• 24 hours before baking, place the raisins and currants or cranberries in a plastic ziplock bag. Add rum, seal, and let the fruit absorb the rum. Turn the bag occasionally to distribute the rum.
• Warm milk slightly to lukewarm. Add sugar and dried yeast. Stir, and then set aside in a warm place to let yeast activate for 10 minutes. It will look brown and foamy on top when ready.
• Put 2/3 of the flour into the bowl of a stand mixer (700 gram) fitted with a paddle. Make a well in the center. Around the edge of the well add the salt, almond flour, sugar, lemon zest, and cardamom.

  Add the milk/yeast mixture into the center, and mix together until combined.

  Add the rum soaked fruit, citron, and orange peel, mix until combined.
• Change the paddle for a kneading hook, and knead the dough for 10 minutes.

  Alternatively, knead it by hand for 10 minutes.
• Place the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for an hour in a warm place. (I place the bowl into the oven) It will rise, but it won't be dramatic.
• Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper
• Dump the dough onto a kneading surface. Knead it a few times, then cut the dough in half.
• Shape one half into a long oval. Fold about 1/3 of the long side over the middle. You don't want it to be folded in half.

  Place on parchment covered baking sheet.

  Repeat with the other half of the dough.
• Place the baking sheet with both loaves in a warm place to rise for 1 hour. (Again, I place them in my unheated oven. Remove before heating the oven for baking!)

  The rise will not be dramatic.
• Preheat the oven to 350℉
• Bake the loaves for 55 minutes.

Cover the Stollen

• While the loaves are baking: Melt the 175 grams of butter.
• Combine sugar and vanilla sugar in a bowl
• Set a cooling rack next to the sugar and butter
• Cover a separate baking sheet with 2 cups powdered sugar
• When the Stollen is baked, let cool for 5 minutes on a cooling rack. Then carefully brush the Stollen on all sides and sprinkle with the sugar/vanilla sugar mixture.

  You can use a towel to hold the Stollen if it's still hot. I start by flipping one onto my hand, then I brush the bottom with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Set it back onto the cooling rack and then and brush butter over the top and sides of the Stollen, sprinkle with sugar/vanilla sugar.

  Be generous with the melted butter and sugar. They form a crust that keeps the Stollen from going bad.

  Then repeat with the second one.

  Let the Stollen cool.

  Then move it onto the powdered sugar. I set the bottom side onto a bed of powdered sugar, and then top with a thick layer of powdered sugar.

  Then be generous with the powdered sugar.

  Store in a cool dry place. Stollen tastes better after it "ripens" for a few weeks. But if you are impatient, you can always eat one after a day or two, and save the other.

  I like to store mine in plastic wrap or an airtight storage box. Once it has been cut into you need to wrap it tightly so it doesn't dry out.