Stollen, My Heart
Bad puns aside, this recipe means a lot to me. Stollen always graces our holiday table, and I hope you welcome it to yours.
If there’s one recipe I’d like you to try this holiday season, it would be my Stollen. Get the recipe here. Read along for the backstory of this recipe and some tips for making it.
Stollen is my fruitcake. I've tried British Christmas cake. I've had delicious artisan fruitcakes. Although I adore panettone, I leave the baking to professionals (or my friend Jon). But I never actually made a loaf of Stollen until I had to.
According to my mom, her grandmother used to make homemade Stollen. My great-grandparents, despite being born in the United States, still spoke some German at home. Our family church held German services until the 1970s, and my grandfather's baptismal certificate was written in German. Although I don't remember tasting my great-grandma's Stollen, I'm sure the flavor memory hides in me somewhere.
Flash forward to the spring of 2022. I learned that Dinkel's Bakery in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood had closed after a century in business. We ordered our Stollen from Dinkel's for the past 15 years, so I was at a loss. I immediately—as in the same day I heard this news—started researching Stollen recipes. I watched videos of professional and home bakers in Dresden creating their Stollen. I used my very rudimentary German skills and Google Translate to read through German recipes and understand ratios. And I tested and honed my recipe that spring.
Although there are other places that make Stollen, the EU recognizes Dresden Christstollen with a protected geographical indication (PGI) status. It must be baked in the Dresden area by certified bakeries and the loaves must pass some sort of inspection. This renowned Stollen guided my recipe development. Plus, it looked the most like the Stollen we got from Dinkel’s.
Although this is my ideal Stollen, there are many other variations and evolutions of this beloved yuletide bread, plus several other fruit-filled hearty breads across the German-speaking world.
For the full recipe, visit FoodandWine.com.
Stollen Tips, Tricks, and Thoughts:
Stollen is not a light fluffy bread. It shouldn't be leaden, but it's a rather firm, dense fruit-filled bread with a somewhat cake-like texture. It's practically dipped in clarified butter, then coated in sugar...twice. It should have a ton of flavor, but it's the opposite of a Panettone. The latter has a bit of fruit in a cottony, gravity-defying loaf. Stollen is a squat, rich loaf, containing almost 50 percent fruit. Any Stollen recipe that claims to be light and fluffy is far from the Dresdner variety.
Need a visual guide? Watch me make the Stollen on Instagram!
Yeast: I also wrote a little ditty about yeast for Food & Wine as a companion to this Stollen recipe. Seek out fresh yeast for your Stollen. That is my #1 tip. Fresh yeast has not undergone the stress of drying, which makes it much stronger in the presence of all of the sugar, butter, and heavy fruit in this recipe. It's still a dense, hearty bread, but the fresh yeast gives a bit more volume and (I think) helps it last longer. Plus, it’s what the German recipes all use. Use about 20 grams of fresh yeast for the recipe. If you can't find fresh yeast, SAF Gold is your next best option. For more on yeast, read my treatise on the different types of commercial yeast.
Fruit: You can truly swap out the dried fruit for whatever dried fruit want, but avoid soft fruit like prunes. (And you know I love prunes.) I also stay away from dark raisins, because they made a couple of my loaves a bit brown/grey inside. Diced dried apricots taste fantastic, and so do chopped candied pineapple bits and dried cranberries. Some people don't like the candied citrus peel, but I think that they add vivid flavor and some necessary sweetness. A bit of finely chopped candied ginger fits well in this festive loaf, too.
Nuts: Feel free to change up the nuts with anything you’d like. As always, toast your nuts for the most flavor. Pepitas or sunflower seeds work well, for those who can’t eat nuts. If needed, you can leave out the nuts or seeds altogether.
Liquor: Steep your fruit in any kind of liquor you like. Calvados, (my favorite), Cognac, brandy, rum, or kirsch (my second favorite) are fantastic. Bourbon works, too, but it’s a bit more assertive. Avoid any liquor with added sugar, because the sugar may impact the dough.
Spices: I like the spice combination in my recipe. Heady nutmeg and cardamom with a hint of ginger. The citrus zests and extracts bring a harmony of flavors. Adjust the spices in the dough as you'd like, with the exception of cinnamon. Cinnamon inhibits the yeast activity, so do not use it in the dough. Don’t fret, fellow cinnamon lovers: if you want some cinnamon flavor, you can add it to the sugar coating.
Marzipan (or not): I have actually never had Stollen with marzipan in it. (Shocking!) We'd never had that type of Stollen when I was growing up, and Dinkel's Bakery didn't sell it. (Or at least we didn't buy it.). I love marzipan, but for me, it has no place in my Stollen.
Coating: After coating the loaf in clarified butter (or use ghee!), you could coat the loaf in a mix of cinnamon and granulated sugar, since we can't put cinnamon in the dough. Or add some vanilla sugar to the sugar coating, for a luxuriously vanilla flavor. Be generous with the sugar, because the Stollen dough itself only has a bit of sugar, so the added sweetness is welcome. (Plus, kids love anything coated in powdered sugar.)
Serving: Wait at least 24 hours after baking to eat the Stollen. After coating the loaf, wrap it tightly. (I first wrap it in parchment, then wrap in foil. The flavors will blossom and the texture improves after a day or two. As I wrote in Food & Wine, slice straight down through the Stollen, don’t saw. That's the traditional way. Take a slice out of the center of the Stollen, then scoot the loaf back together. The Stollen won't dry out as much that way. If you’re feeling extra, you could get a traditional Stollen knife and board. (I really want one!)
Pairings: A simple slice of Stollen makes a perfect pairing with a light breakfast, after dinner, or for a teatime snack. Some of my family would even smear their slab of Stollen with butter. Not too shabby. I prefer my slice with a glass of boozy eggnog.
A couple of flavor ideas:
Tropical: A mix of chopped candied pineapple, chopped dried mnago, and some golden raisins that adds up to 225 grams. Swap the candied lemon peel for chopped candied ginger, keep the candied orange peel, and soak it all in some good rum. Swap the almonds for chopped unsalted roasted cashews. Keep the spices the same because nutmeg, cardamom, and vanilla are also tropical spices. I just made this variation and it’s magical.
Stone Fruit: Instead of the typical fruit mix, add some chopped dried apricots more sweetened tart cherries, totaling 225 grams of dried fruit. I like to keep the candied lemon and orange peel as is. Soak it all in some nice Kirsch. Keep the almonds or swap them for chopped, toasted pistachios. Increase the almond extract to 1/2 teaspoon. A slight variation for those folks who don’t love a raisin-forward version. This was my 2022 variation.
Let me know if you bake this Stollen or if you have any questions! Comment here or on Instagram.
Happy Baking,
Martin
