German Stollen

There cannot be Christmas holidays without the beautiful flavors of home made cookies and cakes! One of my favorites is the German Christmas Stollen: 

Ingredients:
For the dough:
1,2 kg all purpose flour
120 gr. yeast
200 gr. sugar
1 pinch salt
3/8 l milk
3 eggs
1 pack vanilla powder
300 gr. butter
For the filling:
200 gr. whole almonds, blanched, peeled and chopped
500 γρ. raisins blonde
200 γρ. raisins black
100 γρ. candied orange peel
100 γρ. candied lemon peel
Zest & juice of a lemon
1/4 tsp cardamon, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon
100 ml rum
1 bitter almond extract
For the frosting:
250 gr. melted butter
250 gr. icing sugar

Preparation:
The night before baking, mix in a large bow; all the ingredients for the filling and let soak. 

Dough: In a large bowl, sift 1 kg of the flour and make a pothole in the center. Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk and a pinch of salt and 1 tbs sugar. Add the yeast to the center of the bowl. Carefully take some flour and mix with the yeast, until you have a liquid porridge.

Spread some sugar and flour over the porridge and cover the bowl and leave it in a warm place, until the yeast has doubled in size. 

Knead well. Mix eggs with sugar and vanilla and add to the dough. Knead again and leave the dough covered to rest in a warm place, until it has doubled in size.

Add the rest of the flour and the sugar and knead again.

 Add the filling to the dough and knead again. From 2 oval shapes and fold each oval piece in half. Carefully lift the dough onto the baking sheet and leave to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until nearly doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas 4. Bake the stollen for 60 minutes, or until golden.Cover with foil if it begins to brown too much. Brush warm loaf with butter and dust thickly with powdered sugar. Cool on ​rack.Wrap tightly in foil.