Kürbis - Stollen (Pumpkin Stollen)

4 cups All Purpose Flour
2 1/8 cups Milk
1 stick (1/2 cup) Unsalted Butter, room temperature
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) Active Dry Yeast
Pinch of Salt
1/2 lb Pumpkin meat (just the inside meat of the pumpkin, no seeds or rind)
3/4 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Seedless Raisins
Zest from 1 Lemon
Freshly grated Ginger
Additional Butter for brushing finished Stollen (1-2 tbs)
Powdered Sugar for dusting

Cut up the pumpkin meat into small cubes. Add to a pot. Add 1/2 of the milk and cook until soft. Mash it with a potato masher or puree it in a blender. Mix in butter, lemon zest, ginger, and sugar. Set aside to cool.

Add yeast to a large bowl. Heat up the remaining milk until luke warm and pour over yeast. Allow yeast to dissolve for a few minutes.

Add flour, raisins, and pumpkin puree to the yeast mixture and knead until a dough forms. Place dough in a clean bowl and allow to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour.

Knead dough again to remove any air pockets. Form dough into a Stollen (you can make 3 small ones, 2 medium sized ones, or 1 large one). Place on a greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Cover with plastic and allow to rise in a warm place for another hour.

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Bake Stollen until golden brown all around - the time will vary based on how big your Stollen is. Remove from oven and brush Stollen with melted butter. Allow Stollen to cool then dust with a generous amount of powdered sugar.

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