I can't remember a single year in my childhood without the smell of freshly baked, homemade Christmas stollen in the air ... During the Advent season, Christmas stollen is just as indispensable for me as Christmas cookies, an Advent calendar, a pyramid, an Advent wreath and cozy afternoons with coffee, treats and family in candle lights.
This is the recipe my Mom was taught by her Mom and I learned it from my Mom. It stems from a Dr. Oetker recipe booklet called "Klickglöckchen Heft" from the 70's. For this recipe, I only adjusted the amount of yeast and the proofing times of the dough. If you prolong proofing, the dough is more aromatic and your baked goods are easier on the stomach because of the fermentation process during proofing. Additionally, the Christmas stollen keeps fresh and moist for longer (it doesn't dry out as quickly) if you let it proof for a longer time.
Even if you never tried to make a yeasted dough or you're not having any experience with it, you shouldn't shy away from this recipe. It is very beginner friendly! This recipe rather uses time than warmth to let the dough rise, which makes handling the dough much easier. You don't have to "activate" the yeast, which means making a poolish of warm milk, sugar and yeast. You can easily "kill" your yeast in this step, if the milk was too hot. However, In this recipe, almost all of the ingredients are used (fridge) cold, so you won't run into this problem at all.
My baking schedule mostly looks like this:
Baking schedule:
- in the evening (6 - 8 pm): make the dough, knead and let it proof for 2 hours
- 8 - 10 pm: refridgerate dough overnight
- next day, midmorning: form the stollen, let them proof and bake
I wish you so much fun baking this recipe yourself! Please tell me in the comments how your Christmas stollens turned out and if you like them as much as I do!
Christmas stollen (in the style of Dresden)
Christmas stollen is a classic German yeasted Christmas bake. It can be filled with different ingredients, in this one we use raisins, almonds and citron. What's special about the Christmas stollen in the style of Dresden, is the use of quite a lot of butter. This keeps it fresh and moist for longer. The long overnight proofing also adds to keeping it fresh for longer and makes it easier on the stomach.
Ingredients:
For the dough:
For the filling:
Other ingredients:
How it is done:
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Put the flour in a big mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle and add all of the remaining ingredients for the dough.
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Knead the dough for about 10 minutes. You can also use a kitchen machine for kneading. If you do, start on the lowest setting until the dough has come together, then increase to the medium setting. This dough isn't sticky, though, and can easily be kneaded by hand.
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Next, add all of the filling's ingredients and knead them into your dough until they are well incorporated.
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Now let the dough proof at room temperature (70 - 72 °F, 21 - 22 °C) for 2 hours. Due to the heavy filling (raisins, almonds, citron) you often don't see much of a difference after this step. Please proceed with the recipe anyways and trust the process, even if the dough hasn't doubled in size after this step.
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Now refridgerate the dough (over night) for 12 - 16 hours.
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Take the Christmas stollen dough out fo the fridge and let it come to room temperature for about 30 - 60 minutes.
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Now, shape the stollens. Divide your dough evenly into two pieces and knead them well, again. Then, shape each into a "loaf" and roll out about 1/3 of the long side of the stollen (not all the way to the edge). Then brush this area with 2 x 10 g of melted butter and flip the remaining stollen over (I advice you to watch the video for this step).
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Put both of your shaped stollens on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and let them proof for another 30 minutes covered with a linen sheet* ( see remarks) or a clean kitchen towel at room temperature. Meanwhile, preheat your oven at 350 °F (180 °C), top and bottom heat.
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Then put the Christmas stollens in the oven on the middle rack and bake them for 80 - 85 minutes or until the temperature measured inside the stollens reaches 195°F (91 °C). Keep an eye on them and cover them with aluminum foil when they got a nice golden brown color. This was the case for me after about 50 - 60 minutes.
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Take the stollens out of the oven and let them cool down for a few minutes. Then remove any burnt raisins from the top of the stollens and brush them with the remaining melted butter, when they are still warm. Then dust with powdered sugar.
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You're free to dust the Christmas stollens again with powdered sugar after they cooled down and the butter is fully absorbed. Enjoy!
Servings 40
- Amount per Serving
- Calories 183.4kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 8.13g13%
- Potassium 85.05mg3%
- Total Carbohydrate 23.76g8%
- Dietary Fiber 1.22g5%
- Sugars 10.06g
- Protein 3.12g7%
** The daily percentages are based on a 2000 kcal diet. Your daily figures might be higher or lower according to your caloric need.
Remark
The best way to store Christmas stollens is covered in aluminum foil.
Advertisement (Affiliate): I prefer using these linen sheets for baking.