mmm… rich, fruity, spicy, marzipan in every bite, and a hint of booze – perfect Christmas fodder!

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Check out the other sourdough stollen!