Kirsch-Nuss-Striezel

I found this bread in a German magazine and knew it would probably make a good alternative to stollen (which I happen to love and Marco hates ;o)). It's a yeasted bread, filled with a mixture of cherry jam, dried cherries, an apple and nuts. And very easy for such a festive outcome, I must say, even more so if you have a powerful standmixer that will do your kneading for you. I liked the result so much that I'll post the recipe here:


Kirsch-Nuss-Striezel (cherry nut bread)

1 scant cup whole milk, warmed (225 ml)
1.5 oz fresh yeast, or 1.5 envelopes dried yeats (42 g fresh)
4 TBS butter, melted (50 gr)
3.5 cups flour (400-450 gr)
salt, to taste
1/4 cup sugar (50 gr)
1 egg
1/2 c walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped (75 gr)
1 apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped (200 gr)
2 TBS cherry jam (40 g)
2 oz dried cherries (50-75 gr)

1 egg yolk, for glaze

Crumble yeast into luke warm milk, add melted butter and egg and stir to break up the egg yolk. Mix flour, salt and sugar, then add wet ingredients. Knead until smooth and pliable, adding more flour of dough is very sticky. (I used my stand mixer and let it go for 5-10 minutes, I could see the dough improve during kneading).
Let dough rise in an oiled. covered bowl in a draft free space until doubled in volume (approx. 45 minutes).
Roll out dough on floured counter, into an 8 by 24 inch rectangle (20*60 cm). Spread filling onto dough and roll up jelly-roll style. Cut dough in half, and intertwine two halves into 'braid'-like shape.
Let rise for another 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375°(convection setting) or 400° upper/lower heat. (175°C convection / 200°C upper/lower heat). Bake for 35-40 minutes, if bread browns to quickly, drape foil over to prevent from overbrowning. Bread is ready when it sounds hollow when tapped.


Enjoy!