My Oma used to bring Stollen, a German Christmas bread, for Christmas every year. It was lovingly packaged in wax paper and again in aluminum foil. As kids, the glistening sugar crust was the best part. My Mom has insisted since my Oma’s passing that the last year she made it was the best, but sadly my Oma did not have a recipe box and I was never able to see her exact recipe. A week ago I went on an extensive search for Stollen recipes and there are tons of recipes out there, but I was looking for the rum/almond type since it was most like my Oma’s. There are many spiced recipes, usually with cardamom that sound delicious, like this one recommended by The Honey Eater that I will definitely be making another time. I combined a few elements from different recipes to come up with the yeast Stollen I made and then I also adapted a quick Stollen recipe from King Arthur Flour that uses baking powder to help it rise a bit and has the unique addition of ricotta cheese. I thought these two recipes had similar fruits and flavoring like I was looking for, but I was interested in the different approaches to the recipes.

My Stollen Tips

• Soaking the dried fruit in dark rum is a good idea. It plumps the fruit and adds great flavor.
• After the Stollen has baked, brushing it with melted butter and sprinkling with powdered sugar seals in the flavor and makes the crust extra tasty. I think repeating this process and creating two layers is a good idea, too.
• Use your favorite dried fruits. Traditionally, you’d see citron and candied cherries in Stollen, but I prefer to use raisins, currants, apricots and cherries.
• Toast the slivered almonds, always!
• I used the Buttery Sweet Dough Flavor because I happen to be placing an order at King Arthur Flour and saw it was recommended for their Stollen recipe. It is not heavy or artificial tasting, it just adds a nice hint of sweetness.

Yeasted Stollen

Makes 2 loaves, adapted from several sources.

1/2 C. raisins

1/2 C. dried currants

1/2 C. dried apricots

1/2 C. dried cherries

1/3 C. dark rum

4 1/2 C. all-purpose flour, plus additional as needed

2 (1/4 oz.) pkg. active dry yeast or 2 scant T.

1/3 C. sugar

1 1/2 t. salt

1/2 C. milk

1/2 C. water

4 T. butter, cut up

1 t. grated lemon rind

2 eggs

1 t. almond extract

1/2 C. slivered blanched almonds, toasted and cooled

4 T. melted butter

powdered sugar

1 1/2 t. buttery sweet dough flavor (from King Arthur Flour, optional but good)

1. Combine raisins, currants, apricots, cherries and rum in a bowl and let stand at least 1 hour or overnight.

2. Stir together 2 C. of the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in large bowl. Heat milk, water, butter and lemon rind in a small saucepan over low heat until warm (115-120 degrees, optimal temp. for the yeast). Add to flour mixture along with eggs and almond extract (and buttery sweet dough flavor if using). Beat at low speed of electric mixture until flour is moistened. Beat at medium speed until well combined.

3. Stir 1/3 C. flour into fruit mixture. Stir fruit mixture, almonds and enough remaining flour into batter to make the dough moderately stiff. I ended up adding about 1 C. more flour, but start adding in 1/4 C. increments until you get the desired texture.

4. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 to 8 minutes. Shape into a ball and place in a greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

5. Punch dough down, cover and let rest 10 minutes. Turn onto lightly floured surface and divide in half. Pat or roll each half into an 8×14 inch oval. Fold dough in half lengthwise, bringing upper half not quite to the edge of the lower half and press firmly along edge to secure. Place loaves on lightly greased rimmed baking sheet (I used my silpat, but you could also use parchment). Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

6. Uncover. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven until loaves are golden and sound hollow when lightly tapped, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and brush with melted butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar. When the loaves have cooled, brush with another coat of melted butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar again.

Easiest Stollen

Makes 2 loaves. Slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour

2 1/4 C. all-purpose flour

1/2 C. granulated sugar

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1/2 C. unsalted cold butter, cut into small chunks

1 15 oz. container ricotta cheese

1 large egg

1 t. vanilla extract

1 1/2 t. buttery sweet dough flavor, optional but good

1 t. lemon zest

1/2 C. raisins

1/2 C. dried currants

1/4 C. dried cherries

1/3 C. dark rum

1/2 C. slivered almonds, toasted and cooled

6 T. butter, melted

3/4 C. confectioners’ sugar

1. Soak dried fruit in dark rum at least 1 hour or overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line with parchment or a silpat. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl.

3. Cut the cold butter chunks into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or two forks. In a separate bowl, mix together the cheese, egg, vanilla, lemon zest and buttery sweet dough flavor. Toss the fruit and almonds into the flour mixture until evenly distributed. Then combine the wet and dry ingredients, mixing until most of the four is moistened.

4. Turn the sticky dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead a few times until it holds together. I ended up adding quite a few sprinkles of flour to make it come together. Divide dough in half. Roll each piece of dough into a 8×7 inch oval about 1/2 inch thick.

5. Fold each piece of dough roughly in half, leaving the edge of the top half about 1/2 inch short of the edge of the bottom half. Fold lengthwise. Use the edge of your hand to press the dough to seal the edge. This is the traditional Stollen shape. Place the shaped Stollen on prepared baking sheet.

6. Bake the Stollen until they are very light browned around the edges, about 30-40 minutes. A cake tester inserted into the middle should come out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and brush with 2 to 3 T. melted butter and sprinkle heavily with confectioners’ sugar.

7. Allow the Stollen to cool and brush with remaining melted butter and sprinkle generously with sugar again. Wrap in plastic until ready to serve. Plastic-wrapped Stollen will keep well for 2 weeks or so at room temperature.

Tasting Day 1

Yeast Stollen

Marc and I both thought this lacked a bit of flavor. It has a nice spongy texture because of the yeast, though. It is important that it has a nice butter and sugar crust to enhance the sweetness of the fruit.

Easy Stollen

SO tasty! It came out quite flat due to the lack of yeast, but it is moist and flavorful. I think the addition of ricotta adds a hint of tangy creaminess. It reminded me a little of a tender and moist breakfast muffin.

Tasting Day 2

Yeast Stollen

Much improved! I tried a slice this morning to see if it had changed at all and I was not missing flavor this morning. The flavor plus the yeasty texture made this very, very good.

Easy Stollen

Consistently flavorful and tasty. I think the texture of the yeast Stollen plus the improved flavor beat out the easy Stollen this morning, but it is still very yummy and a wonderful alternative.

Both recipes are great and I recommend them both. In the case of the yeast Stollen, I believe that recipe will improve with age since it is a more traditional recipe and I’m sure it was meant to be enjoyed for weeks. If you’re looking for a less traditional recipe with great Stollen flavor, try the easy Stollen recipe. Thank you for taking the Stollen journey with me! Have a great holiday with lots of family, friends and fantastic food!