Traditional Christmas Stollen

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1. 1Step 1: Prep all your fruits, moistening or draining as necessary, and mix them together in a bowl. Break or chop the nuts. Prepare the orange and lemon peels. Have the almond paste sitting out to come to room temperature so that it's spreadable.
2. 2Step 2: Make the Sponge: In a small pot, add the sugar and salt to the milk, put in 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter, cut into a few pieces. Heat gently, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the butter is melted. Let this cool down to 115° F.
3. 3Step 3: In the bowl of your mixer, using the paddle blade, stir the yeast into 2 cups of the flour. When the milk mixture has cooled enough, add it to the flour and mix, making sure there's no flour left in the bottom of the bowl, then add the eggs and beat until you have a nice, smooth batter.
4. 4Step 4: Cover the bowl, and let it rest until doubled, about 45 minutes, longer if your kitchen is cool. It will look very fluffy.
5. 5Step 5: Finish the Dough: Switch to the dough hook of your mixer. Mix in the grated peels, the extracts and 3 cups of flour. Machine knead for a few minutes until the dough forms a nice ball and looks smooth and satiny. If the dough seems too wet, you can add in some of the last cup of flour, bit by bit.
6. 6Step 6: If your machine is a heavy-duty 7-quart, you can add in the fruits and nuts now. If not, or if you'd rather, turn the dough onto your well floured kneading board. Cover with a damp towel and let the dough rest 5 minutes.
7. 7Step 7: If you haven't yet added all the fruits and nuts, knead them in now. Pat the dough into a 12-inch circle, pile on the fruits, roll it up and then knead, poking back in pieces trying to escape. If the dough feels too sticky, knead in a little more of the flour. Well developed, the dough will no longer stick to your board.
8. 8Step 8: Again, let the dough rest 5 minutes, covered with a damp cloth. You already let the sponge rise fully, so you don't need a bulk rise, just this 5-minute rest.
9. 9Step 9: Almond Paste Filling: While the dough rests, stir and soften the almond paste. If it's just too stiff to manage, you can gradually add a beaten egg white.
10. 10Step 10: Shape the Stollen: Divide the dough into 2 halves (sometimes I divide unevenly, depending on the recipient). Pat each piece into an oval about 10 inches by 12 inches, again poking any escaping fruit at the edges back in.
11. 11Step 11: Put the almond paste on just behind the crosswise center mark. I put spoonfuls on the dough and gently spread it into a more or less solid strip. You can use your fingertips for this; wet them and the paste won't stick.
12. 12Step 12: Fold the dough over, forming a half oval with the bottom edge just forward of the top. Transfer your loaves carefully to baking pans lined with parchment, pulling them into a slightly curved crescent shape.
13. 13Step 13: Proof and Bake: Set your loaves under your proofing cover, or cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until about 3/4 increased in size. Because about a third of the loaf is fruits, only the dough portion will double.
14. 14Step 14: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. When the dough has risen so it doesn't spring back from a touch, melt the 1/2 stick of butter and carefully, with a light touch, brush the loaves.
15. 15Step 15: Bake for about 45 minutes, turning halfway through. If the loaves seem to be browning too fast, tent them with aluminum foil to slow the browning. Internal temperature should be about 190°.
16. 16Step 16: Remove from the oven and let your loaves rest a few minutes to firm and then slide them onto wire cooling racks. Brush them again with melted butter.
17. 17Step 17: To store the loaves, wrap in plastic wrap and then put into a zipper bag. Stollen freezes well; wrap in foil and be sure to use a freezer-grade zipper bag. Stollen keeps very well securely wrapped and in a zippered freezer bag.