Stollen Mini Loaves

In my opinion, stollen is one of the bakes that I would put at the top of my favourite Christmas baking list, putting up good competition against a mince pie. These stollen do not disappoint, having a delicious almond flavour. These mini loaves are cute and great for an individual snack, but the dough can also be made into round buns, larger loaves or other shapes. Just adjust the baking time as needed. You can also change the filling, and could experiment with other dried fruits and nuts to make these loaves suited to your personal tastes. 

Recipe - Makes 16 mini loaves

For the dough:

• 350g strong white bread flour
• 7g fast action dried yeast
• 7g salt
• 50g caster sugar
• 35g margarine, cubed and softened
• 280ml dairy-free milk, warmed
• 50g raisins
• 30g sultanas
• 20g currants
• 2 tbsp amaretto
• Pinch cinnamon
• Pinch nutmeg
• Pinch cloves

For the marzipan:

• 50g ground almonds
• 25g icing sugar
• 25g caster sugar
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 15ml aquafaba

The night before, combine the dried fruit with the amaretto in a bowl and leave to soak. The following day, make the dough by putting the flour and spices in a bowl then tip the yeast to one side and salt and sugar to the other. Add the margarine to the centre and gradually pour in the warmed milk until the mix comes together to a soft and slightly sticky dough. Turn out onto a work surface and knead for 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place into a large bowl and cover, then rise for 1-2 hours at warm room temperature. 

Meanwhile, mix the ground almonds, sugar and almond extract in a bowl and add enough aquafaba to form a stiff dough. Store in the fridge until needed.

When risen, tip out the dough and knead in the soaked dried fruit, straining from the liquid (but save the liquid for later). Divide the dough into 16 equal sized pieces and do the same for the marzipan. Take each piece of dough one at a time and press out to a rectangle just wider than the individual loaf tins. Roll the marzipan to a sausage just shorter than the rectangle and place on the centre of the dough rectangle. Fold in the short sides of the dough to cover the ends of the marzipan and roll up, sealing well. Place into the loaf tin and onto a baking tray. Repeat with all the dough. Leave to rise, covered with a tea towel, for 1 hour or until doubled and the dough springs back gently when pressed. 

Preheat the oven to 180C. When risen, bake for 12-15 minutes or until browned. Remove and brush the fruit soaking liquid over the top to glaze. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.