I don't think there was a single year in my childhood when the aroma of freshly baked Christmas stollen didn't fill the air... For me, Christmas stollen is just as essential during Advent as cookies, Advent calendars, pyramids, Advent wreaths, and cozy coffee by candlelight.
My mom learned this recipe from my grandmother, and I learned it from her. It's from a Dr. Oetker recipe booklet called "Klingglöckchen Heft" from the 1970s. I've adjusted the amount of yeast and the dough's rising time. Extending these times makes the dough more aromatic, and the fermentation during the rising process also makes the pastry more digestible. Another advantage is that the longer the dough rests, the longer it stays fresh and moist, meaning it doesn't dry out as quickly.
Even if you've never worked with yeast dough or have no experience with it, this recipe isn't intimidating. Since we prefer to use time rather than heat to let the dough rise, handling the dough is much easier. The yeast doesn't need to be "activated," meaning it needs to be mixed with warm milk and sugar before the main dough. During this step, it's easy for the yeast to "die" if the milk is heated too hot. In this recipe, almost all ingredients are used cold (from the refrigerator), so this shouldn't be a problem.
My baking schedule mostly looks like this:
Baking schedule:
- evening (6 - 8 pm): prepare and knead the dough, let it rise for 2 hours
- 8 - 10 pm: Place the dough in the refrigerator overnight
- The following day, during the morning: shape the Stollen, let it rise and bake it
You can find more recipe inspiration for the Christmas and Advent season on "brutzel, brat & knusper" here.
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!
[trp_language language="de_DE"] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbwUiluVeiU [/trp_language] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obKtHj-494EChristmas 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.
Put the flour in a big mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle and add all of the remaining ingredients for the dough.
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.
Next, add all of the filling's ingredients and knead them into your dough until they are well incorporated.
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.
Now refridgerate the dough (over night) for 12 - 16 hours.
Take the Christmas stollen dough out fo the fridge and let it come to room temperature for about 30 - 60 minutes.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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
** The daily percentages are based on a 2000 kcal diet. Your daily figures might be higher or lower according to your caloric need.
The best way to store Christmas stollens is covered in aluminum foil.
Advertisement (Affiliate): I prefer using these linen sheets for baking.
