Stollen Recipe

sliced stollen bread on parchment paper.

5 from 1 vote

My stollen recipe makes a wonderfully flavorful, rich German Christmas bread, laden with dried fruits and almonds. This is a truly special festive Holiday treat!

Prep Time4 30

Cook Time40

Total Time5 10

Course: Bread, Dessert

Cuisine: German

Servings: Loaves (20 Servings)

Calories: 339kcal

Author: Natasha Minocha

Ingredients

1 1/4 tbsp Dry active yeast
1/4 cup Warm water (about 40.5 C or 105 F)
5 1/2 cup All-purpose flour
1/4 cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp Nutmeg powder
5 oz Melted butter I used salted butter
1 cup Whole milk
3 Eggs, lightly beaten
4 oz Dried currants (soaked in 1/4 cup rum)
7 oz Golden raisins (soaked in 1/4 cup orange juice)
4 oz Blanched almonds, sliced
4 oz Candied orange peel, chopped You can use store-bought too
2 oz Dried apricots, chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp Melted butter (for brushing on top)

Glaze

3/4 cup Icing sugar
3-4 tbsp Milk

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Whisk together the dry active yeast and warm water. Keep aside until frothy.
Combine all-purpose flour, sugar, cinnamon powder, and nutmeg in a large bowl.
Add the yeast mixture, eggs, milk, and melted butter to the dry ingredients. Mix with a spatula until you get a shaggy dough.
Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes.
Add currants, raisins, chopped apricots, citrus peel, almonds, and lemon zest.
Knead the dough for 10 minutes until all the fruits and nuts are well incorporated.
This dough is a bit heavy to knead, but take your time, it comes together very well and is a beautiful dough.
You can use a stand mixer to knead the dough.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Let it rest in a warm place for 1.5 - 2 hours until the dough has doubled in size.
Punch down the risen dough gently. Transfer to a floured surface and divide the dough into 6 equal-sized pieces.
Roll each dough piece into a 14-15-inch log.
Take 3 logs together. Pinch them at the top and braid them, tucking in the ends under the braid.
Repeat with the other 3 logs.
Transfer the braids to a parchment-lined baking tray. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in size - About 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F.
Bake the breads for 35-40 minutes at 180 c or 350 F or until golden brown.
Brush 2 tbsp of melted butter on the hot breads and let them cool completely.
Whisk together the icing sugar and milk to make a thick, smooth glaze.
Pour this over the cooled stollen breads and serve. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Make sure the water, for dissolving the yeast, is warm. Hot water will kill the yeast and cold water doesn't activate it.
Soak the raisins and dried currants for at least 1 hour before making the dough. It's preferable to soak them overnight.
You can use orange juice in place of rum for soaking the dried currants if you prefer the German fruit bread alcohol-free.
If you want a more traditional look, you can leave out the glaze. Instead, brush the hot loaves with butter and then coat them liberally with powdered sugar.
This stollen recipe is without marzipan. If you like, you can also add store-bought or homemade marzipan in the middle of each roll. You can then shape it into an oval shape as authentic German Christmas stollen.

Nutrition