Recipe for My Daughter

I know the rest of you probably won't try this recipe because it requires time and yeast. And candied fruit. But this is my daughter's favorite Christmas recipe and she needs it, so I am sharing it with the world. It is from the 1980 edition of Joy of Cooking. The Joy is the best cookbook ever written. My mother had an older edition than I do and I bought Meagan the updated version of Joy of Cooking when she had her first apartment. So we have three generations of good cooks (I mean great cooks) relying on the Joy of Cooking for basic recipes with fanstastic results. This morning I used it to make homemade English muffins and Hollandaise for Eggs Benedict. It will tell you how to make ANYTHING. The newer revised edition is not as good, though. It left out directions for skinning and cooking a squirrel and they changed the Stollen recipe. She tried the updated Stollen recipe last year and it was a disaster. Here is the 1980 version:

Stollen

Have ready: 6 to 8 cups of all purpose flour

Combine and let stand for 3- 5 minutes:
1 1/2 cups 105 to 115 degree water or milk
2 packages active dry yeast
Add 1 cup of the flour. Cover this sponge and let it rest in a warm place until light and foamy, about 1 hour. Sprinkle a little of the sifted flur over:
1/2 Lb raisins (Note from June: I hate raisins so I leave them out and add more candied fruit)
1/2 lb chopped blanched almonds
1/2 cup chopped candied fruit

Beat until soft:
1 1/2 cup butter
Add gradually and blend until light and creamy
3/4 cup sifted sugar
Beat in one at a time:
3 eggs
Add
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp grated lemon rind
Add the sponge and enough flour to knead the dough until smooth and elastic. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk. Toss the dough onto a floured board. Knead in the fruit and nuts. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Roll each into an 8 x 15 inch oval. Fold in half lengthwise and place loaves on greased baking sheets. Brush the top with melted butter. Let the loaves rise, covered until they almost double in bulk, about 45 minutes. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven 30 to 40 minutes or until done.