Christmas Stollen is a German holiday sweet bread made with eggs, milk, and butter. It is studded with nuts and candied fruit and then wonderfully coated with powdered sugar. Often it is filled and baked with a rope of marzipan in the center. This is the traditional Christmas bread whose shape is said to represent the swaddled Christ child.
I make a slightly lighter version of Christmas Stollen with a Midwestern twist that is seriously just as awesome as the traditional German Stollen but not quite as dense. I find commercial candied fruits to be way too sweet for my taste. I swap out the standard candied fruits and raisins and use a more regional blend of dried fruits and nuts such as cherries, locally produced cranberries and currents.
Jump to RecipeStollen Filling Ideas
- Dried Cranberries (Craisins)
- Dried Currents
- Dried Cherries
- Dried Blueberries
- Raisins
- Almonds
- Hickory or Hazelnuts
- Homemade Candied Citrus Peel
Homemade Candied Citrus Peel
Homemade candied citrus peels are a great and decorative replacement for those artificially colored candied cherries you get in the plastic containers in the grocery store. I have a great appreciation for the thrifty use of citrus peels. Rather than tossing them out, there are many uses for orange and lemon peels and this is one of them. They are easy to candy yourself, and it is a great way to eliminate food waste. There are many recipes for how to candy citrus peels. Here’s a great recipe for homemade candied citrus peels on the Daring Gourmet website.
Often Christmas Stollen is made weeks in advance to allow brandy or rum-soaked dried fruits and raisins to permeate the bread and take on more of a fruitcake and spicy flavor. I prefer a less strong version of this holiday bread. Instead of making weeks in advance, I make this bread on Christmas eve, let it rise overnight and bake it fresh on Christmas morning. The eggs and the butter add a richness to the bread and keep it moist, but by substituting locally produced fruits for the booze-soaked raisins and sweet candied cherries it has a much lighter regional twist.
Making Stollen is relatively easy, especially if you have a good mixer with a dough hook to streamline the process. And even if you don’t, making it by hand is also easy if you are not intimidated by kneading. If you have ever made bread in the past, making Stollen is no more difficult or complicated.
Making Stollen
When I am making this for Christmas morning, I usually make the dough in the early evening after cleaning up from Christmas Eve dinner. It will require about a 1 to 1-1/2 hour first rise, and then a second overnight rise after forming the loaves. This gives me time to grab a glass of wine, enjoy the fire in the fireplace, and set out stockings for Christmas morning. The dough takes about 15-20 minutes to put together before letting it rise, so it’s really no big deal to prepare this – and SO worth it in the morning!
Make the Dough
Start by popping a saucepan on the stove and scalding a cup of milk. Once it comes to a boil, take it off the fire and allow it to cool as you prepare the dried fruits. Rough-chop any large pieces of dried fruits, such as cherries and the candied citrus peel. The dried fruits should be soaked to bring back their moisture content, otherwise, they become chewy in the baking process. I am not fond of the strong taste of alcohol for soaking dried fruits, as I typically serve this for breakfast. As an alternative, I soak the dried fruits in orange juice. Simply pour the juice over the fruits and set aside. Do not include the citrus peels.
When the milk has cooled to lukewarm pour it into a measuring cup. Add the yeast and stir to dissolve. Set this aside to proof (about 10 minutes).
Put the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl and add the eggs. Pour the yeast mixture over the top and mix using a dough hook until well combined. Add softened butter to the dough in small pieces as the dough is mixing. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and form a ball. Cover this with plastic wrap and let this rise until doubled in size. This will take an hour to 90 minutes.
Knead in Dried Fruits and Nuts and Shape Loaves
Once risen, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and press into a flat rectangle. Drain any remaining soaking liquid from the dried fruits. Add these along with nuts and candied citrus peel to the top of the dough. Roll the dough up to contain the fruits. Knead until fully incorporated, adding more flour if the dough is becoming sticky and wet.
Once kneaded, divide the dough into two. Shape these into loaves in a way you prefer. I like to braid my loaves. Traditionally, and when using a filling such as marzipan, loaves are made by flattening out to an oval shape and folding one side over the other, pinching the ends closed.
Rising and Baking
Let loaves rise on a greased baking sheet until doubled in size. I cover the loaves with lightly oiled plastic wrap and a damp towel and let rise overnight.
In the morning I preheat the oven to 350F, then bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown or until the temperature of the bread is 190F using an instant-read thermometer. Cool bread for 10 minutes, then brush the entire loaf with butter and sprinkle all sides with powdered or super-fine sugar. Decorate the top with any remaining citrus peel, sliced almonds, and fruit.
Place the Christmas Stollen on a decorative serving tray, and add to a breakfast assortment of fresh-cut fruits, juices, coffee, and tea. Christmas morning Stollen is a great way to enjoy Christmas morning with a small amount of prep that is large on presentation AND simply delicious.
Christmas Stollen
Equipment
- Electric Mixer with Dough Hook
- 2 Baking Sheets
Ingredients
- 1 cup Whole Milk
- 2 Eggs
- 2 1/2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
- 4 cups Bread Flour
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 1 1/4 tsp Salt
- 3/4 tsp Ground Cardamom
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 6 Tbsp Butter
- 1/2 cup Candied Citrus Peel Homemade
- 1 cup Dried Cherries, Craisons, Currents
- 1/4 cup Sliced Almonds Optional
- 1/3 cup Orange Juice
- 1 Stick Melted Butter (unsalted)
- 2 Cup Powdered Sugar
Instructions
- Scald milk in small pan and let cool to lukewarm. Add yeast to milk and let proof until bubbling (about 10-15 minutes). Meanwhile chop dried cherries into smaller pieces and add with remaining fruit to a bowl. Cover with orange juice to soak.
- Whisk together Flour, Cardamom, Cinnamon and Salt. Add to bowl of mixer. Add the Milk and Yeast mixture along with Eggs and Sugar. Using a dough hook mix the dough on medium speed until completely combined. Add softened butter in pieces and continue to knead with the mixer until it forms a ball. Dough should be soft and pliable. Cover and let rise for 1 to 1-1/2 hour, or doubled in size.
- Remove risen dough from bowl onto a floured surface. Flatten into dough out onto counter. Drain any remaining liquid from the dried fruit soaked in orange juice, and add to the top of the dough along with the candied citrus peel.. Roll the fruit into the dough and knead by hand until well combined. If dough becomes sticky, dust it with more flour and continue to knead until a soft dough forms. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and form into 2 loaves. Place each loaf onto a baking sheet and cover with plastic to let rise in a warm dry place. This can take 2 hours, or up to 8 hours overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350F and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes. Brush loaves with melted butter on all sides, and coat with powdered sugar. Decorate with additional candied citrus peel and sliced almonds.