Catholic Recipe: Christstollen VI (Stollen)

Also Called: Christmas Day Bread

Traditional German bread for Christmas, shaped in the form of swaddling clothes.

DIRECTIONS

1. Dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in warm water. Cover and allow to bubble up. Cream shortening and sugar in large bowl. Sift together flour, salt, and nutmeg.

2. Cool milk to lukewarm and mix with eggs. Add liquid alternately with flour to the creamed mixture. Stir in yeast mixture. Add fruits and flavoring. Knead until smooth. Cover and let dough rise to double its bulk.

3. Preheat oven to 400°. Knead dough again. Shape into ropes about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. For each large stollen, make one rope 3 feet long and two that are 2 1/2 feet long. Braid the ropes together, shaping the braid to a point at either end.

4. Place the braid on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden.