Description
A rich, buttery German Christmas stollen made from a yeast dough with rum-soaked raisins, chopped almonds, and candied lemon peel, brushed with melted butter and coated in powdered sugar.
Ingredients
300 g (about 2 cups) raisins
80 ml (8 cl) dark rum
500 g (about 4 cups) all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
100 ml warm milk
42 g fresh yeast (or 1 packet dry active yeast)
275 g (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter, softened
75 g (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
1 packet (about 8 g) vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Zest of 1 lemon
75 g (about 1/2 cup) chopped almonds
50 g (about 1/3 cup) candied lemon and citron peel
For finishing: 3 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
1. At least 24 hours ahead, soak the raisins in the rum in a covered bowl, stirring once or twice.
2. Stir the yeast into the warm milk until dissolved. Mix with about a third of the flour to make a soft starter dough, cover, and let rise in a warm place until puffy, about 30 minutes.
3. Add the remaining flour, the softened butter, sugar, vanilla sugar, salt, and lemon zest. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.
4. Knead in the raisins with any remaining rum, the chopped almonds, and the candied peel until evenly distributed. Cover and let the dough rest for about 1 hour.
5. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
6. Shape the dough into an oval about 30 cm (12 inches) long. Press a lengthwise groove slightly off center and fold the thicker side over the thinner side to form the classic stollen shape.
7. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until deep golden brown.
8. While the stollen is still hot, brush it generously with melted butter, then coat with powdered sugar. Cool completely, wrap well, and let rest for a few days before slicing.
Notes
Original Poulef recipe adapted from the published Thuringia-style butter stollen (500 g flour, 275 g butter, 75 g sugar, 300 g rum-soaked raisins, 75 g almonds, 50 g candied peel, baked at 180°C) on My Best German Recipes, with the butter-and-sugar finish from other traditional German butter stollen recipes. The source amounts for salt, vanilla sugar, and lemon zest, the bake time, and the coating were not readable, so those are estimates and the recipe has not been tested.
Traditional butter stollen contains no eggs and relies on butter for richness.
Stollen tastes best after resting wrapped for several days, and many bakers rest it for 2 to 4 weeks.
Nutrition is an approximate estimate per slice (16 slices).
- Prep Time: 45 minutes plus soaking and rising
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: German
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 412
- Sugar: 22g
- Sodium: 150mg
- Fat: 19g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Carbohydrates: 50g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 6g
- Cholesterol: 42mg