German Stollen have been around for nearly 700 years and are prized throughout the world as one of the most famous and beloved of all Christmas pastries. Your search for the BEST authentic German Stollen recipe has ended: Flaky, moist, and divinely flavorful, these homemade German Christmas Stollen are INCREDIBLE!
For more traditional German Christmas recipes be sure to also try our Pfeffernüsse, Lebkuchen, Springerle, Vanillekipferl and Zimtsterne!
Sweet cakes and breads studded with candied fruits and nuts are hallmarks of Christmas baking in many areas of the world. Examples include fruitcake which is traditional throughout the English speaking nations, panettone in Italy, keks in Poland, julekake in Norway, bolo-rei in Portugal and birnenbrot in Switzerland. But perhaps none are revered as highly throughout the world as German Stollen.
I grew up in southern Germany and celebrating the Christmas season without homemade Stollen was simply unthinkable.
What is Stollen?
Christmas stollen, known in Germany as Christstollen, is a yeast bread that is baked with dried fruits, candied citrus peel, nuts and spices. Variations include Mandelstollen (almond), Mohnstollen (poppy seed), Quarkstollen (quark), Nuss-Stollen (nuts), Butterstollen (high butter content), Dresdner Stollen and Marzipanstollen.
Stollen are famously dusted with a thick coat of powdered sugar, reminiscent of the snowy German landscape, and baked with spices conveying the warmth of the Christmas season.
© shutterstock
Where Did Stollen Originate?
The first and most famous variety of stollen is the Dresdner Christstollen. Some historians date its origin back to 1329 and over the centuries the stollen was refined to become what it is today. And it has come a long way indeed because up until 1650 the stollen was a bland, hard pastry as the use of butter and milk was forbidden during Lent by the Catholic church. It was in this year that Prince Ernst von Sachsen, at the request of the bakers of Dresden, petitioned the pope to lift the butter ban. The request was denied and then, five popes later, the ban was finally lifted in 1490 via the pope’s famous Butterbrief, “butter letter.”
From that point the stollen gradually developed into an enjoyable sweet bread incorporating additional ingredients and it become an important symbol of the region. King August II in 1730 commissioned the bakers of Dresden to bake a gigantic stollen in celebration of the strength of the Saxon military, an event to which he invited the dignitaries of Europe in the hope of building allies. The stollen weighed 1.8 tons (that’s 3600 pounds!), was 27 feet long and 18 feet wide and a special oven was designed and built just for this purpose. It took a convoy of eight horses to transport the stollen to the king’s table and a 26 pound and 5 1/4 foot-long knife was used to cut it.
Germany’s first Christmas market was held in Dresden in 1434. This market, the Dresdner Striezelmarkt, continues to be held every year. Also held annually on the Saturday prior to the 2nd Advent is the Dresdner Stollenfest featuring Germany’s largest Christstollen. So far 2013 holds the record for the largest Stollen weighing nearly 9400 pounds! Each year a horse-drawn carriage parades the giant stollen through the streets and on to the Christmas market. Per tradition, a replica of the original 5-foot long knife is used to slice the stollen. The mayor of the city tastes the first piece and the stollen is then cut into thousands of pieces that are sold with the proceeds going to charity.
© Lianem | Dreamstime
The Symbolism Behind Stollen
The word “stollen” refers to a post or boundary stone for a city. It is also thought it could refer to the entrance of a mine shaft. Some historians believe that the stollen’s characteristic shape was molded after the shape of a mine tunnel, reflective of the silver and tin mining industries of the time. But there is also religious symbolism behind the stollen with the loaf, or bread, being symbolic of the body of Christ. Specifically, being dusted with powdered sugar, it is symbolic of the baby Jesus in swaddling clothes. Thus it is traditionally called Christstollen, or Christ Stollen.
How to Make Stollen
I’m sharing with you my recipe for Stollen which is thoroughly authentic in its method and ingredients. It features dried fruits, candied lemon peel, nuts and marzipan (which you can omit if you choose). I LOVE the addition of marzipan and it’s one of the most popular varieties of Stollen. Don’t worry about having to go out and buy some, it is unbelievably quick and easy to make your own (seriously, it takes about 5 minutes). Check out our recipe for Easy Homemade Marzipan!
A Word About Store-Bought Candied Citrus Peel (do you hate it as much as I do?)
I have to tell you, I absolutely detest store-bought candied citrus peel. And most people I speak to feel the same. It has a bizarre chemical flavor no matter the brand. For that reason I’ve never been a fan of fruitcakes in general. BUT using your own homemade candied citrus peel is a 100% deal changer.
While you can use store-bought candied citrus peel if you insist, I VERY, VERY STRONGLY recommend making your own. Please, trust me on this: Using homemade candied citrus peel is the difference between night and day when it comes to flavor! It is vastly superior in every way and will make your Stollen taste incredible! And the good news is it can be made far, far in advance. In fact, I freeze mine so it lasts basically forever and I take out what I need as needed. Check out our recipe for Candied Orange Peel!
For anyone who may be feeling a little intimidated at the thought of making Stollen, don’t be. If you can make a cake or a loaf of bread, you can make Stollen. But while it’s easy to make, it’s not quick to make. There’s a waiting game involved both during the baking process and the aging process. In the baking process the Stollen dough has to rise a couple of times just like in making yeast bread. Then it has to bake for a while. And then there’s the waiting process. Typically the Stollen is tightly wrapped and kept in a cool place to age for 2-3 weeks before eating. This allows the liquid from the rum-soaked dried fruits to soak into the bread creating both flavor and moistness.
NOW, while letting Stollen age will allow the flavors to fully penetrate the bread, our Stollen is absolutely AMAZING straight out of the oven! So the question of to wait or not to wait we’ll leave up to you.
Fun trivia: Fruitcakes that contain a lot of alcohol can remain edible for years. Yes, years. For example, the Antarctic Heritage Trust discovered a 106-year-old fruitcake last year and after sampling it (the brave souls) they said it was not only in “excellent condition” for its age but was even “almost” edible! Another fruitcake baked in 1878 in Michigan was kept as a family heirloom and sampled for the first time in 2003 by Jay Leno on The Tonight Show. It’s amazing what an incredible preservative alcohol is. So in other words, as long as you keep your Stollen tightly wrapped and in a cool place, letting it age for 2 weeks is, like, nothing.
Lastly, if you’ve never been a huge fan of store-bought Stollen you’re not alone. I’ve never cared for them either. But homemade…that’s an entirely different story.
Your search for the best Stollen recipe has ended: Flaky, moist, and divinely flavorful, these homemade German Christmas Stollen are INCREDIBLE!
Authentic German Stollen Recipe
Let’s get started!
Place the raisins, candied citrus peel and almonds in a medium bowl and pour the rum over it. Stir to combine. Set aside and let the fruit mixture soak in the rum while the dough rises.
Stir the yeast and 2 tablespoons of the sugar into the lukewarm milk and let sit in a warm place for 10-15 minutes until very frothy.
Place the flour, remaining sugar, egg, egg yolks, butter, vanilla extract, lemon zest, salt, cardamom, mace and cinnamon in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the yeast/milk mixture.
Use a spoon to stir the mixture until it comes together. Knead the dough on the bread setting and once the dough comes together continue to knead for 7 minutes.
Remove the dough ball, lightly spray the bowl with a little oil, return the dough ball, cover loosely with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place or lightly warmed oven (just barely warm), to rise until nearly doubled in size, at least 1 hour.
Punch down the dough and add the soaked fruit/nut mixture to the dough (it should have absorbed all the rum by now but if there is excess liquid, pour it out before adding the mixture to the dough).
Using the dough hook, knead the fruit/nut mixture into the dough until combined. If the dough is too wet to handle, add a little bit of flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface.
Cut the dough in two equal halves. Press or roll each piece into an oval to about 1 inch thickness. Roll each piece of marzipan into a log the length of the oval. Press the marzipan gently into the middle of the dough.
Fold the left side of the dough over to cover the marzipan, then fold right side over on top of the left side so that the edge of it sits just left of the middle of the stollen. In other words, don’t fold the right side all the way over to the left edge of the stollen.
Pinch and tuck the top and bottom ends of the stollen to cover the marzipan.
Use the bottom edge of your hand to press down along the length of the stollen towards the right of the center to create a divot and characteristic hump.
Place the stollen on a lined baking sheet. Cover the stollen loosely with plastic wrap and let them rest in a warm place or lightly warmed oven for 40-60 minutes until puffy.
At this point you can pick off any raisins that are sticking out of the dough (they will burn during baking).
Towards the end of the last rise, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and bake the stollen for 30-40 minutes or until golden. You can use an instant read thermometer to aim for an internal temperature of 190 degrees F.
Let them sit for 5 minutes, then use a toothpick to poke holes all over the stollen. This will allow the melted butter to seep in.
Generously brush the stollen with the melted butter while the stollen are still warm.
Immediately sprinkle with a generous amount of powdered sugar, rubbing it into the creases and down the sides. Let the stollen cool completely.
The stollen can be sliced and eaten now or wrapped tightly (I like to wrap in plastic wrap then foil) and left to “ripen” in a cool place for 2 weeks. The liquid from the dried fruits will further penetrate the dough for more flavor and moisture.
Stollen can also be frozen for longer storage.
For eating, I like to warm the slices up for a few seconds in the microwave, it makes the crumb nice and soft.
Slice and enjoy!
For more traditional German Christmas goodies try our:
- Pfeffernüsse
- Lebkuchen
- Springerle
- Gugelhupf
- Printen
- Speculoos
- Vanillekipferl
- Zimtsterne
- Kokosmakronen
- Magenbrot
- Bethmännchen
- Heidesand
- German Rum Balls
BEST Authentic Stollen (German Christmas Bread)
Ingredients
- For the Dough:
- 1 cup lukewarm whole milk
- 3 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 4 cups all-purpose flour ***NOTE: Amount will vary depending on how much liquid is in your fruit/nut mixture. Be sure to drain any excess liquid. Add more flour as needed if dough is too wet.
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks) , at room temperature so it's very soft
- 2 teaspoons quality pure vanilla extract
- zest of one lemon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 3/4 teaspoon ground mace (recommended but can substitute nutmeg)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 8 ounces Homemade Marzipan/Almond Paste , divided in half (you can omit the marzipan if you prefer)
- or store-bought marzipan/almond paste
- For the Fruits & Nuts:
- 9 ounces raisins
- 3 ounces candied lemon peel , finely diced
- 3 ounces candied orange peel , finely diced
- Homemade Candied Citrus Peel Recipe (we VERY STRONGLY recommend using homemade, it makes ALL the difference!)
- 3 ounces blanched slivered or sliced almonds , finely chopped
- 1/3 cup quality dark rum
- For the Glaze & Dusting:
- 1 stick unsalted butter , melted
- powdered sugar for generous dusting
Instructions
- Place the raisins, candied citrus peel and almonds in a medium bowl and pour the rum over it. Stir to combine. Set aside and let the fruit mixture soak in the rum while the dough rises.
- Stir the yeast and 2 tablespoons of the sugar into the lukewarm milk and let sit in a warm place for 10-15 minutes until very frothy.
- Place the flour, remaining sugar, egg, egg yolks, butter, vanilla extract, lemon zest, salt, cardamom, mace and cinnamon in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the yeast/milk mixture. Use a spoon to stir the mixture until it comes together. Knead the dough on the bread setting for 7-8 minutes. Remove the dough ball, lightly spray the bowl with a little oil, return the dough ball, cover loosely with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place or lightly warmed oven (just barely warm), to rise until nearly doubled in size, at least 1 hour (likely closer to 2 hours depending on the temperature of the environment).
- Punch down the dough and add the soaked fruit/nut mixture to the dough (it should have absorbed all the rum by now but if there is excess liquid, pour it out before adding the mixture to the dough). Using the dough hook, knead the fruit/nut mixture into the dough until combined. If the dough is too wet to handle, add a little bit of flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and cut it in two equal halves. Press or roll each piece into an oval to about 1 inch thickness. Roll each piece of marzipan into a log the length of the oval. Press the marzipan gently into the middle of the dough. Fold the left side of the dough over to cover the marzipan, then fold right side over on top of the left side so that the edge of it sits just left of the middle of the stollen (see pics). In other words, don't fold the right side all the way over to the left edge of the stollen. Pinch and tuck the top and bottom ends of the stollen to cover the marzipan. Use the bottom edge of your hand to press down along the length of the stollen towards the right of the center to create a divot and characteristic hump (see pics). Place the stollen on a lined baking sheet. Cover the stollen loosely with plastic wrap and let them rest in a warm place or lightly warmed oven for 40-60 minutes until puffy. At that point you can pick off any raisins that are sticking out of the dough (they will burn during baking).
- Towards the end of the last rise, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and bake the stollen for 30-40 minutes or until golden. You can use an instant read thermometer to aim for an internal temperature of 190 degrees F. Let the Stollen sit for 5 minutes, then use a toothpick to poke holes all over the stollen (this will allow the butter to seep in), then generously brush the stollen with the melted butter while the stollen are still warm. Immediately sprinkle with a generous amount of powdered sugar, rubbing it into the creases and down the sides. Let the stollen cool completely. You may want to give it another dusting of powdered sugar once cooled.
- The stollen can be sliced and eaten now or wrapped tightly (wrap in plastic wrap then foil) and left to "ripen" in a cool place for 2 weeks. The liquid from the dried fruits will further penetrate the dough for more flavor and moisture. Stollen can also be frozen for longer storage.
- Makes 2 large or 3 medium Stollen.For eating, I like to warm the slices up for a few seconds in the microwave, it makes the crumb nice and soft.
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet November 20, 2018
Michelle says
Hi! This recipe is absolutely delicious and the flavour is perfectly authentic. My only comment is that the baking time is too short. Mine came out undercooked and I needed to put them back in the oven… 50 mins at least from my experience.
A real winner of a recipe!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, thanks so much, Michelle! The baking time is an approximation, it depends on how puffy the dough got during the rise. The best way to gauge doneness is definitely the instant read thermometer.
Emerald Clark says
Hi Kimberly!
I am so excited to make your recipe it looks/sounds amazing! Every Christmas my family eats stollen and this year I thought I would make it! I was wondering what would be the best substitute for the rum? Could you use rum extract? Would it still be able to age for 2-3 weeks or can you only do that with alcohol? Can you taste any alcohol in the end product?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s awesome, Emerald, your family is going to LOVE this! With extract you’d be using vastly less so you won’t get the alcohol content in there to act as a preservative during the aging process. So I recommend actual rum. Alternatively you can omit it (use something like orange or apple juice to soak the fruit) and just make it closer to the time you’re going to eat it. This may be sacrilege to say but I almost prefer the Stollen straight out of the oven than a week or two later ;)
Alicja says
Hi, I don’t have a mixer with a dough hook – how long would I need to knead it by hand? Is it pretty much like kneading regular bread?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Alicja, yes, knead it like you would bread dough.
Jocelyn says
I just made this and I have to say it was so delicious! I have used another recipe and that was fine. But this was better. The bread was so moist and light. And I loved the addition of the rum soaked fruit. I even made my on marzipan. Wow was that good! Thank you for the recipe.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s wonderful, Jocelyn, thank you so much!
Sue says
I have just found your recipe and will be making them tomorrow but can I use brandy? I will be making them in my Kitchen Aid machine.thank you and will let you know how they turn out 🙏sue
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Sue, yes you can use brandy. Happy baking and I look forward to hearing what you think!
Anonymous says
Thank you for your prompt reply,please could you give me the measurements of the cups in once’s or grams.
Best wishes sue
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Sue, under the list of ingredients in the recipe box you’ll see in blue print “US customary – metric”. Just click on “metric” and it will do the conversions for you.
Anonymous says
I’ve used another recipe as I didn’t know how much to gage with the cup measurements but I used your method,they look gorgeous and I will have a sample with a cup of tea very soon,happy weekend to you,sue
Aleksandra says
Hi everyone, Kathleen this is so much lovelier than Entemenns. It’s a fantastic recipe Kimberly. The butter to flour to almond ratio is spot on! Anyone not liking store bought candied peels I totally agree. Homemade, you can taste the fruit and smell it’s fragrant oils. And there’s no weird squishy wax taste like store bought. Ditto marzipan. Happy baking!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much, Aleksandra, I really appreciate the feedback!
Amber Murray says
Thank you so much for this recipe! Stollen is my mother’s favorite but she always orders a stale lackluster one for Christmas. This year I’m going to surprise her with homemade. I made it today and they came out perfect and made the whole house smell amazing. Thanks for making our Christmas so much more special.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s really neat, Amber, what a wonderful thing to surprise your mother with! You’ll have to let us know what she thinks when she tries it :)
Eric says
I’ve tried several Stollen that I have not liked, but I still wanted to give making my own a try…and I love it. Did my own Marzipan and candied citrus, and it was all simple and delicious.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Eric, thanks so much!
Jennifer Hall says
I have never liked the stollen bread made with store bought candied fruit. This was my first time making bread of any kind and first time making marzipan and candied fruit peels. Let me just say, Wow! It was so good! I doubled the recipe to share with friends and family and am so happy I did. This is my new favorite recipe and I’m looking forward to making more to share.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
YES!!! That’s so fantastic, Jennifer, thanks so much for letting us know!!
Char says
Hi there! This recipe looks wonderful. I haven’t made stollen in a few years and lost my old pastry school recipe! I don’t remember making it with the rum. Is there any substitute? Can I add the fruits to the dough without soaking them in any liquid?let me know. I’m dying to make this and have it ready before Christmas. Thanks!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Char, soaking the fruits in rum is traditional for three reasons – it plumps them up/softens them, adds flavor, and the alcohol helps act as preservative to extend the Stollen’s “shelf life.” If you plan on eating it within a few days of making it and don’t want any trace of rum flavor then you can omit the rum and substitute something like orange or apple juice. If you’re not concerned about plumping up/softening the fruits then you can omit the liquid entirely.
Darlene says
Absolutely delicious!!! LOVE the homemade almond paste, great recipe and
easy if you have experience baking.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much, Darlene, I’m thrilled you enjoyed it!
Ana says
Hello! I badly wanted to make this for our Christmas dessert, except I don’t have the rum, can I leave it out or can I substitute it with any alcoholic drinks. Thanks
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Ana, soaking the fruits in rum (or you can also use brandy) is traditional for three reasons – it plumps them up/softens them, adds flavor, and the alcohol helps act as preservative to extend the Stollen’s “shelf life.” If you plan on eating it within a few days of making it and don’t want any trace of rum flavor then you can omit the rum and substitute something like orange or apple juice. If you don’t have rum or brandy and you’re not concerned about plumping up/softening the fruits or then you can omit the liquid entirely.
Melissa Coelho says
Really looking forward to making this recipe, thanks for sharing it. My husband is allergic to most nuts- can the almonds be omitted without too deleterious an effect? Do you think pistachios would be alright as a substitution? He’s not allergic to those for some reason. Any advice appreciated. Thanks!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Melissa, yes you can pistachios. And you can simply omit the marzipan. Happy baking!
SUZANNE says
Hi Kimberly, I have just finished reading your Stollen recipe and think I will give it a whirl this year. I have been making Stollen every year at Christmas since the mid 1980’s. I had found a recipe in a gourmet cooking magazine, don’t remember which one and I no longer subscribe to any cooking magazines. My recipe is quite different in that it uses a whole ground up orange and lemon.(I always scrub these well and remove any white membrane inside these fruits. It also uses candied cherries as well as candied lemon and orange, plus the raisins and pecans. My family has always loved this stollen, especially my daughter and she always asks around Dec. 1st if I’m going to make stollen again this year. I don’t know what she will do this year as she now lives in another state.
Anyway, Your recipe sound intriguing and I’m going to make it instead of my own recipe. I also think I will make my own candied orange and lemon peel with your recipe. Will let you know how it turns out and how we like it. Love following you when you send out new recipes. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOURS.!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Suzanne, feel free to incorporate any of your own additions, there’s plenty of wiggle room here. YES, you will be very glad you made your own candied lemon and orange peel. Merry Christmas to you and yours also! :)
Aishe says
Awesome recipe! Thanks a lot for sharing it, everyone in my family loved it! Could you please tell me how to form the stollen if I don’t want to use a marzipan filling?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Aishe, thank you! It’s formed exactly the same way with overlapping the sides to create the characteristic shape, just pretend the marzipan isn’t there :)
Chris Ehmett says
I’m finding that the dough is too liquidy after neading in mixer before rising, any advice?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
If it’s too wet just add a little extra flour.