Christmas Stollen

Stollen is a traditional Christmas pastry that originated in Germany. This aromatic dessert with a characteristic shape has a rich taste and is often associated with the holidays. It consists of a spiced dough, to which dried fruits, nuts and candied fruits are added, and after baking it is covered with powdered sugar. Stollen is quite easy to prepare at home, and the result will please you.

Christmas stollen from Lasunka TM! Traditional taste of Christmas with the aroma of spices and dried fruits! ❤️ Create a festive atmosphere in your home!

Ingredients:

500 g flour
150 g milk
100 g butter
100 g sugar
15 g pressed yeast
1 egg
50 g honey
100 g raisins
100 g candied fruit (orange or lemon)
50 g walnuts
50 g almonds (raw or roasted)
2 tbsp. l cognac or rum
1 tsp ground cinnamon
0.5 tsp ground ginger
0.5 tsp nutmeg
salt
powdered sugar for sprinkling

Preparation:

Preparing the ingredients:

First, prepare the dried fruits and nuts. Wash the raisins and candied fruits, then pour rum or cognac over them. Leave for a few hours (preferably overnight) so that the dried fruits become soft and filled with aroma. Chop the almonds and walnuts with a knife.

Preparing the dough:

Heat the milk slightly in a saucepan, add the yeast and 1 tsp sugar. Mix thoroughly and leave for 10-15 minutes, a foam should form.

Kneading the dough:

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, the rest of the sugar, a pinch of salt, spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg), egg, honey and melted butter.

Add the prepared dough and knead thoroughly. The dough should be elastic and slightly sticky. If necessary, add a little flour so that it does not stick to your hands. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes.

Adding dried fruit:

When the dough becomes elastic, add soaked raisins, candied fruit, chopped nuts and almonds. Knead the dough until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Shaping the stollen:

Roll the dough out on a floured surface into a rectangle. Fold the edges of the dough and form a loaf, tucking in the ends of the stollen.

Proofing:

Place the formed stollen on a parchment-lined form and leave for 30 minutes to rise. During this time, preheat the oven to 180°C.

Baking:

Bake the stollen for 40-50 minutes until golden brown. If the top starts to turn black, cover it with foil.

After baking, let the stollen cool. Then sprinkle generously with powdered sugar.

Tips:

The stollen will taste even better if you let it “mature” for a few days. Store it in a tightly sealed container so that it does not dry out.
If you do not like certain dried fruits or nuts, you can experiment with other options, adding, for example, dates, dried apricots or cranberries.
For a special aroma, you can also add vanilla or orange zest.

Now you have a great stollen recipe that will be a delicious addition to your holiday table! Enjoy!