Christmas Stollen
Prep
90 min
Bake
50 min
Total time
2 hr 20 min
Hydration
55%
Traditional German Christmas stollen made with 100% freshly milled hard white wheat: a rich rum-soaked fruit and almond-laced loaf folded over a marzipan core, baked, then drowned in butter and powdered sugar.
Key Takeaways
- Soak fruit in rum overnight for proper stollen flavor.
- Marzipan log goes inside, off-center, with one fold over.
- Drown the hot loaf in butter, then powdered sugar — that thick coating is the seal that lets stollen keep for weeks.
- Rest 5–7 days before slicing for the flavors to fully meld.
- Keeps wrapped at cool room temperature for 4+ weeks.
About this recipe
Stollen is one of the great Christmas breads — a German tradition dating to at least the 14th century. The loaf is dense, buttery, soaked with rum-plumped fruit, wrapped around a log of marzipan, and finished with a thick coating of butter and powdered sugar that protects it for weeks of holiday slicing. This is the project bake of the season. Plan to make it 5–7 days before you want to serve it: stollen genuinely improves with rest. The flavors meld, the butter coating sets, and the crumb develops the slightly drier, denser character that defines the bread. Fresh milled hard white wheat gives the dough wholesomeness without overpowering the rich fillings. Soak the fruit in dark rum overnight — the alcohol mostly evaporates during baking but the flavor stays.
Ingredients
- Fruit (soak overnight): raisins150 g
- Fruit: currants100 g
- Fruit: dried cranberries or sour cherries80 g
- Fruit: candied citrus peel100 g
- Fruit: dark rum80 g
- Dough: freshly milled hard white wheat flour500 g
- Dough: whole milk (warm)200 g
- Dough: instant yeast8 g
- Dough: sugar60 g
- Dough: eggs2 large
- Dough: softened butter180 g
- Dough: fine sea salt8 g
- Dough: zest of 1 lemon
- Dough: cardamom + nutmeg + mace combined5 g
- Sliced almonds100 g
- Marzipan (rolled into 2 logs)200 g
- Finish: melted butter120 g
- Finish: powdered sugar150 g
Instructions
- 1
The night before: soak all fruit in rum, covered, at room temperature.
- 2
Whisk warm milk, yeast, sugar, and eggs in a large bowl.
- 3
Add flour, salt, lemon zest, and spices. Mix shaggy.
- 4
Knead 5 minutes. Add butter a tablespoon at a time, kneading until each is absorbed.
- 5
Knead 8 more minutes — dough will be soft and rich.
- 6
Drain fruit (reserve rum) and fold in along with almonds. Knead just to distribute.
- 7
Bulk ferment 2 hours until risen 60%.
- 8
Divide dough in half. Roll each half into an oval about 10x6 inches.
- 9
Press a marzipan log down one side of each oval.
- 10
Fold the longer side over the marzipan, leaving the other edge exposed — classic stollen shape.
- 11
Transfer to a parchment-lined sheet pan.
- 12
Proof 60–80 minutes covered.
- 13
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- 14
Bake 45–55 minutes until golden and internal temperature reads 200°F (93°C).
- 15
While hot, brush all over with melted butter — repeat 3 times for maximum coverage.
- 16
Roll thoroughly in powdered sugar until coated thickly.
- 17
Wrap in parchment then foil. Rest at cool room temperature 5–7 days before slicing.
fresh milled baking basics — hydration, gluten development, and grain choice tips that make this recipe work.
Learn about this grain: Hard White Wheat guide — flavor, milling notes, baking tips, and four in-depth guides on hydration, storage, and common mistakes. Or browse more Hard White Wheat recipes.
Learn a technique
All guides →- Bulk Fermentation with Fresh-Milled FlourFresh-milled flour ferments faster than commercial flour. Watch the dough, not the clock, and end bulk fermentation when volume has grown 50–75%.
- How To Build Gluten With Fresh Milled FlourGluten development in fresh-milled flour is a different craft than in commercial white flour. White-flour doughs love aggressive kneading, slap-and-folds, and stand mixers on high — the smooth endosperm forms long uninterrupted gluten strands quickly. Fresh-milled flour cannot work that way because the bran physically interrupts every gluten strand it touches. The bakers who get gorgeous open crumb out of fresh flour all do the same thing: hydrate fully, rest patiently, fold gently, and choose the right grain. This guide walks through the science and the technique.
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