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
Frances Bottrell says
Thanks for such a great recipe. I have never made any kind of bread before and I this one came out brilliantly even with substituting the dairy and eggs for vegan alternatives. The milk and butter are an easy swap and I used Moira Wright’s recipe for Soy Cake Yolk to replace the egg. I will be making more to give as gifts. Definitely a keeper. Not so great for the waistline though….can’t stop eating it!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s fantastic, Frances, thanks so much and thanks also for the info on vegan substitutes which I’m sure some of our readers will appreciate!
Dickson King says
I have not baked much, and it only has been cakes. I just sliced into a freshly baked stollen, and “Wow” it is awesome. I did not get the rise that has been depicted …. probably because I was too impatient. We cannot get all purpose flour and an Internet search gave me the right ratio of cake to bread flour. Thanks for this awesome recipe.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Dickson, thank you!
Sheila Goos says
All-purpose flour is just not self-rising or whole wheat. Just plain ‘ole flour. In Germany it is #405. Cake flour has additives not found in plain flour.
Helen Adams says
Hi, just wanted to say thanks for this recipe. I switched out to my own GF flour blend and used hazelnut milk instead of regular. I also used chopped roast hazelnuts instead of the almonds and threw a few cherries in as well. The mixture stayed sloppy but I bake GF a lot so I know this is normal, I just spooned half onto the baking tray, lay my marzipan on top and then spooned on the rest. It came out beautifully, just like the stollen you can buy in Germany. I’m very happy! This is the first time I’ve used your site but I will definitely be back :-)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s fantastic, Helen, I’m so glad you found our site and that your GF version was a success! This will be helpful for our other GF readers to know – thank you!
Kathleen says
Hi there ☺️☺️ I was wondering what GF flour you used? I have to use GF a well and Mine came out really dry, so that when trying to fold it over it just split on the edges lol
I was just curious as you said yours was very wet 😊😊
Thanks
Kathleen
Rebecca says
Hi, how much is a cup? I looked online and different areas have different amounts to their cup measurement. Thanks
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Rebecca, it’s 8 fluid ounces or 250 ml. Under the list of ingredients you’ll see written in blue “US Customary – Metric”. If you click on “metric” it will show you the metric conversions. Happy baking!
Beata says
I don’t seem to be able to find the dry active yeast anywhere :( All of the once in the stores are active. I know that polish shop has fresh yeast I could buy which basically is like a thick paste which is stored in the fridge and it has very short expiry date – would it be suitable? Do you happen to know what amount of it would I need to use?
Beata says
I meant all of the store once are FAST active
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Beata, you have a couple of options. Active dry yeast and fast/instant dry yeast can be used interchangeably, the difference being that active yeast needs to be dissolved in water first before being added to the flour and fast/instant can be added directly to the flour without being dissolved first. If you prefer to use fresh yeast here is the substitution info: To substitute fresh yeast for active dry yeast, use a ratio of roughly 2:1, i.e. use one small cake (0.6 ounce) of compressed fresh yeast in lieu of 1 packet (. 25 ounces) of active dry yeast. Note a packet of active dry or instant yeast contains about 2 1/4 teaspoons (. 25 ounces) of yeast.
Hopefully that helps!
Athena says
Forgot the rating! five stars :)
Athena says
Hi Kimberly! I made this recipe recently. I use to get a stollen sent from Germany by a friend, but I haven’t gotten one in recent years since she moved. I decided to make this stollen with your candied peel. I am not sure if I will make the peel again (it was a lot of work) but I will definitely make your stollen again. It tastes exactly like the ones I had in Germany. The only issue I had was that the stollen opened up too much in baking so I’ll wrap it more tightly next time. I also made this all by hand as I don’t have a mixer. I’m a fairly experienced baker and make bread by hand so it wasn’t an issue to knead. The dough was really sticky the first time and for the second proof. I added more flour which made it a tad on the dry side. I’ll be much more careful about that next time. Thank you!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Athena, I appreciate the feedback and I’m happy you enjoyed it enough to make it again, thank you!
Maire says
Made this & loved it. Homemade almond paste was Delilah but I didn’t read recipe properly & used the whole batch! Was perfect though! Will make homemade peel next time to try that.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Maire, thanks so much!
Deborah says
I’m confused about the candied citrus. If I make it with the recipe you give, do I also need to buy the candied orange and lemon you link to, or is it 6 oz total of candied citrus?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Deborah, it’s 6 oz total. I give the option to use store-bought OR homemade, but strongly recommend homemade.
Cindy says
My German mother-in-law makes Christ bread every year the day after Thanksgiving & lets it sit until they serve it on Christmas Eve. She is older now and is going through some health issues and said she wasn’t up for making it. I had heard how complicated the recipe was…I was always intimidated by making it. To surprise my in-laws I wanted to attempt to make it for Christmas Eve…I followed your recipe & used your candied peels recipe too…and OMG I had never tasted it fresh before and it is sooo good. The recipes are a little time-consuming but not hard. I can’t wait until my hubby tries it. Thank you so much!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad you gave it a go and enjoyed it, Cindy, that’s wonderful! I agree, I LOVE Stollen fresh out of the oven – perhaps even more so than after they’ve sat a while. Thanks so much for the feedback and you’ll have to tell us what your German mother-in-law thinks when she tastes it!
Linda Horinko says
Making stollen has been on my list of things to try for a long time, and I decided this was the year. I made my own candied citrus peel and almond paste and I do think that adds to the excellent flavor. I am more than happy with the two large loaves it produces. I’m keeping 1-1/2 for Christmas and eating the rest now. :-) It is absolutely delicious, and better than any I’ve ever eaten. It’s a time consuming process that begins several days before the actual baking, but it’s worth the effort once a year. Thank you for the recipe that’s a real winner.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m absolutely thrilled to hear that, Linda, thank you! I always make the candied citrus peel and marzipan well in advance (I freeze the candied citrus peel and keep the marzipan refrigerated) – that way those are done, which saves a lot of time when it comes time to making the Stollen. Thanks so much for the feedback!
Natasha Cowan says
Hello! I’ve made this recipe and my boyfriend absolutely loves it, but wondering if I can adapt it to make it vegan for my brother. I’ve used your recipe to make some vegan marzipan, and if I use soy milk and a vegan spread, is there something I can switch the eggs out for in the dough?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Natasha, without actually experimenting with it myself I couldn’t really say what would work best. I don’t know how well it would turn out but I know that flax eggs are a common substitute (just look up “flax eggs” and you’ll see how to do it, it’s very simple).
Natasha Cowan says
Kimberley, thank you for your response! I’m familiar with flax eggs and have used these before. My only hesitation is that they are a substitute for a whole egg rather than an egg yolk as required by the recipe…
Emmi S. says
This recipe looks delicious and I’m planning to try it next weekend! I live at altitude (7,500 feet). Do you, or anyone else reading this, have experience baking this successfully at a high altitude? Are there changes you would suggest I use?
Tori says
I just made this Stollen and it turned out perfectly! Thank you so much for sharing!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s fantastic, Tori, I’m so glad it was a success, thank you!
Rachel C says
Baked this today, a great stollen , thank you! (A German friend also told me the loaf is supposed to resemble a swaddled baby Jesus.)It’s a bit of a protracted process, but a very simple recipe. Wish I’d spotted the metric conversion for UK bakers sooner though as not got the consistency quite right. I’ve used the candied peel recipe previously in bread and butter pudding too-excellent.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Rachel, thanks so much for the feedback! Agreed, I use the candied peel in so many things and love it!