Stollen, of course, is a German Christmas tradition; and, as such, it was never one of the Christmas treats that my mother made in my childhood.   However, it is just the sort of thing to appeal to most of the family—with the exception of my father, who hated marzipan.   For many years it has been readily available in supermarkets in the weeks leading up to Christmas.   However, most boughten versions contain things that I don't much care for, most particularly, chunks of peel.   For years, I picked bits out.
        Then it occurred to me to adapt a fruit loaf recipe into a stollen recipe.   The result was, of course, tailor made to suit my own tastes.   But it proved popular with the rest of the family.   So it has been a regular part of my Christmas repertoire for some ten years or more.

Ingredients

Directions

Making the Dough
Put the lukewarm water in a warmed mixing bowl, and add the yeast and one teaspoonful of sugar.   Let the yeast prove.
        Place the flour in another mixing bowl and rub in the butter.   Break the egg into a bowl, and beat it lightly with a fork.   Add it to the proved yeast, along with the milk, the orange oil, and about half the flour.   Cover the bowl with a piece of waxed paper or plastic, and tuck a dishcloth over to keep it from shifting.   Allow the dough to rise in a warm place for a few hours until it is approximately double the bulk.
        Stir in the currants, and the rest of the flour/butter mixture.   Knead the dough well.

Assembly
If you want to make two small loaves, divide the dough into two equal portions.   For each half, press it out on a clean flat surface into a thick oval shape.
        Unwrap a sausage of marzipan, and squeeze it gently between your hands to elongate it by about half.   Lay it in the centre of the oval of dough.   Tuck the ends of the oval over the ends of the marzipan, and then fold the sides over.   Gently squeeze the dough to seal it.
        Repeat for the second loaf.   NOTE:   if you prefer to make one large loaf, then either buy only one sausage of marzipan (which will reduce the proportion of marzipan to loaf), or make a “double-yolked” stollen by tucking the dough around each of the two pieces of marzipan separately before squeezing them together.

Cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil, grease it, and dust it with flour.   Place each of the loaves on it, with the sealed join in the dough on the down side, so that it won't pop open when the dough rises.   If you set the loaves diagonally, they should both fit, with a good space in between to allow for the increase in size when they rise.
        Brush the top of each loaf with beaten egg.
        Leave the loaves for several hours (or overnight) so that they will rise again.

Baking
Bake at 425°F for twenty minutes, then 350°F for a further twenty to thirty minutes, or until golden brown.   While the stollen are still hot, dust their tops with icing sugar.   (I use a sugar caster for this, since it gives a nice even sprinkling.)
        Let cool on a wire rack.

Makes two small loaves or one large one.