German Stollen is a traditional yeasted fruitcake served during the holidays. This recipe is tender, delicious, and loaded with rum and raisins!
*Disclaimer - This recipe was originally published in 2010. I'm working hard to update all my older recipes with recipe cards, new photos, and additional recipe information. But, getting to all of them will take time. Please bear with me. In the meantime let me assure you that this recipe is still a winner and one I'm sure you'll be well pleased with when you make it at home.
I've been a proud member of the Daring Bakers challenge group since October of this year (2010).
The first challenge I participated in (October) was making pumpkin doughnuts, the second (November) was an Italian Crostata and now my third, in the month of December 2010, a traditional German Stollen that was chosen as the recipe to challenge AND excite the likes of (let's just call us) "baking enthusiasts".
Being as although I'm still new to this group, I feel I have a long way to go regarding blog postings and having a complete understanding of how and why each month's challenges (recipe selections) are chosen (and by whom).
However, I am more than willing and excited to participate, even if I make a few mistakes along the way.
This recipe was involved, but not nearly as intimidating as I expected. Let's get started...
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Stollen is a bread-like fruitcake made with yeast, water, and flour, and usually with citrus zest added to the dough.
Over the centuries, the cake changed from being a simple, fairly tasteless "bread" to a sweeter cake with richer ingredients.
At first, I was just going to serve it as is with the sanding sugar and bells for decoration:
But then I decided it looked too plain and I dusted my Stollen with the confectioner's sugar. Lots and lots of confectioners sugar.
Don't you think it makes a big difference? I do.
We gave the remainder of our Stollen to our German friend, John. He thoroughly enjoyed it and said it was better than his mom's (not that I believe, him but it was a nice thing to hear).
Storage:
-Stollen freezes beautifully for up to 4 months.
-The baked Stollen stores well for 2 weeks covered in plastic wrap on the counter at room temperature.
-Stollen stores well for 1 month, covered in the fridge.
This Stollen was a nice addition to our German Christmas eve feast and looked very pretty on the table!
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Printable Recipe Card
GERMAN STOLLEN
Ingredients
- ¼ cup lukewarm water 110 degrees
- 2 packages (2¼ teaspoons each package) active dry yeast
- 1 cup milk
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour plus extra for kneading
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 large eggs lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 2 teaspoons lemon extract
- ¾ cup mixed peel (candied citrus peel)
- 1 cup firmly packed raisins
- 3 tablespoons rum
- 12 each red glacé cherries roughly chopped
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 2 tablespoons confectioners sugar optional for dusting
Instructions
- -Soak the raisins in a small bowl with the rum and set aside. *Note: If you don't want to use alcohol, soak your raisins in the lemon extract or fresh lemon juice.
- -Pour ¼ cup warm water into a small bowl, sprinkle with yeast, and stir well to dissolve the yeast. Set aside and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
- -In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup milk and 10 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat until butter is melted. Allow the mixture to cool until until lukewarm; about 5 minutes.
- -In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, orange, and lemon zest.
- -Add the yeast/water, eggs, lukewarm milk/butter to the dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined. This should take about 2 minutes. *Note - The dough should be soft, but not sticky. When the dough comes together, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- -Add the mixed peel, soaked raisins (drained), and the almonds to the dough after it has rested. Hand knead or knead in a stand mixer on low speed to fully incorporate the fruit and peel into the dough. Gently mix in the cherries, being very delicate or the dough will turn red.
- -Sprinkle flour on the counter and begin kneading the dough to distribute the fruit evenly, adding additional flour if needed. The dough should be soft and satiny, tacky but not sticky. Knead for approximately 8 minutes.
- -Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, flipping it over to coat the oil. Cover with plastic wrap.
- -Chill dough overnight in the fridge. The dough will become very firm in the fridge (because of the butter), and it will proof slowly. *Note - The dough can be kept in the fridge up to one week.
How to shape German Stollen:
- -Let the dough rest for 2 hours at room temperature after refrigerating.
- -Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius)
- -Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- -Punch dough down, and roll it into a rectangle approximately 16x24 inches and ¼ inch thick.
- -Starting with the long side, roll up tightly, forming a long, thin cylinder.
- -Transfer the cylinder to a parchment-lined sheet pan, form into a circle and join the ends together pinching with your fingers to make them stick.
- -Using a knife, make cuts along the outside of the circle at 2-inch intervals, cutting ⅔ of the way through the dough.
- -Mist the dough lightly with cooking spray and cover loosely with plastic wrap.
- -Allow the Stollen to proof again for approximately 2 hours at room temperature, or until it is about 1½ times its original size.
- -Bake the Stollen for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, then rotate the pan 180 degrees (for even baking) and continue to bake for an additional 20-25 minutes. The bread will bake to a dark mahogany color, and sound hollow when tapped.
- -Transfer the baked Stollen to a cooling rack and brush the top with melted butter while still hot.
- -When completely cool liberally dust with confectioners sugar. Allow the Stollen to sit out overnight (uncovered) to dry out slightly, German-style. Slice and serve.
- -The Stollen tastes even better a couple of days later and is superb for toasting.
Notes
Nutrition
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Thank you so much for visiting me today in my Kudos Kitchen. I hope you found something you'll love and that you will come back and visit me often. Please know that there is always room for you around my kitchen table!
Until we eat again, I hope you have a delicious day!
Stephanie says
Wow your looks beautiful! I loved my left over stollen as toast too
We also made baked french toast with it. yum yum yum
thedaintyapron says
This was also my 3rd challenge! Your stollen turned out great...I really enjoyed eating mine. Also excited to find out next month's challenge =)
Paula says
Wow! You did a beautiful job on the stollen and I love how you decorated it! I also loved the photo of your gingerbread centerpiece you posted earlier.
Believe John's compliment. Men don't say that anything is better than their mother's unless it really is!