Dan Lepard’s extra moist stollen (Update 23 December 2008)
This is Dan Lepard’s stollen from last week-end’s “How to bake” on the site of the Guardian (recipe here and here).
It is cleverly made with a cooked flour-water porridge which increases moistness of the crumb. Mine looks a bit like brown bread although the amount of whole-wheat flour used is minimal. Maybe the spices? The flavor bears a deep impression of the fragrant mace, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon. It has a warm appeal and is perfect for a quick breakfast with a big cup’o tea in the morning just before leaving the house. Excellent!
I will make this again as soon as this one’s finished and will reduce spices a little to see how the flavor changes. I am a big fan of a clean buttery finish. The scale in the bath room confirmed it.
Update: The second one was even better. Strangely, this time it did not rise at all at any time, but had a great consistency after the bake. Very firm and moist, like a proper Stollen should be. Going to make another Stollen before the year ends – Mick Hartley’s Quarkstollen – a sourdough version of this popular fruit bread.
That looks amazing. A nice way to start the morning!
Eli
http://www.elisfoods.wordpress.com
elisfoods
16 December 2008 at 00:16
This was on my baking list — glad to see Dan Lepard has his own version.
Can’t believe how hard it is to find marzipan in stores around here, though.
Jude
16 December 2008 at 09:59
And the afternoon and the evening, I am afraid, Eli
@ Jude: Hm, it must be a European thing then. I’ve made marzipan myself once, but bought it is one of the btter ‘convenience products’ (like puff pastry).
theinversecook
17 December 2008 at 14:27
This is a beautiful looking bread, great baking!
Teresa
northwestsourdough
18 December 2008 at 21:28
*blushes* Thanks, Teresa
theinversecook
19 December 2008 at 21:33
[...] There was no time to deal with a dud, so when Nils gave Dan Lepard’s extra moist stollen a thumbs up, I knew which recipe to [...]
Dan Lepard's Stollen Recipe | Apple Pie, Patis, and Pâté
30 December 2008 at 18:32
I contemplated making Dan’s stollen, but it just didn’t feel traditional enough for me… still, great to hear it’s delicious and maybe I’ll take your post as encouragement to make it sometime!
Duncan | Syrup&Tang
31 December 2008 at 16:55
@Duncan: Please do. I too had too many recipes for Stollen, so I tried something new from a source I trust. I guess, I am not sure how a true Stollen has to taste like although I have eaten many. For me it’s interesting to see something new applied to something old.
theinversecook
31 December 2008 at 20:00
@Nils: I was certainly surprised to see rye, spices and egg in Dan’s recipe, as these really seem to fall outside the traditional realm (though I agree that innovation isn’t a bad thing!). When reading his recipe I really come away thinking more of Hot Cross Buns, rather than Stollen.
Duncan | Syrup&Tang
1 January 2009 at 08:01
@ Duncan: I think baking guilds have been trying to regulate or standardize Stollen production in Germany. For example every baker in Dresden is allowed to call his Stollen “Dresdner Christstollen” without meeting any quality standard, but the “Thüringer Christstollen” from Thuringa apparently must please quality control from an institution called “Schutzverbandes für Thüringer Stollen und Erfurter Schittchen”.
About spices I don’t know. Wikipedia doesn’t mention them (for what it’s worth). I do keep reading about one thousand and one varations on “Stollengewürz” (Stollen spize), which rather adds to my confusion.
theinversecook
1 January 2009 at 23:51