For the Christmas stollen, dissolve fresh yeast with a pinch of sugar in lukewarm milk (dry yeast is mixed with the flour immediately) and let rise for about 10 minutes.
Place flour in a bowl, add butter, yolks, milk-ferm mixture, sugar, vanilla sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon, cardamom, salt and rum and mix or beat into a firm dough. Cover dough and let rise in a warm place for about 1/2 hour.
Add aranzini, candied lemon peel, preserved raisins and almond slivers to the risen dough and knead again.
Roll out dough on a floured work surface (keep the center slightly thinner than the sides). Fold in the thicker outer edges toward the center and press down with rolling pin. Place on a prepared baking sheet and let rise again in a warm place for about 1/2 hour.
Bake on sight in a preheated oven at 150 to 155 °C for about 1 hour. While still hot, brush several times with melted butter, sprinkle thickly with vanilla powdered sugar and let cool. Wrap in cling film and leave to mature for a few days.
To check whether the Stollen has baked through, prick the center of the pastry with a thin wooden or metal stick. If there is still dough stuck to it, the Stollen must be baked further.
You can change the taste by adding a little bitter almond oil to the dough or by using other dried fruits such as pineapple, apricots, currants, raisins or ginger.
Preparation Tip:
A wonderful Christmas stollen recipe!