This stollen also makes a ‘Perfect Easter’ bread
Klik hier voor de Nederlandse versie
Our Christmas stollen bread recipe is very dear to us. It is not one to impress with an extensive list of ingredients. It is not overstuffed with candied fruits and nuts. No, our stollen is all about flavour and the optimum ratio between filling and crumb and staying true to the taste and traditions we know and love from our childhood. Of course you can add as much succade, chopped cherries, spices and rum as you like, but if you believe in ‘less is more’ you will not regret giving this stollen a chance. For us, baking stollen is part of our perfect Christmas.
In Holland people eat a lot of stollen (known as ‘Kerstbrood’ or ‘Kerststol’) during the festive season. After the holidays most of us can’t stand the look of it at least til Easter, when the same type of bread is offered again as Easter bread (‘Paasbrood’).
The secret to a good Stollen: the best ingredients for fragrant soft bread, the best home made almond paste and the right bread to filling ratio!
There are a few ingredients from the list, the sweetener and the almond paste, that are best made in advance. You can make them many weeks before baking day and they will not deteriorate.
Ingredients for Stollen
Makes 1 stollen of about 800 g
250 g all purpose flour (we use French type 55)
135 g lukewarm milk*
7 g instant yeast or 21 g fresh yeast
5.5 g salt
1 egg yolk
40 g butter, softened
15 g ‘sweetener'(orange and lemon zest sugar)
180 g dried fruits equal parts, raisins, currants, cranberries, soaked and dried
150 g almond paste combined with 1/2 a small egg or one egg yolk (see recipe here)
melted butter for brushing
icing sugar for dusting
*Please note that the amount of liquid may vary. Depending on the type and brand of flour you use, you may need less or more.
Before you start
Prepare your dried fruits by soaking them in hot water for 15 minutes (if you want you can also soak them in water with added rum or other liqueur of choice). Rinse them and leave in a sieve above a bowl to let excess water drip off. Set aside.
You need to prepare a mixture we call ‘sweetener’ which gives the dough it’s distinctive and pleasant taste. For this you mix 45 grams of sugar with the zest of 1 unwaxed lemon and one unwaxed orange. You can store this mixture in your fridge, it will keep for a long time.
Prepare your almond paste (find almond paste recipe here) by combining it with half a small beaten egg until completely absorbed, add the egg in stages until you get the right consistency. You can also add only the egg yolk if you want to make it even richer. The almond paste should be lovely smooth and supple, not too wet not too dry. Of course this is a matter of preference. It’s a bit sticky, but this ‘kneading the egg through the almond paste’ job is best done by hand. We like it smooth enough to reach a consistency that allows for the almond paste to be smeared on the bread itself after baking. Set aside.
Making the stollen
In a bowl combine half the flour (125 g), all the yeast, the egg yolk and lukewarm milk. Mix well with a dough whisk, cover and let stand for 30 minutes. Then add the remaining ingredients (except for the dried fruits!) and knead for 5 to 7 minutes with a standing mixer or about 10 to 14 minutes by hand. The aim is to get a smooth, supple and satiny, ever so slightly sticky, dough with good gluten development.
Now add the prepared dried fruits (if you want you can also add other stuff like nuts and candied peel at this stage) and carefully work it through your dough so it’s evenly distributed. If your fruit mixture is a bit wet you can sprinkle on some flour before adding it to the dough.
The ideal temperature of your dough should be around 25 ºC / 77 ºF (see our article on dough temperature)
Form the dough into a ball, place in a greased bowl, cover and let it rest for 20 minutes in a warm, draft-free environment. We use our small household oven as a proofing cabinet by preheating it to 30 ºC / 86 ºF, turning it off before putting the dough in.
Flatten the ball into a disc, roll into the shape of a loaf, cover and let it rest again for 20 minutes in a warm, draft-free environment.
Now flatten the loaf with a rolling pin, making sure to leave the edges a little thicker and also leave the top half of the dough a little thicker than the bottom half. Make a sausage shape out of the almond paste, just a tiny bit shorter than the length of the bread and place it in the middle. Fold the dough in half, making sure the thicker edges land against each other, the top edge lands more on the thinner center section. Now press the dough between the bump of the almond paste sausage and the thicker outer edge down firmly. At this point it is wise to place the stollen on the baking sheet that is also going into the oven, so you don’t have to move or touch the stollen anymore.
Preheat oven to 190 ºC / 375 ºF
Now it is time for the final proofing. Depending on the temperature of your dough and surroundings, this should take at least 40 minutes to 1 hour. Make sure the bread is fully risen before it goes into the oven. When you think it has risen enough, use your finger to carefully make a very small dent in the dough. If the dent remains and you feel no resistance at all anymore, the bread is ready to bake, if the indentation disappears, the dough needs more time. With this type of bread, we dare you to take it as far as possible with this final proofing, so the bread will be light and fluffy!
Bake the stollen in the preheated oven for 35 minutes until golden brown. Keep a close eye on your stollen, if the browning process goes too quickly you can temper your oven to 160ºC / 320ºF, about 20 minutes into the baking process and/or protect it with some aluminum foil. Leave the stollen to cool on a rack for 10 minutes then brush it with some melted butter. Alternatively you can lacquer it with warm apricot jam. When it is completely cooled you can dust it with icing sugar. We like to eat our stollen with fresh dairy butter.
Alternatively you can brush the stollen with an egg mixed with a tablespoon of water and decorate with almond shavings before it goes into the oven. Watch closely again, so the almonds will not burn. Cover the top with aluminum foil when you think they have the right color.
Happy baking and merry Christmas!
PS: Baking to impress? Bake a big stollen by doubling the ingredients. Of course you also have to adjust your baking time. A big stollen will take 45 to 48 minutes to be ready to wow your family and friends! But be sure it fits in your oven. It can be up to 50cm wide!
Nicole G says
I made this. It was nice, but mine wasn’t quite as light and fluffy as yours.
I also overbaked it a little. I really didn’t want it to be underbaked so I pushed it a little far. Next time I’ll double tray it in my oven. Thanks for the recipe.
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Nicole,
We would advice to make notes of what went well and what to adjust next time. To get to that fluffy stage, you really need to make sure the dough is well risen when you take the stollen to the oven. A warm draft free place is what you need to create. Years ago I made a very good stollen by letting it proof on the floor with underfloor heating. I did not have anything else at the moment I could use at that time, because the oven was already in use. But a slightly preheated oven (then turned off of course) that has a nice warm ‘climate’ is a very good place for proofing.
Hope you will make it again and it will only get better as you make it your own!
Have a wonderful 2024
Dorcas Walters says
Do you think I could make this gluten free by using a gf flour blend?
Weekend Bakers says
Sorry, Dorcas, we do not have much experience with gluten free baking. So we hope you can give it a try anyway and let us know how it goes.
Hope it will be a success and delicious too!
Josie Laarveld says
I’m place of grams can you give the ingredients in spoon measurements?
Thank you
.
Weekend Bakers says
Here is the conversion for you:
250 g all purpose flour (we use French type 55) / 2 cups
135 g lukewarm milk* / 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon
7 g instant yeast or 21 g fresh yeast / 2 teaspoons plus 1/4 teaspoon instant or 3 x that amount fresh yeast
5.5 g salt / approx 1 teaspoon
1 egg yolk
40 g butter, softened / 2 tablespoons plus 2 (heaped) teaspoons
15 g ‘sweetener'(orange and lemon zest sugar) / 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon
180 g dried fruits equal parts, raisins, currants, cranberries, soaked and dried / this is hard to convert ‘guestimate 2 cups
150 g almond paste combined with 1/2 a small egg or one egg yolk / 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons
Hope this helps you.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday baking!
Al says
Just made 6 mini stollen loaves for neighbors and family gatherings! Turned out beautifully. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Do we need to refrigerate the stollen after baking?
Thank you!
Weekend Bakers says
We would advice to not refrigerate the stollen as bread will go stale the quickest in the fridge. Store it in a bag in an airtight container in your kitchen or if it takes more than 5 days before you eat it, freeze the bread and take it out an hour minimum before use to thaw.
Merry Christmas
Jeri Reno says
Please make the weights into cups
This is my type of stollen,,,not much powdered sugar,please make it possible,jrenopastries@gmail.com
Thanks and have a Merry Christmas and happy new year🙏👍👍👍🎄
Weekend Bakers says
Here is the conversion for you:
250 g all purpose flour (we use French type 55) / 2 cups
135 g lukewarm milk* / 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon
7 g instant yeast or 21 g fresh yeast / 2 teaspoons plus 1/4 teaspoon instant or 3 x that amount fresh yeast
5.5 g salt / approx 1 teaspoon
1 egg yolk
40 g butter, softened / 2 tablespoons plus 2 (heaped) teaspoons
15 g ‘sweetener'(orange and lemon zest sugar) / 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon
180 g dried fruits equal parts, raisins, currants, cranberries, soaked and dried / this is hard to convert ‘guestimate 2 cups
150 g almond paste combined with 1/2 a small egg or one egg yolk / 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons
Hope this helps you.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday baking!
MteBoekhorst says
What for pan do you use for the stollen.
Merry Christmas.
Weekend Bakers says
The stollen is placed on an oven tray lined with some grease proof baking paper or a baking sheet.
Enjoy your stollen baking!
Brigid says
There’s a missing comma which makes the instructions a bit confusing:
“roll into the shape of a loaf cover and let it rest ”
You need a comma between “loaf” and “cover”.
I was trying to guess what is the shape of a”loaf cover”!
Weekend Bakers says
Thank you 🙂
Comma added.
Titta Okkonen says
Hi there 👋
Thank you for your recipe. It sounds and looks very delicious. We love all kind of buns here. I think that I bake this, because you don’t overstuffed it. This is just like a Christmas fruit cake, ingredients must be used moderation.
Have a nice autumn and Christmas Season when time comes and greeting from Finland 💖
Titta
Farah says
Dear Sir/Madam
Hello
Thanks for your exact recipe.It was
amazing.I would like to know what flour I can use instead 55 flour please.With regards Farah
Diane says
I love the detail of your directions! I made these as a young girl with my mother and sisters each holiday season, and we drove to friends’ homes to give as gifts.
nici nieuwland says
Hi there. I live in NE Victoria in Australia. Moved here from Holland in 1980. Was really pleased to find your recipes and am very successful baking and making them…including amandelspijs. Thank you so very much for your effort in sharing. I absolutely get that you want to concentrate on your family rather than answering emails. All good…just grateful😊. Have a beautiful xmass. Hug from Australia Nicole Marie
Mary Shannon says
Can you covert it to American measurements for us? I am a lazy old woman.
I am making this bread! Looks fantastic!
Christine A Whitelonis says
If you have an electronic kitchen scale it probably has a switch to metric system on it. I’m lazy too which is why I went to metric weights years ago, much easier than volume measuring.
J says
Someone actually asked this question below, at least assuming you meant imperial:
“250 g all purpose flour – 0.55 pound
135 g lukewarm milk* -4.76 ounces
7 g instant yeast or 21 g fresh yeast – 0.25 ounce / 0.74 ounce
5.5 g salt – One teaspoon or 0.2 ounce
1 egg yolk
40 g butter, softened – 1.4 ounce
15 g ‘sweetener'(orange and lemon zest sugar) – 0.5 ounce
180 g dried fruits equal parts, raisins, currants, cranberries -0.4 pound
150 g almond paste – 0.33 pound
Hope this is what you are after. We have a handy multi converter that converts weights from grams to pounds and ounces, plus other handy conversions for baking, like yeast and temperature, should you need it:
www.weekendbakery.com/cooki…nversions/”
Agree with Christine in every other aspect.
Lesley Hofmann says
You have done it again – thank you SO much! I attempted this recipe when we lived in South Africa, but could not get the recommended flour. (My oven probably wasn’t the best also.) Now we are living in Bavaria, so I could source everything. It turned out a tremendous success the first time around. Once again, thank you for all you do and for your clear instructions and passion for baking!
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Lesley,
What a change it must be from SA to Bavaria! So glad that baking-wise all is going so well, also with this recipe.
Enjoy the baking and the upcoming season as much as possible and stay happy and safe.
Greetings from your neighbors in Holland 🙂
Marieke
Carolyn says
I have made this several times as a Kerstbrood and will be making it today for a Paasbrood. I also passed it on to my father in Texas who has taken up bread baking during the quarantine. Hartelijk bedankt!
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Carolyn,
Thank you so much, we love how the recipe ‘travels’ the world.
And again so wonderful to hear people taking up baking, something that hopefully brings them and the people around them much joy and many tasty breads and pastries.
Stay safe and enjoy your Easter weekend and bread!
Groetjes,
Ed & Marieke
LizGrieve says
Hello I have made your stollen recipe with yeast for many years and the cranberry rondos too Now I want to try your recipe with a levain just wondering if you ever tried it with a levain
Thanks Liz
Weekend Bakers says
Thank you Liz, for liking our recipes for all these years. We have never made a stollen with levain we must say. If we would try it, we would make a hybrid version with a small amount of yeast in the final dough and a levain with 100 grams of the flour the night before. We do not really like the sour taste in this type of bread and also the type of crust it would produce when using only sourdough. So, sorry we cannot help you with a ready made recipe for this one. We can offer you an alternative recipe that works really well as a sourdough version and is also delicious. Maybe you can use it as a base to make your own version of this loaf:
www.weekendbakery.com/posts…etzenbrot/
Enjoy your holiday baking and thanks again!
Ed & Marieke
Erik says
I made a couple of stollen using this recipe but used levain / sourdough and no yeast at all. The result was great! No sour flavour, quite the oppositie. Probably because the dough has sugar in it. Very thin and soft crust, just how it should be. You would not be able to tell it was made with sourdough. Starter 10% of the flour weight and 12 hours proofing outside the fridge right after adding the raisins.
Marie-Lise says
My kerstol is in the oven – the first of the festive season!
Weekend Bakers says
Wonderful Marie-Lise, you are very wise to start early and do some delicious ‘test runs’ in the weeks up to Christmas 🙂
Enjoy the rest of the festive baking season,
Ed & Marieke
Sunette Barnard says
Why does my marzipan cook out?
Weekend Bakers says
With cook out, do you mean it oozes out of the bread?
Rochelle Castro says
Hi: If I buy the marzipan already prepared, do I need to add the egg yolk as mentioned on the instructions?
Thank you,
Rochelle
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Rochelle,
We would judge how dry the marzipan is. We would think, because we like a smooth and (after baking) lightly moist and spreadable paste, that adding just a bit of egg yolk would be the thing to do. Not adding it however will not spoil the bake in any way.
Hope it will be great!
Helena says
Is it essential to leave the almond paste for a week before using it?
Robert says
Yes, it will develop the flavor for the almond paste.
Weekend Bakers says
Yes, Robert is right, and on top of this, the consistency changes, the ingredients blend / ‘melt’ together after some time. Of course, if pressed for time, you could use it after 1 or 2 days, it will not be as good (knead it well with a good amount of egg if you want to do this) but you will still be able to make a stollen.
Erica Clugston says
What does it mean when someone gives you a Stollen?
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Erica,
There is a lot of history involved in the origins and development of the stollen and the Christmas stollen in particular. The stollen has been a bread with connotations of fertility for many centuries. The history of the Christmas stollen goes back to the 14th and 15th century. We have heard that the way the bread is shaped and filled also can refer to the swaddled baby Jesus and that Christ is seen as ‘the bread of life’. So depending on your believes and knowledge, it can mean different things to different people. Nowadays, in Holland and Germany, the stollen is simply a festive bread, a tradition we all grew up with and which absolutely must be a part of Christmas. I remember, as a child, coming home from night mass on Christmas eve, although it was very late, we all ate a piece of stollen.
May says
Is it possible to translate the recipe to imperial measurements?
Thank you!
Weekend Bakers says
Hello May,
250 g all purpose flour – 0.55 pound
135 g lukewarm milk* -4.76 ounces
7 g instant yeast or 21 g fresh yeast – 0.25 ounce / 0.74 ounce
5.5 g salt – One teaspoon or 0.2 ounce
1 egg yolk
40 g butter, softened – 1.4 ounce
15 g ‘sweetener'(orange and lemon zest sugar) – 0.5 ounce
180 g dried fruits equal parts, raisins, currants, cranberries -0.4 pound
150 g almond paste – 0.33 pound
Hope this is what you are after. We have a handy multi converter that converts weights from grams to pounds and ounces, plus other handy conversions for baking, like yeast and temperature, should you need it:
www.weekendbakery.com/cooki…nversions/
Happy Holiday Baking and an excellent 2019!
Irene says
Hi – would this work if I used bread flour instead of AP flour? I’m aiming for a bread-like/fluffy texture and wondering if the bread flour substitution would do the trick. Many thanks and cant wait to make this for our Christmas table!
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Irene,
As long as it is white bread flour you are using, then it would be alright. There should not be much fiber in the flour to make for a light and fluffy result. You can also add a quart of a 1000mg vitamin C tablet to the flour. Grind it to a fine powder and add this to the dough. This helps to strengthen the gluten and improve the (fluffy) structure.
Enjoy your baking and sharing this Christmas!
Marieke & Ed
Astrid Sweres says
Hello
I made my first ever Kerst Stol from your recipe last week (including the Almond Paste in which I used almond essence rather than vanilla) and it was absolutely lovely! I am now going to make two more for Christmas lunch with the extended family. Thanks so much for the detailed instructions and photographs, it was like baking with a knowledgeable friend.
Happy Christmas to you!
Astrid from Croydon, Victoria, Australia.
Weekend Bakers says
Thank you so much Astrid. I am reading your comment back to Ed and he says ‘Oh that is sooo sweet! 🙂
Enjoy your kerststol with all your loved ones and ‘Lieve groetjes uit Holland aan het verre Australië,
Merry Christmas and Happy baking in 2019!
Ed & Marieke
Christine bialik says
Could you please translate into english weights
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Christine,
We do not understand exactly what you mean by English weights, because we understand the UK uses the metric system, but we do have a handy conversion page that might be helpful:
www.weekendbakery.com/cooki…nversions/
nicole marie nieuwland says
thank you for your great recipes and easy to follow instructions. i make stollen every year and never use the same recipe. yours looks fantastic and it may become my permanent xmas and easter treat. I do make my own almond paste as im not able to get it here. ( i live in a small village at the foot of mount buffalo in north east victoria australia). i got that recipe somewhere but to be honest it never has tasted as lovely as what i remember and it does not look as yummi as yours. So i will make it from here on as your recipe instructs. Its really one of my favourite foods. Ha once dutch…always dutch. im also going to make the gevulde speculaas. Maybe you could post me a recipe for both boterkoek and proper appletaart. although we do not have the nice apples here i still would like to give it a go. I will let you know of my successes. warm regards Nici.
Weekend Bakers says
Hi / Hallo Nicole,
So great to read your comment. Yes, so many ways to make stollen, Dutch, German with all kinds of variation, and of course the ones that have developed from European people who crossed the big oceans and traveled the world.
We sure hope you will like our version. Not as stuffed and compact as some but we do like the more delicate nature and softness of the bread. You know, lots of people eat it with butter and take the almond paste out of the hole and slab that on top of it too. Of course you can always add nuts and fruits and make your own variation.
We do have a appeltaart recipe for you:
www.weekendbakery.com/posts…apple-pie/
No boterkoek recipe from us but if you google Dutch boterkoek you will get lots of recipes. Like this one:
evainthekitchen.com/blog/boterkoek/
You are right, the appeltaart tastes so wonderful because of the ‘Goudreinet’ apples so I hope you can find something similar, maybe a type of Bramley.
Love to hear how it goes. Just let us know if we can help you with anything Dutch recipe related.
Enjoy your Dutch baking and groetjes vanuit Nederland,
Marieke & Ed
Alexandra says
Hiya!
Just a quick question, I don’t usually add the egg when doing a sponge, why do you add the egg at the same time as the milk and not with the rest of the ingredients?
Thanks!
Weekend Bakers says
Hi Alexandra,
A very good question and we have been making this for so long and never really wondered about it. It would be purely practical to beat the egg yolk in with the milk as the liquid part of the ingredients. But we are sure the result will be just as good if you add the yolk with the rest of the ingredients.
Enjoy your seasonal baking!
John says
The best stollen recipe I’ve used yet. I really enjoy the site and use several of the recipes as my standards. Now on to the panettone…
Weekend Bakers says
Hi John,
Thank you so much, so glad it was a success! The panettone is a bit more challenging but so worth it. Hope it will be a triumph 🙂
elizabeth grieve says
Hi I made your stollen last year just wondering if it is possible to bulk ferment the dough in fridge overnight I have already made and enjoyed the cranberry rondos with friends
Look forward to hearing from you Hope you have a very Happy Christmas
Liz
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Elizabeth,
We find it hard to properly answer your question because we do not have hands on experience bulk fermenting this particular bread overnight. In principal it is possible, but we cannot give you the exact coordinates for the amount of yeast and how it is going to behave (it always is a bit trial and error and you would need to keep an eye on the development, so if you do not have the time for a practice run, we would not advice this).
We would alternatuvely suggest to make and (par)bake the bread and store it in the freezer and put it in the oven for a short while on the day of use for example.
Good luck with it and a Happy Christmas!
Sonia Swaine says
Does this keep for a few days please?
Weekend Bakers says
Hello Sonia,
Yes, you can wrap this bread in a plastic bag and it will keep for several days, though the original freshness from the oven is lost a bit of course. Alternatively, if you baked it and plan to eat it some days later, you can best store it in the freezer and thaw it some hours before serving. You can also warm it a bit in the oven or even the microwave works well with this type of bread.
Happy baking, sharing and eating this Christmas!
jess says
Made this one yesterday, loved the fact it didn’t have all the candied peel it usually has. Made mine with plenty of marzipan as for me, it’s the best bit. Loved the result, and perfect size for a family. Thanks very much, from a patisserie student in Scotland! x
Weekend Bakers says
Thank you Jess for sharing this with us. We totally agree about the candied peel and the marzipan.
Wishing you all the best with your studies and a very happy Christmas!
maybe you want to try the panettone too?! : www.weekendbakery.com/posts…e-project/