Kelly Burgess's blog

I found this recipe in an old Harrowsmith Cookbook, an endless source of inspiration when you have hollow legs to feed... however, hollow legs don't always appreciate the time and effort that goes into homemade bread so mostly I stash mine in the freezer for personal consumption. These loaves are dense and moist and toast up nicely, or fresh, make great healthy sandwiches. I generally take liberties with most recipes that appear strong, and add ground poppyseeds (preferrably cooked in milk to bring out their true flavor), toasted nuts and seeds, chopped apricots, dates or raisins, whatever I have or whatever sounds like it might add crunch and health.

Here's the basic recipe:

2  1/2 C scalded milk (I would add the ground poppyseeds at this point)

1/2 C oil

1/2 C molasses

4 t salt

1 C oats

1/2 C sesame seeds

1 C wheat germ

2 T yeast

2 T brown sugar

1 1/2 cups warm water

5-7 C flour

3-5 C ww flour

Combine scalded milk, oil, molasses and salt. Mix together rolled oats, sesame seeds and wheat germ. Pour scalded milk mixture over rolled oats mixture.

Dissolve yeast and brown sugar in warm water. When milk-oats mixture has cooled to lukewarm, add yeast to it. Stir in flour and knead into a soft dough. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour. Punch down and place dough in three greased loaf pans. (I like adding sesame seeds to the oil coating... depends sometimes on your pans.) Let rise for 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Bake at 350 DF for 45-60".

Thank you to Carol Frost of Chilliwack, BC, for this recipe.

I have many favorite recipes, following is one of them. "T" is for tablespoon, "t" is for teaspoon, "G" is for grams.

Kelly's Christmas Stollen

Makes 16.

Here you're basically making a sponge that will proof/rise for 1 hour. A kitchen aid mixer fitted with the paddle works nicely for the process. First combine:

2 T Yeast

1/2 C warm water

Let the yeaest dissolve in the water (the water should be approx. 95 - 100 degrees) and then mix the following ingredients together in a separate large bread bowl:

1 1/2 C warm milk

100 G sugar

120 G butter

4 beaten eggs

Now add the dissolved yeast mixture, and:

420 G flour

Mix well and let rise 1 hour in a warm spot.

While the sponge is rising, chop and grate some extras:

1/2 - 1 1/2 C nuts (I use almonds that I've roasted myself, but other roasted nuts would work)

1 - 1 1/2 C raisins or dates or dried apricots

Whip up some cream cheese with a hand-held mixer or in your kitchen aid, adding icing sugar to sweeten to your liking. I tend to use a whole package and if there's left-over, I keep it in the fridge.

Once the hour is up, add:

420 G flour

Knead well and then chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. When the 30 minutes is up knead in the chopped nuts and raisins, cut into pieces weighing approx. 130 G each (your goal is 16 remember, so weigh the entire ball of dough first and then divide that number by 16 to get an exact figure for your batch), and roll each portion out into a round. Fill one half with a sensible amount of cream cheese and fold the dough in half, sealing in the cheese.

Bake your little stollens for say, 10 -15 minutes in a 350 degree oven. The time will vary slightly, but bake until golden (take one out and check until you've got the idea). You can do the typical "brush with butter" when they come out but I rarely do. Hope you like these. I've made, sold, and eaten many thousands.