This recipe was created for WWF by the food blogger Nikoleta Kováčová, author of vegan recipes and cookbooks Slovegán.
You can prepare a traditional Christmas stollen without milk, diary butter and eggs – it doesn't take away from the taste. Even though it is made from sourdough, it will keep fresh for up to a few weeks, so I recommend including it in a zero waste Christmas menu. It will last you until you eat it!
Scrow down to check out the right ingredients and the recipe itself.
Photo: Nikoleta Kováčová
Preparation time: 4 hours
Amount: 1 stollen (approx. 900 g)
Ingredients:
- 125 g dried raisins/cranberries
- 100 g candied fruit
- 70 g chopped almonds
- 50 g of rum
- 100 g vegetable milk (I recommend almond milk)
- 20 g fresh yeast
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 300 g plain wheat flour
- ½ tsp of salt
- 1 tsp gingerbread spice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon ground vanilla
- 60 g vegetable butter + 40 g for rubbing (optional)
- ground birch sugar for dusting
The night before baking, mix the dried raisins/cranberries, candied fruit and almonds with the rum in a bowl. Leave the ingredients covered to rest overnight. They soak up the fragrant aromas.
Remove the vegetable butter from the refrigerator at least an hour before baking to soften. Although both animal butter and milk are said to give desserts a rich flavor, plant-based alternatives have a significantly lower impact on land and water use, as well as on the climate, because they are not associated with the production of greenhouse gases. You won't lose your taste buds by using them – on the contrary, the almond flavor of the dairy alternative will add a new dimension to the cake and the lower burden on our planet will warm you up all the more at Christmas.
Stir the yeast in room temperature vegetable milk, add 10 g granulated sugar, 10 g flour and leave to rise. It will take approximately 10 to 20 minutes.
You can work the dough by hand or with a food processor. I use a food processor, expect at least double the time when kneading by hand. In a bowl, mix together the remaining sugar and flour, salt, gingerbread spice, lemon zest and vanilla. The amount of sugar is, of course, advisable for reduction, so it is limited in this way. Those who don't like sweet cakes can even use only half the recommended amount – dried and candied fruit will provide the sweetness in the tart. You can also swap the sugar for another alternative, such as birch sugar.
Add the finished sourdough starter and room temperature vegetable butter to the mixture. Make a smooth, non-sticky dough. You can tell it's done by the fact that it won't stick to the bowl. It should not take more than 10 minutes.
Shape the dough into a loaf and let it rise for 90 minutes under a damp cloth. This dough doesn't increase in volume significantly, so don't worry that the mass won't double. Once the dough has risen, transfer it back to the bowl, add the dried fruit mixture with the almonds and rum, as well as continue kneading until the fruit is evenly incorporated.
On a work surface with no flour, roll out the dough into a rectangle. The longer side should be 35 to 40 cm long. Fold the shorter side of the rectangle into thirds. First the right third to the middle, then the left third over both. Press the connection that remains on the right side. This creates a classic, long shawl shape with a scoop on one side.
Place the sheet on baking paper, cover with cling film and leave to rise for a further 90 minutes. Remove any pieces of fruit that remain on the surface of the sheet so that they do not burn during baking.
Brush the sheet with vegetable milk and bake in a preheated oven at 175 °C for about 30 to 35 minutes until dark brown. After baking, prick the tart with a skewer, brush with 40 g of melted vegetable butter and dust with ground birch sugar. This layer is optional, but it will keep the sheet fresh for longer.
Allow the stollen to rest for at least 4 hours before slicing. We wish you good eating and happy holidays!
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