German Christmas Stollen
Especially at Christmas time, there is nothing better for me as a German than a good Stollen. Whether butter stollen, quark stollen, almond stollen, marzipan stollen... There are countless stollen in Germany. The best known is probably the Dresdner Christstollen.
Stollen keeps for several months and even gets better after a few weeks. I've revised my recipe from last year a little and I'm really pleased with it this year. Soaking the fruit in rum ensures that the stollen doesn't get dry and the increased butter content makes the stollen super tasty.
| Ingredient | Weight | % |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 120g | 100 |
| Millk | 70g | 58 |
| Sourdough Starter | 15g | 13 |
Levain
- Fermentation Time: Overnight at room temperature
Combine the flour, milk, and sourdough starter. Mix well and let it ferment overnight on the countertop.
| Ingredient | Weight |
|---|---|
| Raisins | 200g |
| Candied Orange | 100g |
| Candied Lemon | 100g |
| Rum | 50g |
Soaked Fruits
Child friendly version: Use orange juice instead of rum
Mix rum, candied oranges and candied lemons together with raisins. Shake them until the rum has been covered all fruits.
| Ingredient | Weight | % |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 500g | 100 |
| Milk | 270g | 54 |
| Levain | 205g | 41 |
| Butter | 250g | 50 |
| Honey | 30g | 6 |
| Salt | 11g | 2 |
| Yeast | 5g | 1 |
| Spices | 7g | 1 |
| Sugar | 60g | 12 |
Main Dough
- Mixing Time: 10 minutes at low speed
- Spices: I've been using 5g of cinnamon and 2g of cardamom. But you can also use all kinds of other spices.
In a mixer, all ingredients besides half of the butter and mix for about 10 minutes at low speed.
| Ingredient | Weight |
|---|---|
| Butter | n/a |
| Soaked Fruits | 450g |
Adding the remaining butter and fruits
- Mixing Time: 5 minutes at maximum speed without fruits
- Fruit addition: Mix another 2 minuts with low speed
Add the remaining butter (125g) and mix for another 5 minutes at high speed. Add the soaked fruits and mix for another 2 minutes at low speed.
Bulk Fermentation
- Fermentation Time: 5-8 hours with coil folds every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours.
Transfer the dough to a greased container and perform a set of coil folds every 30 minutes for the first two hours. Bulk ferment for about 3 hours afterwards until the dough has been risen a bit.
| Ingredient | Weight |
|---|---|
| Marzipan | 200g |
Shaping
- Fermentation time: 1 hour
Divide into 2 loafs add add marzipan if you like. For more details have a look in the video.
Baking
- Preheat Temperature: 220°C/428°F
- Baking Time: 55 minutes at 180°C / 356°F with steam. Relief the steam after 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 220°C/428°F and directly reduce the temperature to 180°C / 356°F when you put the stollen in the oven. Bake for 55 minutes in total.
Let the stollen cool down for 30 minutes.
| Ingredient | Weight |
|---|---|
| Butter | n/a |
| Sugar | n/a |
Preservation
Lagering: The stollen can be kept in the cellar at 15°C / 59°. Final touch: Add some powder sugar on top befor serving.
Melt some butter and use a brush to paint the butter onto the stollen. Cover the stollen in sugar.
