Stollen Recipe
Stollen is a yeast bread that is filled with candied fruits, nuts and spices. It is so good, I could eat it year around if you could get the fruit. It is heavenly toasted too! Where I live it is usually only available now. One thing I do is when the stores clearance it after Christmas I buy it and freeze it. It freezes great and it usually is 75% of the price. My grandmother used to make a fruit bread at Christmas. It was a huge production and she made between 15 – 20 loaves. Hers had candied fruit, dates, nuts, lemonade and orange juice and lots of spices. I have tried making it now 3 times I think and it is something I totally fail at. This bread costs a lot to make and failure is just not an option so it is the one recipe I have totally given up on. Maybe one of these days I will try it again but I’ve been beat up enough with it at this point in my life.
On to this bread it works great and it is so delicious. I made up my own mixture of candied fruit and used just candied cherries, candied pineapple and a small thing of candied orange peel. I like this mixture better than the one with all of the stuff in it, but that is just my preference.
I read somewhere that too much cinnamon can kill or retard the yeast. So when I add the cinnamon it is towards the end with the flour. My grandma’s recipe has lots of cinnamon in it and I am convinced that is why I can’t get the recipe to work for me.
Yeast bread filled with candied cherries, candied pineapple and candied orange peel, glazed with a confectionary sugar glaze.
Ingredients
- 2 packages yeast
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1 1/2 cups milk - warm
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 cups mixed candied fruit - chopped
- 1 cup walnuts - chopped (optional)
- Glaze
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
- 3 - 4 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Add yeast, water and sugar to your mixing bowl. Let set 5 minutes to make sure your yeast is good.
- Add the milk, eggs and butter. Mix to combine.
- Add the flour, salt and cinnamon. Mix until the bread dough comes together and then add your dough hook. Knead the dough for a couple of minutes with the dough hook, dough will be slightly sticky. It will pull away from the sides of the mixer bowl. Add the candied fruit and nuts. Knead several more minutes. If you mixer is laboring you might want to knead it on a floured surface until it is smooth and elastic.
- Cover the dough and let raise until doubled. Punch the dough down and let raise again. When dough has raised a second time remove from bowl and divide dough in 2 pieces. Divide each half into 3 pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a rope about 12 inches long. Braid the 3 pieces together to form a loaf. Place on a greased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining other half. Cover and let raise until doubled.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes until bread sounds hollow when tapped. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
- Mix together glaze ingredients. While bread is still warm drizzle the confectioners sugar over the loaves.
Emily says
This stollen recipe looks amazing! My older sister told me that she remembers eating stollen as a little girl in Germany (I’m too young to remember-ha). I’m totally going to make this recipe for her now. 🙂 Have a great night!
Mary Ellen says
This one is pretty good, not sure how authentic it is. It has all of the key elements however.