Christmas Stollen Recipe
Christmas Stollen Recipe – Weihnachtsstollen
The Christmas Stollen Recipe is made with fruit and marzipan. The Stollen is traditionally offered during Christmas time in Germany. A Christmas Stollen is called Weihnachtsstollen in Germany.
The Stollen tastes best if it has time to age, meaning if you want to have the Stollen ready by Christmas, you should try to make it about four weeks before Christmas. To store the Stollen, simply wrap it in aluminum foil and keep it in your pantry.
What do I need before starting?
To bake a Stollen, you can either form it in a loaf-like shape or use a baking ring or a special baking pan called Stollen-Backhaube. If you can not find the Stollen form, you can as an alternative, also use a loaf baking pan.
NOTE: If you are going to use a loaf pan or Stollen-Backhaube, make sure to place the pans with the open end onto the baking sheet (upside-down).
Ingredients for Christmas Stollen Recipe:
- 400 g (14 oz) of all-purpose flour
- 2 pouches of dry yeast, rapid rise
- 125 ml (4.22 oz) of milk, lukewarm
- 200 g (7 oz) of butter, melted
- 100 g (3.5 oz) of sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 egg XL
- 100 g (3.5 oz) of marzipan
- 250 g (9 oz) of raisins
- 50 g (1.75 oz) of diced lemon peel candied
- 50 g (1.75 oz) of diced orange peel candied
- 3 to 4 tablespoons of rum
- 100 g (3.5 oz) of blanched chopped almonds
Ingredients for topping:
- 50 g (1.75 oz) of melted butter
- 50 g (1.75 oz) of powdered sugar
Preparation of the Christmas Stollen:
Mix raisins, lemon peel, and orange peel. Let it soak in rum overnight.
With a spoon, mix sifted flour with sugar, salt, and yeast. Add the egg, melted butter (melt in microwave for about 50 sec) and lukewarm milk (warm in microwave for about 20 sec). Mix it all together and start kneading with your hands until the dough is smooth. Cover with a towel and let the dough rise for about one hour.
Add the marzipan (or substitute with almond paste), soaked fruit, and almonds to the dough and knead again. Let it rise for another hour.
NOTE: It is very important to give the dough enough time to rise, because with all the ingredients it becomes very heavy.
Knead your dough again and either form a loaf or use one of the alternatives described above. If your dough is still sticky, powder your hands with flour to form the loaf. Cover a baking sheet covered with 2 to 3 layers of baking paper (parchment paper) before you place the Stollen on it.
Preheat your oven to about 160°C (325°F). Place the Stollen on the rack just above the middle one. Bake for about 60-70 minutes.
NOTE: If you have the dough in a Stollen baking pan or in a loaf pan, make sure to take the pan off the Stollen after about 45 minutes baking time. You should have the pan placed up-side down in the oven.
When you have finished baking the Christmas Stollen, brush the loaf while it is warm with 50 g (1.75 oz) of melted butter. Sift the powdered sugar over the Stollen immediately when you have finished the brushing. Let it cool down. Then wrap the Stollen in aluminium foil and store it in your pantry for about 4 weeks. If you want to have a Stollen for Christmas, you should make it around Thanksgiving time. You can also try to make Oma’s Marzipan Stollen.
Find more recipes in “Christmas Baking with Oma“. Available in English and German.