Buttery Marzipan Stollen Recipe (2024)

Why It Works

  • Soaking the yeast in advance with flour and milk (known as a sponge) adds flavor.
  • Chopped orange zest takes the place of candied citron peel.
  • The layer of marzipan keeps the stollen moist.
  • A butter and sugar glaze locks in additional moisture.

If you're in Germany during the holidays, there's no escaping stollen—and that's a good thing. It not only lines the shelves at bakeries and food markets, but there must be at least six different brands of it sold at each local grocery store. Germans love stollen. I love it too, for its dense texture, chewy candied citrus zest, and snowy powdered sugar top. It's even better if there's a layer of soft almond marzipan tucked into the middle.

Stollen, orChristollen, dates back to the Middle Ages and originates from Dresden, Germany. It has an oval shape that's meant to represent the baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes. Come to think of it, stollens weigh almost as much as a baby too. No joke. You get your money's worth here.

My family has always purchased stollen, claiming that this was one bread that's way too complicated to make at home. I'm not sure why, but perhaps they were perplexed by the idea of incorporating the marzipan. After lots of my own recipe tests, I'm happy to say that baking your own stollen is not difficult, and definitely worth the effort. A stollen, at its heart, is nothing more than an enriched bread, so if you've made any kind of bread before, this will be a cinch. This recipe makes a stollen that's smaller than most, making it very easy to manage.

Here's how I make it.

Start With a Short Sponge

A sponge, also known as a pre-ferment, is a mixture of yeast, water, and flour that's left to sit and ferment before making the final dough. To save time here, I do a quick version with yeast, milk, and some flour, leaving it in a warm place for just 30 minutes. It's just enough time to develop some extra flavor, but not so long to make it a chore.

Flavoring Stollen Dough

Making your own stollen means you get to pick and choose what goes in it. Don't like candied citron? No problem! Use orange zest and bourbon-soaked raisins, as I did in my recipe. Like nuts? Sliced almonds, which I love to use, or toasted hazelnuts are great. The stollen is your oyster, or something like that.

Shaping Stollen

The only difficult part of making stollen is shaping it, but this is a rustic bread, so it does not have to be perfect. Start by pressing the dough into a flat oval and then rolling the center with a rolling pin to create a trench. Place the strip of marzipan in the trench, then fold the dough over to enclose it.

The classic shape of the original Dresden stollen has a round hump on the top. This is formed during the folding step: when folding the dough over the marzipan strip, the key is not to make the ends on the fold meet up flush. This way, the top piece creates a lip along the length of the stollen.This video shows Dresen stollen makers, including the hump forming over the marzipan (about halfway through the video, after they demonstrate marzipan-free stollen).

Buttery Marzipan Stollen Recipe (1)

Baking and Topping Stollen

This stollen is smaller than your typical version, so it does not take long to bake—just 25 to 30 minutes should do it. Don't overbake or you'll end up with (eek!) a dry stollen.

Stollens are typically finished with a glaze of melted butter followed by powdered sugar. This helps keep the stollen moist, and adds a bit of sweetness to an otherwise not overly sweet bread.

Buttery Marzipan Stollen Recipe (2)

December 2014

Recipe Details

Buttery Marzipan Stollen

Active60 mins

Total4 hrs

Serves12to 14 servings

Makes1 stollen

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup (3 ounces) milk

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons activedry yeast

  • 1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) plus 1 tablespoon bread flour, divided, plus more if needed

  • 1 tablespoon bourbon

  • 1/2 cup (3 ounces)raisins

  • 1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

  • 1 large egg yolk

  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

  • 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, softened, divided

  • 4 teaspoons finely chopped orange peel from one orange (see notes)

  • 1/3 cup (3 ounces)sliced almonds

  • 3 1/2 ounces marzipan

For the Glaze:

  • 4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

  • 1 cup (4 ounces)confectioners' sugar

Directions

  1. Heat milk in small saucepan over low heat until just warm. Pour into bowl of stand mixer and whisk in yeast and 1 tablespoon bread flour. Set aside for 30 minutes. In same unwashed saucepan, gently heat bourbon and raisins until warm; set aside.

  2. Add 1 1/4 cups bread flour, sugar, and egg yolk to yeast mixture. Mix with dough hook at low speed until mixture just begins to come together, about 1 minute. With mixer running, add salt and then slowly add butter to incorporate. If dough seems too wet, add up to a few tablespoons more flour. Continue to mix until a soft, smooth dough forms, about 8 minutes. Mix in raisins, orange zest, and almonds until just incorporated.

  3. Form dough into a ball, place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rest in a warm place until dough has risen by about 50 percent, 1 to 2 hours.

    Buttery Marzipan Stollen Recipe (3)

  4. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place dough onto lightly floured work surface and press into an 8- by 10-inch oval. Using rolling pin, press a trench lengthwise into the dough about 1/3 from the bottom.

    Buttery Marzipan Stollen Recipe (4)

  5. Roll the marzipan into a log to fit the length of the stollen. Place the log on work surface and flatten with a rolling pin to about 1/2 inch thick. Place strip of marzipan into the trench in the dough.

    Buttery Marzipan Stollen Recipe (5)

  6. Lift bottom portion of dough up and over the marzipan to seal it inside, being sure not to fold it so far as to make the edges meet (this will form the hump on top of the stollen). Gently press top of stollen with rolling pin to seal, leaving the hump of dough on the top. Carefully transfer stollen to parchment-lined baking sheet, loosely cover, and let rest in a warm place for about 45 minutes.

    Buttery Marzipan Stollen Recipe (6)

  7. Bake until golden brown and just cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overbake or your stollen will be dry.

  8. For the Glaze: Brush stollen immediately with half the melted butter. Sprinkle with a coating of confectioner's sugar. Brush with remaining melted butter and sift 1/2 of the remaining confectioners' sugar over the top. Let cool. Sift with remaining confectioners' sugar and serve.

Special Equipment

Stand mixer fitted with dough hook attachment

Note

For the orange peel, use a sharp vegetable peeler to slice off the outer peel of the orange (it's okay if a small amount of the white pith is included), then finely chop. This is a dense bread, so you may not notice much rising of the dough, but it will rise more when baked.

Buttery Marzipan Stollen Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between panettone and stollen? ›

Although their different shapes and textures suggest otherwise, panettone (tall and light) and stollen (long and dense) are made from a basic butter- and sugar-enriched yeast dough. Panettone typically contains candied orange peel and raisins; traditional stollen had candied lemon peel and dried cherries as well.

What is the most popular stollen in Germany? ›

Today, there are many variations of Stollen, but the most popular is the Dresdner Stollen, which is made with raisins, candied fruit, and marzipan. The Stollen is typically dusted with powdered sugar and served during the Christmas season, often accompanied by hot mulled wine.

How long does marzipan stollen last? ›

How long will stollen last? Stollen will last several months if kept covered in a cool, dry place. Stollen loaves are made in early November for the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays. Stollen loaves will become more moist and flavorful with age.

Why is Christmas stollen so expensive? ›

Expensive ingredients like almonds, nuts, raisins, orange peel, essence of rose and rum were imported. Because the coronation occurred during the Christmas season, the bakers shaped the loaves to resemble a baby in swaddling clothes in respect for the Christ Child. Ask any baker: Stollen is a labor of love.

Why do Germans eat stollen? ›

Germans baked stollen loaves at Christmas to honor princes and church dignitaries, and to sell at fairs and festivals for holiday celebrations. Early stollen loaves were made as bread without milk or butter because the Catholic church did not allow these ingredients during advent.

What is the most famous stollen? ›

Saxony's World Famous Delicacy. The Dresdner Christstollen is a piece of cultural history, a centuries-old baking tradition, a prevailing passion and, above all, a delicious treat. For centuries, Dresden's bakers and pastry makers have kept up this tradition, passing it on from generation to generation.

How do Germans eat stollen? ›

Think of a Stollen as the love child of a fruit cake and a loaf of bread: it's typically baked from a yeasty dough (replete with dried fruit soaked in rum), then covered in icing sugar. Like you'd expect, you eat a Stollen in slices, often with your coffee or Christmas punch. Some people put butter and jam on it.

What does stollen mean in german? ›

Stollen (German: [ˈʃtɔlən] or German: [ʃtɔln]) is a fruit bread of nuts, spices, and dried or candied fruit, coated with powdered sugar or icing sugar and often containing marzipan. It is a traditional German Christmas bread.

Should stollen be refrigerated? ›

No, generally you do not need to refrigerate or freeze your stollen. If you will not be eating the bread for a few months, you may want to store it in the freezer. Otherwise, storing your stollen at room temperature in a bread box or drawer will allow it to last for months.

How do you eat marzipan stollen? ›

Serving the Stollen

Traditionally stollen is sliced and served as is with breakfast, although some people prefer to warm individual slices in a toaster or a microwave. Over time, the topping on the stollen may become discolored.

Can you toast marzipan stollen? ›

My new favorite way to enjoy Stollen is to slice it fairly thinly and then toast it under the broiler. I especially like Stollen with Marzipan and toasting this kind of Stollen softens the almond paste so it's creamy and warm. The toasting also brings out the nutty flavor and punches up the dried fruits.

Does Aldi sell Christmas stollen? ›

I make homemade Stollen these days so I haven't tried Aldi Stollen and can't vouch for the taste. But they do have 2 different kinds and I imagine it's pretty good based on the other goodies I've tried.

Do Jews eat stollen? ›

The resulting product, called stollen in it's most generic form, was originally of Jewish origin, and was eaten throughout the Hanukkah season.

Is stollen very fattening? ›

Stollen is basically a yeast-based fruit cake with lots of sugar, butter, raisins, rum aroma and powdered sugar. Traditionally there is also high fructose corn sirup involved, so not exactly what you would call a healthy treat (but pretty delicious tbh).

What is the German version of panettone? ›

Stollen (German: [ˈʃtɔlən] or German: [ʃtɔln]) is a fruit bread of nuts, spices, and dried or candied fruit, coated with powdered sugar or icing sugar and often containing marzipan. It is a traditional German Christmas bread.

What is stollen called in Germany? ›

Stollen is a traditional German Christmas loaf densely packed with raisins and rich with real butter. It has a special place amongst traditional German Christmas pastries. Stollen is sometimes referred to as ChristStollen, Weihnachtsstollen or Winterbrot.

Why is it called Christmas stollen? ›

Striezel is a word for loaf, and the shape of the bread along with being dusted with powdered sugar was a symbolic shape of the baby jesus in swaddling clothes so it was also called Christstollen. Thev History of Stollen .

Why is it called stollen? ›

In Middle High German, “Strutzel” or “Striezel” referred to a yeast pastry in an elongated, sometimes braided form. It was probably intended as a reminder of the swaddled child in the Christian Christmas story. In some Saxon towns, this “Christbrot” was also called “Stollen” or “Stolle” because of its bead-like body.

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