German · Baking · Hard
Stollen
Germany's Christmas bread: rich buttery loaf studded with rum-soaked fruit, citrus peel, and a marzipan heart, buried in powdered sugar.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Stollen, in 5 ideas
- The overnight rum soak is what makes stollen taste like Christmas
- Do not skip the melted butter and sugar coating; it seals in moisture
- Stollen improves over a week as the flavors meld, so bake ahead
- Slice thin; it is rich and a little goes a long way
- Store wrapped tightly at room temperature for up to 2 weeks
What you need
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups mixed raisins, currants, and candied orange peel
- 1/4 cup rum
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup warm milk
- 3 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup soft butter, plus 1/4 cup melted for brushing
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest and 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 7 oz marzipan
- 1 cup powdered sugar for coating
How to make it
Directions
- Soak the dried fruit and peel in rum overnight, or at least 4 hours.
- Dissolve the yeast in warm milk, then mix with the flour, sugar, butter, egg, lemon zest, and salt. Knead 8 minutes until smooth.
- Work in the soaked fruit, cover, and let rise 1 and a half hours.
- Roll the dough into an oval, shape the marzipan into a log, and place it down the center. Fold the dough over to enclose it.
- Let rise 45 minutes more. Bake at 350 F for 45 to 50 minutes until deep golden.
- While hot, brush generously with melted butter and sift over a thick blanket of powdered sugar. Cool, then wrap and rest at least a day before slicing.
Money saver. Make your own candied orange peel when oranges are cheap; store-bought candied peel is pricey and often stale.