600g~4 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached and unbromated (plus more as necessary to acheive a shaggy-but-not-sticky dough)
1cupwhole milk
½cuphoney
1egg
2 ½cupsdried fruit, raisins, currants, chopped apricots, dried cherries, dried figs, candied citrus peel, etc - this doesn't have to be exact, so measuring by volume is fine!
¼cuporange liqueur, rum, or orange juice
1teaspoonvanilla
½teaspoonsea salt
zest of 2 large oranges
zest of 1 large lemon
½teaspooncardamom
½teaspoonnutmeg
⅛teaspoonground cloves
1pinchblack pepper
120g1/2 cup / 1 stick butter, slightly softened, cut into 8-10 pieces
Place the sourdough starter and flour in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add the milk and honey and stir to mix until the dough is shaggy. If the mixture is still very wet, add more flour until the mixture is loose and just begins to break apart in pieces in the bowl.
Then, one at a time, add the egg, dried fruit, orange liqueur, vanilla, salt, zests, and spices. Knead until the dough comes together in a coherent ball, then cover and let rest for about 10 minutes.
Working on low speed or kneading by hand, add the butter one piece at a time, working the dough after each addition until the piece is nearly fully incorporated. Once all the butter is added, continue kneading until the dough is soft, smooth, and very stretchy, 10-15 minutes. The final dough should be very soft, but not at all sticky.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and let it sit until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
After 1 hour, roll the dough out into a vertical rectangle about 18 x 12 inches. Take the almond paste and form it into a 3-inch wide strip that's almost as long as your rectangle, then lay it lengthwise down the middle of the dough. Fold the two long sides of the rectangle over the almond paste, then make the top and bottom ends tidy by pulling the ends up and over the ends of the almond paste and tucking them under the side flaps. (See the picture below for help if you need it.)
Transfer to a parchment-lined baking tray, cover, and let sit for 1 hour or place in the refrigerator overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375F and prepare a steam bath by placing an empty baking pan in the oven during the preheat. When the oven is fully heated, place the stollen in the oven and pour 1 cup of water into the preheated pan and close the door as quickly as possible. (Be careful not to get a steam burn in the process.) Bake for 25-40 minutes, depending on the thickness of the bread. Internal temperature should read 190-200F when it's finished.
Let the stollen cool, then either wrap for storage or serve immediately.
When ready to serve, sprinkle very liberally with powdered sugar, slice, and eat. We love to slather ours with butter and occasionally apricot jam.