Stollen (German Fruit Bread)! Stollen is typically eaten during the Christmas season and is one of the most famous and beloved Christmas foods. You will mostly find them on supermarket shelves around the Christmas season but we can bake them at home all around the year.
For some years now, for me, baking Stollen has become an annual tradition during the Christmas season. Here you will find an easy-to-follow recipe with step-by-step pictures, helpful info, tips plus vedio that will help you make ‘Stollen’ in an easy way at home.
What is Stollen?
Stollen is one of the German Christmas classics, a buttery, sweet fruit bread that is usually spiced, lemon-flavored, and enriched with various dried fruits, and nuts. The marzipan rope in the middle is optional.
Stollen is like regular sweetened fruit bread. However, the finished bread is traditionally slathered with melted butter and then dusted generously with powdered sugar making them taste better and so special.
Steps to Make Stollen
You can make it in 6 easy steps.
- Prepare the fruit mixture
- Make the dough
- First proof
- Shaping
- Second proof
- Baking
Ingredients for Making Stollen
You will find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post but here’s a quick peek at what you’ll need.
For the Dough
- Bread flour
- Instant yeast or active dry yeast
- Sugar
- Salt
- Milk
- Unsalted butter
Fruit, Nuts, and Spices
- Raisins, currents, sultanas, dried cherries, or cranberries
- Candied lemon peel or orange peel
- Spices (cinnamon, cardamom, clove, or nutmeg)
- Nuts (almonds or walnuts)
For Serving
- Unsalted butter
- Powdered sugar
Preparing the Fruit Mixture
Raisins, sultanas, and currants are typically used for making authentic Stollen but you can use whatever dry fruit is available. You can also add chopped candied peel (orange, lemon).
Before you start, prepare your dried fruits. Rinse them with hot water and then dry them with a paper towel. Place in a small bowl with chopped candied peel and pour the rum over it. Stir to combine. Soak the dry fruits in rum the day before for more flavor. You can store this mixture in your fridge, it will keep for a long time.
The weight of dry fruits may vary according to the moisture content and you don’t need to be strict on the measurements. I recommend you use the total weight of dry fruits between 100 g – 200 g.
More Recipes Made with Dry Fruits
Kneading Part
How do you knead the dough? by hand, with a mixer or bread machine?
You can mix and knead the ingredients in whatever way convenient for you— by hand, mixer, or bread machine — until you’ve made a soft, smooth dough.
I usually use my bread machine to make the dough because ‘Bread Machines’ are so convenient. You just put everything right in, push go, and it does all the work for you! The mixing, the kneading, the rising, and the baking…yes, everything! However, for the “baking” part, I prefer baking my bread in the oven for the best results.
Serving Suggestions
Stollen is traditionally made ahead of time and allowed to age a few weeks. But it’s also delicious straight out of the oven. Just slice your Stollen in slices and eat plain or with more butter while warm with a cup of tea or coffee. You can also toast the slices for a crispier version. Fruit bread also makes a fantastic bread pudding base and French toast.
Storing Suggestions
You can also wrap your Stollen tightly (in plastic and then foil) and leave it to ripen in a cool place or in the fridge for a few days for more flavor and moisture. It can also be frozen for longer storage. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then loaded into a freezer-safe plastic bag.
I bought an authentic stollen on my trip to Germany, a few years back!
Useful tips
- I used instant yeast for a quick rise. If you use a different kind of yeast, please read the instructions on the package and use it accordingly.
- You can add spices like cinnamon, cardamom, clove, or nutmeg. If you don’t want to add any spices you can skip adding them or you can add only those spices that you love.
- If you don’t want to add any nuts you can skip adding them. But Stollen is usually made with almonds in it.
- If the dough is too wet to handle, add a little bit of flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- You can make one big-size loave or cut the dough into two and make two small-size loaves.
- If your fruit mixture is a bit wet you can sprinkle on some flour before adding it to the dough.
- Make sure the bread is fully risen before it goes into the oven.
- Before bake, make sure to pick off any raisins that are sticking out of the dough as they will burn during baking.
- When baking, keep a close eye on your stollen, if the browning process goes too quickly cover the top with aluminum foil.
- Leave the stollen to cool on a rack for about 5 minutes then brush it with melted butter. When it is completely cooled you can dust it with icing sugar.
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Watch the Video
Stollen (German Fruit Bread)
Step-by-Step Recipe
Check out the printable recipe at the end of the post
Prep Time 30 mins
Resting Time 3 hours
Cook Time 40 mins
Yield one big loave or two small loaves
Ingredients
For the Fruit Mixture
- 100 g dried fruits, any combination
- 30 g candied peel, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp rum
For the Dough
- 300 g bread flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 50 g sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 5 g instant yeast
- 200 ml whole milk, lukewarm
- 50 g unsalted butter, softened
- 50 g nuts, chopped
- Prepared fruit mixture without liquid
To Serve
- 30 g unsalted butter, melted, for brushing
- 30 g icing sugar, for dusting
Note: Please note that the amount of liquid may vary depending on the type of flour you use, so you may need less or more.
Instructions
Place the dried fruits and candied peel in a bowl. Pour the rum and stir to combine. Let the fruit mixture soak in the rum overnight. If there is excess liquid, remove it before adding the mixture to the dough.
Combine all the dough ingredients (except the fruit, candied peel, and nuts if using), and mix and knead them together — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — until you’ve made a smooth and elastic dough. Now add the softened butter and continue kneading until the butter is completely incorporated and the dough is smooth, shiny, and elastic
Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until nearly doubled.
Once doubled in size, remove the dough to a lightly floured surface and punch down. I divided the dough into two equal parts. If you like to make one big bread you don’t need to divide the dough. (The baking time for large bread will be slightly longer, so adjust the time as needed)
Flatten the dough on a lightly floured surface.
Sprinkle the soaked fruit/candied peel, and nuts over the surface. If there is excess liquid, remove it before adding the fruit mixture to the dough.
Knead until the fruit is incorporated into the dough. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover and leave to rest for about 10 minutes.
Flatten the dough out on a baking sheet to an oval. At this point, place the stollen on the baking sheet that is also going into the oven. This will help you to shape the dough and handle it the easy way.
Fold half of the dough over the other half but the top half should not completely overlap the one under. (as shown in the picture below)
When we fold the dough one over the other, the top part will stay closed and not completely overlap the one under.
Cover the stollen loosely and leave to rise for 40-60 minutes in a warm place, until risen and doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Remove any raisins that stick out of the dough as they will burn during baking. Bake the stollen for 30-40 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven, and generously brush them with the melted butter while still warm.
When the bread is completely cooled, dust it generously with powdered sugar. if we use powdered sugar when it is warm, it will easily dissolve with the butter.
Slice the Stollen thinly. Serve and Enjoy!
Stollen (German Fruit Bread)
Printable Recipe
Stollen (German Fruit Bread)
Ingredients
Dried fruit, candied fruit & spices
- 100 g dried fruits
- 30 g candied peel finely chopped
- 2 tbsp rum
For the dough
- 300 g strong white flour bread flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 50 g sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 5 g instant yeast
- 200 ml whole milk lukewarm
- 50 g unsalted butter softened
- prepared fruit mixture
- 50 g nuts chopped
To serve
- 30 g unsalted butter melted
- 30 g icing sugar
Instructions
- Place the dried fruits and candied peel in a bowl. Pour the rum and stir to combine. Let the fruit mixture soak in the rum overnight. If there is excess liquid, remove it before adding the mixture to the dough.
- Combine all the dough ingredients (except the fruit, candied peel, and nuts if using), and mix and knead them together — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — until you’ve made a smooth and elastic dough. Now add the softened butter and continue kneading until the butter is completely incorporated and the dough is smooth, shiny, and elastic
- Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until nearly doubled.
- Once doubled in size, remove the dough to a lightly floured surface and punch down. I divided the dough into two equal parts. If you like to make one big bread you don’t need to divide the dough. (The baking duration for large stollen bread will be slightly longer, so adjust the time as needed)
- Flatten the dough on a lightly floured surface.
- Sprinkle the soaked fruit/candied peel, and nuts over the surface. If there is excess liquid, remove it before adding the fruit mixture to the dough.
- Knead until the fruit is incorporated into the dough. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover and leave to rest for about 10 minutes.
- Flatten the dough out on a baking sheet to an oval. At this point, place the stollen on the baking sheet that is also going into the oven. This will help you to shape the dough and handle it the easy way.
- Fold half of the dough over the other half but the top half should not completely overlap the one under. (as shown in the picture below)
- When we fold the dough one over the other, the top part will stay closed and not completely overlap the one under.
- Cover the stollen loosely and leave to rise for 40-60 minutes in a warm place, until risen and doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Remove any raisins that stick out of the dough as they will burn during baking. Bake the stollen for 30-40 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven, and generously brush them with the melted butter while still warm.
- When the bread is completely cooled, dust it generously with powdered sugar. if we use powdered sugar when it is warm, it will easily dissolve with the butter.
- Slice the Stollen thinly. Serve and Enjoy!
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