Family Stollen Recipe with a Gluten-Free Twist

Stollen has been a Christmas tradition in my family for ages. Our traditional family recipe has been modified somewhat from the German original, but the taste is very similar. The only major difference is in its shape as it wasn't until I learned German that I realized the name Stollen also refers to its shape in the form of a loaf, while ours is shaped into a ring. Since I've been doing lots of gluten-free baking this season, I thought I'd try out our seasonal favorite using Bella's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Mix. I substituted the milk in the recipe for almond milk but still used butter and eggs, so it is not vegan. The recipe makes either one large stollen or 2 smaller ones. I made mine into 2. The only thing I noticed when making stollen with gluten-free flour is that it is denser and did not rise much at all compared to regular flour. But in terms of taste and texture it was fantastic (thanks to Bella's Gluten Free!).

Christmas Stollen
Ingredients:
1 c. milk (or almond milk)
1 c. melted butter
1/2 c. water

Picture from when I made it with real flour in Germany in 2004.
This was made using the original family recipe with real
milk and flour. I made one big loaf instead of two.

5 1/4 c. flour (or Bella's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Mix)
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 packages of active dry yeast
2 eggs beaten
1/2 tsp. grated lemon rind
1/2 tsp. grated orange rind
1/2 c. seedless raisins
1/2 c. chopped candied fruit (fruitcake mix)
1/2 c. chopped pecans (a traditional German stollen would use almonds)
3 Tbs. soft butter

Another view of the massive stollen I made in Germany in 2004.

3 Tbs. ground cinnamon
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. powdered sugar
2-3 Tbs. water or milk (or almond milk)
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
candied cherry halves (optional)

Combine milk, melted butter and 1/2 c. water in saucepan; place over low heat until lukewarm. Combine flour, 1/4 c. sugar, salt and yeast; stir in lukewarm milk mixture and eggs (at the same time - add eggs to lukewarm milk mixture); mix well. Add lemon and orange rind, raisins, candied fruit and nuts. Mix well. (Knead by hand for best results).  Cover dough and refrigerate overnight. Place chilled dough on floured surface, roll into a rectangle (either 1 large one or 2 small ones if dividing in half).  Spread with 3 Tbs. of soft butter. Mix together the cinnamon and 1/2 c. of sugar. Sprinkle over the buttered surface. Roll the dough into a role and shape into a ring. Let rise in a warm place uncovered for 1 hr. Bake at 350 F (175 C) for 25-30 minutes. Combine powdered sugar, water or milk and vanilla. Drizzle over the hot ring. Decorate with candied cherry halves (optional).

An old and very used copy of the family
recipe in my grandmother's handwriting.

Dough made with Bella GF All-Purpose Baking Mix.

Dough rolled out and spread with butter, waiting for cinnamon
and sugar to be sprinkled over it.

Shaped into a ring.

Fresh out of the oven. Did not rise or brown much, but was still
delicious.

More gluten-free baking!

 Made more Christmas cookies this weekend using Bella Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Mix and have to post some pics! They came out amazing and taste delicious! Just like they used to with real flour.

Recipes used were:

Sugar cookies just substitute Bella Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Mix for the flour

Cookie Icing I used almond milk instead of dairy milk

Ginger Molasses Cookies just substitute Bella Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Mix for the flour

Sugar cookies... lots and lots of sugar cookies!

Ampelmännchen sugar cookies

Ginger/Molasses Cookies

Mouthwatering gluten-free baking with Bella Gluten-Free!

For those of you who follow a gluten-free diet, you probably have had your fair share of unpleasant experiences with gluten-free baking. Unpleasant? Don't I mean catastrophic, mortifying, grainy, disgusting attempts to recreate something you once used to make in sheer delight, attempts that constantly remind you of what you have given up and make you feel like you'll never get it back again.  Well, those experiments are over! If you are gluten-free and love to bake, there is no longer the need to mourn a favorite pastime - thanks to Bella Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Mix. With the Christmas baking season  underway, I thought I'd try out one of my favorite cookies (Cranberry White Chocolate Chip: follow link for recipe, I use vanilla instead of brandy and substituted the flour with Bella GF Baking Mix, for dairy free use margarine instead of butter and for vegan use an egg substitute. I just made mine with eggs and butter) with my miraculous gluten-free discovery. As I was mixing everything together it was unbelievable. Unlike any other gluten-free flour/baking mix I've tried in the past, this one actually has the consistency of flour, the dough looking and tasting just like the real thing. It makes you completely forget that you are actually eating something gluten-free. You'll find yourself saying - OMG, this is so good! I can't believe it's gluten-free. And you won't be the only one! People who aren't gluten-free won't notice anything, and when you tell them they will be utterly astounded. So go ahead and get some! The pizza crust is also amazing!
Available on Amazon and directly from the company:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_grocery?_encoding=UTF8&node=16310101&field-brandtextbin=Bella%20Gluten-Free
http://www.bellaglutenfree.com/

Yes, these amazing-looking cookies are actually gluten-free!