German Stollen (Weihnachtsstollen or Christstollen)
If made several weeks in advance it allows it to mellow and soften into a glorious fruit bread.
Servings
2 loaves
Servings
2 loaves
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Marinate raisins, candied fruit & almonds in rum overnight, Stirring occasionally.
  2. Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup lukewarm water with 1 tsp sugar. Set aside for 5 minutes.
  3. In a large bowl, sift 2 cups of the flour. Stir in yeast mixture & lukewarm milk. Cover with plastic wrap & let stand in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Punch down dough firmly & work in beaten eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, lemon zest, vanilla & pieces of softened butter.
  4. Sift remaining 3 cups of flour with salt, nutmeg & cardamom & work in 2 cups to form a soft dough. Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead in remaining cup of flour mixture to form a smooth and satiny dough without any stickiness. Work in fruit & nut mixture.
  5. Divide dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, pat or roll each portion into an oval shape about 12 x 8 inches (30 x 20 cm) & 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick. Brush each piece with melted butter & fold the dough over lengthwise, almost in half.
  6. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly press edges together to seal (brush tops with a beaten egg if you wish). Bake 35-40 minutes or until golden. Cover with foil if loaves are browning to fast. Brush warm loaves with melted butter & dust thickly with powdered sugar. Cool on a rack. When completely cool, wrap tightly in foil & keep in a cool place for 2-3 weeks to ripen.
Recipe Notes
  • You can customize your filling ingredients any way you like. For example,  use dried cranberries or cherries instead of raisins — candied citrus peel or candied ginger instead of citron peel — your favorite dried fruit instead of apricots. You can even use sweet poppy seed paste or marzipan to fill your stollen — your choice!
  • Stollen freezes well so it can be made weeks in advance of Christmas.