Today for the exciting POP Contest organised and hosted by 
Once a year at Easter, a real Ukrainian housewife bakes a special festive bread. Also, once in a while I bake Halah - a traditional bread for the Jewish Sabbath. But at this special time of the year I bake home-made famous "Dresdner Stollen".
All the following pictures are original and taken by me.
This is traditional Christmas bread heavy filled with nuts and candied peels and fruits and dusted thickly with powdered sugar. The bread looks like a newborn Jesus wrapped in a white diaper. The bread needs to ripe for at least 2 weeks in order to obtain its flavors. For me, my daughter and my husband, stollen is something to look forward to throughout the whole year, and they are usually happy to help me with it.
First of all, yeast dough requires a special mood and atmosphere. If I am irritated, or in a bad mood, or tired, then I have to left it all behind because my yeast dough is very sensitive to my energy and mood. Both thoughts and hands have to be clean :)
I am preparing for this matter in advance. I stock up with nuts, candied peels, dark and golden raisins, and rum. The recipe that I use is based on an old recipe for Dresden Christmas stollen, but I have made some changes to it as for my taste.
The cooking process begins the night before when I soak the candied fruits in the rum.
On next day in the morning, after a cup of coffee, I slowly set to work. The yeast dough is very jealous, it does not like when I'm distracted or in a hurry.
When the Stollen comes out of the oven you have to slather it with melted unsalted butter and sprinkle it with powdered sugar as soon as it comes out.
I store the Stollen wraped in a cold place for minimum 2 up to 4 weeks. The main thing is to not forget about him afterwards :)))
When the aroma of bread is spreading around the house, it is like a magic light. As I work, the delicious aroma of lemon zest and the spices slowly spread the house. At these moments, I feel warmth, gratitude, coziness, and care. Maybe all this reminds me the time when my granny was alive... she was baking a festive bread and I was helping her in the kitchen. It was a wonderful time!
Anyway, I hope my story will inspire you to make happy your family by doing something with your own hands. It is the best way to show your love and care.
