Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread

My suggestion for this year is this stollen recipe - a traditional German sweet bread, full of dried fruit, nuts and rum! Another advantage beside its special taste is that it can be and it has to be prepared 2-4 weeks before Christmas. A perfect aroma and taste require a period of maturation. We couldn't rezist and we tasted one of them the very first day ... it was "Wow!"

After the maturation period, the stollen becomes a bit denser with a softer gingerbread-like texture and the fruit, the rum and the nuts flavours all blend together wonderfully. As a Christmas gift, you can give a slice of Stollen, nicely wrapped in paper, it certainly will be much appreciated. We already did this and the stollen as a Christmas gift was greatly enjoyed. (See the presentation picture, I simply wrapped it in parchment paper and tied it with a string.) 

Also, you can add marzipan in the middle, see how I quickly make it at home in the steps below. The sweet bread with the marzipan surprise is so interesting, special and liked even more.

Ingredients
Raisins
300 g
Rum
100 ml
and when I say rum, I mean the alcohol, not the rum extract!
Almonds
200 g
Dried fruits
300 g
I combined cranberries with dried apricots, for some more interesting colours
Milk
300 ml
Sugar
200 g
Bakers yeast
50 g
or 20g dried yeast
Egg
3 pieces
White flour
900 g
Butter
450 g
Vanilla Extract
2 tbsp
Ginger
2 tsp
dried ginger, powder
Powdered sugar
200 g
from which, 150g for the marzipan, optional
Almond flour
150 g
optional, for the marzipan
Egg whites
1 piece
optional, for the marzipan
Lemon juice
1 tbsp
optional, for the marzipan
Step by step
Step 1

Wash 300g raisins thoroughly under hot water, drain and let dry on some paper towel. 

Then transfer to a bowl, pour over 100ml rum, mix.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 1
Step 2

Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and set aside to allow it to plump up for at least 5 hours up to a week.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 2
Step 3

When the raisins have plumped up, we start to make the stollen.

Prepare the first phase of the dough - in a bowl, combine 300ml warm milk, 1 tbsp sugar, 50g fresh yeast and 200g flour. Combine with a whisk and set aside for 15-20 minutes to allow it to rise.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 3
Step 4

After that, in a very big bowl, mix together 3 eggs, 200g sugar, vanilla extract and the dough we've just prepared.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 4
Step 5

Stir in 500g flour as well.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 5
Step 6

Mix to combine, using a wooden spoon or a spatula - allow it to rise for another 30 minutes, this will be the second phase of the dough.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 6
Step 7

After this time, add in 350g softened butter and another 200g flour.

Knead with your hands to combine, in the bowl at first.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 7
Step 8

Later, to be able to work it easier, you can turn dough onto the table and continue to knead - notice it's a soft and sticky dough at first. Do NOT add more flour, we don't want the stollens to be too hard.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 8
Step 9

After kneading for 5 minutes, dough won't stick to your hands anymore and it becomes more uniform. It may still sticks to the table, use a knife to be more efficient.

All this procedure involving the kneading can be a lot simpler and more effective in the food processor, using a dough hook. So if you have it and you know how to use it, it's really worth it!

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 9
Step 10

Return dough to the bowl and allow it to rise for 1 hour at room temperature.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 10
Step 11

While dough is rising, optionally, you can prepare the marzipan filling for the stollen:

- spoon 150g almond flour and 150g confectioners' sugar into a bowl, add 1 raw egg white and 1 tbsp lemon juice.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 11
Step 12

- mix to combine, using your hands and roll it into a homemade marzipan log - easy to shape and not sticky. You can divide it into 2-3 pieces, depending on how many stollens you are making.

Set aside for a while until we finish working the dough.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 12
Step 13

Now that the dough has risen, add in the dried fruit with the rum from steps 1-2, 200g roughly chopped almonds, 2 tsp dried ginger and 300g of other dried fruit (I cut the dried apricots into smaller bits).

Knead to incorporate all these goodies into the dough.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 13
Step 14

Then turn dough onto the floured table and divide it into 3-4 equal parts. I made 3 stollens and they were rather big, so 4 not so big stollens would seem like a good idea.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 14
Step 15

Now take each piece of dough, lightly flour the table and use the rolling pin to roll out a 1cm thick oval.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 15
Step 16

Fold the long side over the other, without overlapping them perfectly, leave a bit of space from the edge.

And this is it, you've shaped a stollen! It's a lot easier than other sweet bread recipes.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 16
Step 17

For the marzipan version, you can place in the middle a marzipan log, which we prepared in the steps above, and overlap the sides in the same way.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 17
Step 18

Shape the first 2 stollens and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Let rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 18
Step 19

Right before baking the 2 stollens, shape the other piece of dough. 

This is to help you organize the timing better, especially when you have to bake more.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 19
Step 20

Bake the stollens for 40-45 minutes to 180 degrees C, until nice golden.

Right after removing from the oven, brush the stollens on all sides with plenty of melted butter or even clarified butter (ghee), to keep better and safer for 2-4 weeks.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 20
Step 21

Don't forget to brush the base with butter as well.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 21
Step 22

Dust with a lot of confectioners' sugar, this will also help preserving the stollens and won't allow them to mold during the maturation period.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 22
Step 23

This is what my stollens look like, baked, brushed with clarified butter and dusted with confectioners' sugar. Let stand on the table for 8-10 hours, until completely cool.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 23
Step 24

Then wrap each one in parchment paper and maturate in a darker spot at room temperature. I placed them on a platter in the closet and after 2 weeks I moved them to a cooler place - the balcony, for extra safety.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 24
Step 25

We couldn't resist and we had to taste one stollen the very first day, after it cooled down a bit.

It still was delicious, soft and flavourful.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 25
Step 26

This is what the stollen looks like after 2 weeks, notice the protective butter and powdered sugar layer. Its texture is a bit denser and the fruit and rum flavours a bit more interesting.

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 26
Step 27

Here is the presentation photo showing a slice of stollen wrapped in parchment paper, tied with a string. It's a lovely present and it will surely be appreciated.

Enjoy!

Stollen, Traditional German Sweet Bread - Step 27
Quantity: 3 pcs ()
Prep time:
120 min
Difficulty: intermediate
Ready in: 240 min