If you are looking to bake something extra special for your guests, co-workers, neighbors or who am I kidding … yourself this holiday season, this old fashioned Christmas stollen should be at the tippy top of your list.
Not only does this recipe make 4 modest sized loaves, it is packed full of glorious dried fruits and tastes so satisfying and winterlike, I’m confident it will become one of your most requested holiday time treats.
While I think this old fashioned Christmas stollen is pretty easy to make, if you’ve never dabbled in bread baking before, check out my post on bread baking tips and tricks to help set you up for success.
I have three tips for making this recipe:
- Read the directions carefully before starting.
- Measure your ingredients with a scale.
- Use high quality dried fruit.
That neon candied fruit you see for sale in tubs at the grocery stores this time of year? Leave it there! 😉 Buy the good stuff! You’ll be so glad you did.
I’ve made this old fashioned Christmas stollen many times and it has always been a hit with everyone I have shared it with.
It’s perfect for breakfast or with your afternoon cuppa.
Make this recipe!!! You’ll be so glad you did.
Happy baking,
~Mavis
Old Fashioned Christmas Stollen – Step By Step Tutorial
Ingredients
Filling
100 grams dried candied orange peel, chopped100 grams dried pitted dates, chopped
100 grams dried craisins, chopped
100 grams dried cherries, chopped
Juice of 1 large orange
Zest of 1 large orange
Dough {Step 1}
180 grams warm milk
15 grams of active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
150 grams all purpose flour
Dough {Step 2}
3 large egg yolks
60 grams sugar
50 grams almond flour
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon dried ginger
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
425-450 grams all purpose flour
250 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
Glaze
50 grams unsalted butter, melted
50 grams powdered sugar
Instructions
Preparing the FIlling
Making stollen is a 2 day process. Please read the directions carefully to familiarize yourself with the process before starting.
In a medium sized bowl, mix together the chopped dried candied orange peel, dates, craisins and cherries and soak in warm water for 15 minutes. Drain water from fruit and pat the fruit dry.
Place the fruit back in the bowl and add orange juice and zest. Mix the mixture and cover with Saran wrap or a towel and let sit overnight in the refrigerator.
Dough {Step 1}
In a large bowl, add the warm milk, active dried yeast, sugar and flour. Stir gently until combined. Cover and let sit for 30-45 minutes until the dough has some nice bubbles in it and has risen a bit.
Dough {Step 2}
Once the dough has risen, add the egg yolks, sugar and cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt to the dough and gently stir until combined.
Add the almond flour and gently stir it in until combined.
Add the flour {the dough will become stiff but make sure the flour is mixed in before the next step} kneading by hand 4-5 minutes or with a stand mixer and dough hook.
Next slowly work in the butter until everything is combined.
Cover and put the bowl in a warm place to let the dough rise {about 45-60 minutes depending on the warmth of your kitchen}.
Once the dough has risen, push the dough down again, form into a ball and let the dough rise again {about 45-60 minutes depending on the warmth of your kitchen}.
Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a very lightly floured surface and gently fold in the fruit mixture.
Shape the dough into a rectangle and divide the dough into 4 equal parts and shape into loaves.
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Transfer the dough onto lined baking sheets. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
Bake stollen for about 60 minutes making sure to rotate the pan halfway through the baking time.
Cool baking sheets on a wire rack.
After the stollen has rested for 15-20 minutes, brush the loaves with melted butter {making sure to use all of it!} and sprinkle them with powdered sugar.
Wrap stollen and enjoy fresh within 2-3 days or wrap and pop them in the freezer to pull out later.
Bonnie in GA says
Stollen sounds like a very tasty bread. I looked up the history on it just now. I haven’t ever heard of it before. The site I saw said that the first recipe was from the year 1329 Germany. Awesome!
Dee says
although it is not uncommon to butter a slice of stollen before eating it, it is more a cake than a bread. you would usually eat it for “Kaffee und Kuchen”, the german version of tea-time. Depending on the region and the person it is served with tea (usually black) or coffee
BTW the Stollen with marzipan in the middle is the best version in my opinion
Laurie Lasala-Tuttle says
I’d like to make this stollen Mavis, it looks delicious! Do you buy the dried fruits separately at a store, or online as a packaged combination? Thanks, Laurie
Linda says
Fruit–so where do you buy the ‘good stuff?’
Practical Parsimony
Kristi says
I want to know where she recommends to buy the “good stuff” also!