Christmas Stollen

Christmas stollen is a delicious, old-fashioned way to celebrate the holiday season. This German bread is as festive as it is fruity! This Christmas stollen recipe will quickly become a holiday tradition in your family.

What Is Stollen?

Stollen (a.k.a. Weihnachtsstollen or Christstollen) is a cake-like yeast bread with dried fruits and (often, but not always) a marzipan filling. The Christmas bread is usually dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Dating back to the 1500s, the German bread was originally served at the Council of Trent. It's now most often associated with the holiday season.

Stollen Ingredients

These are the ingredients you'll need to make this festive Christmas stollen recipe:

• Yeast and milk: This stollen recipe starts with active dry yeast dissolved in warm milk.
• Flour: Bread flour has more protein than all-purpose flour, making it perfect for these dense loaves.
• Sugar and salt: White sugar sweetens things up a bit, while salt enhances the overall flavor. You'll need confectioners' sugar for dusting over the baked stollen.
• Butter: Softened butter keeps the stollen moist.
• Egg: An egg adds moisture and helps bind the dough together.
• Fruit: You'll need candied citron, currants, golden raisins, and candied cherries.
• Marzipan: Use store-bought marzipan or make your own with our homemade marzipan recipe.
• Cinnamon: A pinch of ground cinnamon sprinkled over the baked stollen adds a hint of warmth and spiciness.

How to Make Stollen

You'll find the full, step-by-step recipe below — but here's a brief overview of what you can expect when you make this Christmas stollen:

1. Make the dough: Activate the yeast in the warm milk. Make the dough with the yeast mixture, bread flour, sugar, butter, egg, and salt. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead in the fruit. Knead until smooth.
2. Let the dough rise: Place in an oiled bowl, loosely cover, and let rise until doubled in size.
3. Add the marzipan: Turn the dough out again and deflate. Roll the marzipan into a rope and fold the dough over it. Place on a baking sheet and let rise again.
4. Bake the stollen: Bake the stollen (turning the temperature down after 10 minutes) until golden brown. Sprinkle it with powdered sugar and cinnamon.

How to Store Stollen

Homemade German stollen will last up to two months if you store it in a cool, dark place in an airtight container.

Can You Freeze Stollen?

Yes, you can freeze Christmas stollen. Cut it into slices and wrap each slice individually in at least one layer of storage wrap. Then wrap each slice again in a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to six months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

Allrecipes Community Tips and Praise

"This was my first attempt at making a stollen and it came out PERFECT," raves loubug6. "I come from a German family so to make something authentic around the holidays was great. This is definitely becoming a staple in my family's Christmas tradition."

"My first six star review," says whereiroamishome. "I admit I changed a few things but I credit that to preference. I made my own candied citrus peels and omitted the currants. I made one for my family and it will be my new tradition."

"This was amazing," according to KDMCCLAIN. "I soaked the raisins in rum as others suggested and added cinnamon to the dough as well. I put everything in the bread machine on the dough setting and let it go. When it was done, I followed the rest of the directions, let it rise for about 40 minutes and baked it. It turned out perfectly!"

Editorial contributions by Corey Williams