Grandma's Christstollen

Preparation

• 1
  Mix the raisins, lemon zest, candied orange peel, and candied lemon peel together with the rum and ground almonds. Let this mixture steep for about an hour (for more aroma, you can prepare this the day before and let it steep overnight).
• 2
  Now, put the flour into a bowl, form a small well with your fingers, and crumble the yeast into it. Briefly warm the milk. Add about 2 tablespoons of the lukewarm milk with a pinch of sugar over the yeast and mix them together in the well. Sprinkle a little flour over it. Let the covered mixture rise in a warm place for about 15 minutes.
• 3
  Add the butter in small pieces to the flour. Add the eggs, sugars, and salt along with the spices. First, mix everything together, then knead vigorously with the dough hooks of a mixer on the highest setting for at least 5 minutes. Meanwhile, gradually add the milk and knead it in. Finally, knead in the fruit-rum-nut mixture. Let it rise again, covered, in a warm place for about 30 minutes.
• 4
  Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius top/bottom heat. Knead the dough vigorously again and form it into an elongated loaf. With a rolling pin, flatten about half of the stollen along the long edge.
• 5
  Prepare a baking sheet with aluminum foil, then with baking paper. Now place the stollen on it and let it rise, covered, for another 30 minutes. Now turn the oven down to 160 degrees Celsius top/bottom heat and place the stollen directly into the oven. Bake the stollen for about 45-50 minutes. If the stollen browns too quickly, it can be covered with aluminum foil to finish baking.
• 6
  Melt the butter in a pot over low heat. Brush the still-hot stollen with butter and let it cool. Repeat the process and then generously sprinkle with powdered sugar.