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Christmas Stollen

Recipe by: Lee Smith, 2 hours Prep - 40 mins Cook
I got this stollen recipe while I was Head Baker at the Dorchester. It's packed with dried fruit and filled with a marzipan surprise. It makes a perfect food gift at Christmas.

2 teaspoons dried active baking yeast
175ml (6 fl oz) warm milk (45 C)
1 large egg
75g (3 oz) caster sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
75g (3 oz) unsalted butter, softened
350g (12 oz) bread flour
50g (2 oz) currants
50g (2 oz) sultanas
50g (2 oz) red glace cherries, quartered
175g (6 oz) diced mixed citrus peel
200g (7 oz) marzipan
1 heaped teaspoon icing sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
toasted flaked almonds for sprinkling on top

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with the egg, caster sugar, salt, butter, and 3/4 of the bread flour; beat well. Add the remaining flour, a little at a time, stirring well after each addition.

When the dough has begun to pull together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead in the currants, sultanas, dried cherries and mixed peel. Continue kneading until smooth, about 8 minutes.
Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Lightly grease a baking tray. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the marzipan into a rope and place it in the centre of the dough. Fold the dough over to cover it; pinch the seams together to seal.

Place the loaf, seam side down, on the prepared baking tray. Cover with a clean, damp tea-towel and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180 C / Gas mark 4.
Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 150 C / Gas mark 2 and bake for a further 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown.
Allow loaf to cool on a wire cooling rack. Dust the cooled loaf with icing sugar, sprinkle with cinnamon and finish with toasted flaked almonds.