How to Make German Stollen: Traditional Stollen Recipe
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Dec 5, 2024 • 4 min read
Stollen is a traditional German dessert bread with a sugar-coated exterior and flaky, fruit-filled dough. You can keep this moist and flavorful seasonal dish fresh for up to two weeks, making it the perfect treat for holiday gifting and sharing.
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What Is Stollen?
Stollen is a buttery, semi-sweet German yeast bread traditionally served during the Christmas season. Known in its native Germany as Christollen (meaning Christ stollen), Weihnachtsstollen (meaning Christmas stollen), or Dresden stollen, this classic dish is traditionally filled with rum- or brandy-soaked dried fruits, nuts, marzipan, and candied citrus peels. Stollen is formed as a long ovular shape and topped with a thick layer of powdered sugar or icing. Some common varieties of this German Christmas bread include Nuss-Stollen (nut stollen), Mandelstollen (almond stollen), Mohnstollen (poppy seed stollen), and Marzipanstollen.
What Is the Difference Between Stollen and Fruitcake?
Although fruitcake and stollen both contain sweet, dried fruit, there are a few key differences between these two seasonal baked goods. Fruitcake batter is sweeter than stollen batter, which relies on dried fruits for its sweetness. Fruitcake is traditionally topped with a layer of rum or brandy, while stollen is traditionally brushed with butter and rolled in powdered sugar to finish. Stollen is also less dense than a fruitcake, with a flakier texture and airier mouthfeel.
4 Tips on Making Stollen
Here are a few tips to follow to ensure your stollen will turn out the best that it can.
- 1. Thoroughly drain your fruits. While marinated fruit adds a pleasantly sweet layer of flavor to this festive bread, failing to thoroughly drain the fruit of the liquid before adding it to the other ingredients can result in a sticky, overly-moist dough that is hard to work with.
- 2. Play around with ingredients. This versatile fruit and nut bread can be made with a wide variety of spreads and fillings. Experiment with different types of nuts (like walnuts, almonds, and cashews), dried fruits (like cranberries, currants, and cherries), and fruit peels (like candied lemon peel) in your fruit and nut mixture, or add a layer of marzipan, almond paste, or cinnamon-butter to the center of your stollen loaf.
- 3. Use a thermometer. To ensure your stollen is cooked all the way through, stick a food thermometer through the thickest part of the dough when you think your bread is reading doneness. Once the internal temperature of your stollen has reached 190 degrees Fahrenheit, you can remove it from the oven.
- 4. Store your stollen properly. Stollen’s moisture-locking outer sugar layer means that this seasonal bread can be kept fresh for up to 2 weeks at room temperature. To store, allow the stollen to cool completely before wrapping the loaf in both airtight plastic wrap and foil.
Stollen Recipe
makes
1 large stollen loafprep time
3 hrtotal time
3 hr 35 mincook time
35 minIngredients
For the fruit:
For the dough:
For the glaze:
- 1
Combine the raisins, candied fruit, candied orange peel, and rum in a medium bowl, and stir to integrate. Cover the bowl and set the fruit aside to soak.
- 2
In a small mixing bowl or measuring cup, combine the yeast, milk, and ¼ cup of warm water, and stir to combine. Set the yeast mixture aside in a warm place until it becomes frothy, about 15-–20 minutes.
- 3
Just before making the dough, drain the fruit mixture to discard the liquid.
- 4
Add the flour, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, sugar, butter, egg, vanilla extract, lemon zest, almonds, and drained fruit to a large mixing bowl. Pour the yeast mixture over the other ingredients, and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is just combined.
- 5
Using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, beat the ingredients on medium-low speed until the dough has formed, about 6–7 minutes.
- 6
Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- 7
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, and turn to coat it completely with the oil.
- 8
Cover the dough bowl with a towel and place it in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.
- 9
After the first rise, turn the dough onto a floured surface. Roll the dough out into a large oval, measuring about 5- x 13-inches.
- 10
Transfer the dough to a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover the loaf loosely with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 45 minutes.
- 11
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 12
Bake the stollen until the outside is golden brown and the bread is cooked through, about 30–40 minutes.
- 13
Remove the bread from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes on the baking sheet.
- 14
Brush the bread with the melted butter. Dust the loaf all over with the powdered sugar, using a rubber spatula or your hands to work the sugar into the crevices. Transfer the stollen to a wire rack to cool.
- 15
Let the bread cool completely before serving with an additional dusting of powdered sugar.
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