Stollen is the German Christmas loaf most of us first met on a supermarket shelf: a folded, buttery bread full of rum-soaked fruit and peel, with marzipan through the middle and a thick coat of sugar. Made with sourdough it stays soft for longer, and the gentle tang of the starter cuts through all that sweetness. It is a lot more forgiving than panettone too: a firm dough, a slow rise and one simple fold.
It also gets better with a little time. Bake it a few days before you want it and keep it wrapped; the butter and sugar coat keeps the crumb moist while the flavours settle.
Ingredients
Fruit (the night before)
- 150 g raisins or sultanas
- 50 g currants
- 60 g candied mixed peel
- 50 ml dark rum or orange juice
Levain (the night before)
- 30 g active sourdough starter
- 60 g strong white bread flour
- 60 g water
Dough
- All of the levain (about 150 g)
- 300 g strong white bread flour
- 100 g whole milk, warmed to about 30°C
- 1 medium egg
- 50 g caster sugar
- 5 g fine sea salt
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- 100 g unsalted butter, soft
- 50 g flaked almonds, lightly toasted
Filling and finish
- 200 g marzipan
- 50 g unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- Icing sugar, for a thick dusting
Contains: wheat (gluten), eggs, milk, almonds.
Method
- Soak the fruit and build the levain (the night before). Stir the raisins, currants and peel with the rum or orange juice in a bowl, cover and leave overnight. In a jar, mix the 30 g starter with the 60 g water and 60 g flour, cover and leave at room temperature. By morning it should be bubbly and roughly doubled.
- Mix. In a stand mixer with the dough hook, or by hand, combine the levain, milk, egg, sugar, flour, salt, spices and lemon zest and mix on low for 4 minutes into a firm dough. Mix on medium for 5 minutes, then add the soft butter a little at a time until it has all been absorbed and the dough is smooth and slightly shiny, about 8 minutes more.
- Add the fruit and almonds. Drain the fruit well and pat it dry. Work it into the dough with the almonds on the lowest speed, or by folding by hand, just until evenly spread. A little fruit poking out is fine.
- Bulk ferment. Cover and leave somewhere warm (24–26°C) for 4–6 hours, with one set of stretch and folds after the first hour. It will not double: look for it to be about half as big again, soft and puffy. Or, after 2 hours at room temperature, chill it overnight and shape it straight from the fridge the next morning.
- Shape. Roll the marzipan into a 23 cm log. On a lightly floured worktop, press the dough into an oval about 25 × 20 cm. Press a groove lengthways with a rolling pin just off centre, lay the marzipan in it, and fold the wider side over so its edge stops about 2 cm short of the far edge. Press firmly along the fold to make the classic stollen ridge. Push any fruit on the surface back under the dough, because exposed fruit burns.
- Prove. Lift onto a baking tray lined with baking paper, cover and leave at room temperature for 2–4 hours, until puffy and a gently pressed finger leaves a dent that springs back slowly.
- Bake. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan), gas mark 4. Bake for 40–45 minutes until deep golden, and the bread (not the marzipan) reads about 90°C in the thickest part. Lay foil loosely over the top if it darkens too quickly.
- Butter and sugar. While the stollen is still hot, brush it with half the melted butter, let it soak in, then brush on the rest. Sprinkle over the caster sugar and leave to cool completely, then dust thickly with icing sugar.
- Rest. Wrap in baking paper and then foil and keep somewhere cool for 1–3 days before slicing. Dust with a little more icing sugar to serve.
Tips
- Rich dough rises slowly. All that butter, egg and fruit holds the starter back, so go by the size and feel of the dough rather than the clock, especially in a cold kitchen.
- Choose a firm marzipan. One with a high almond content holds its shape in the oven. If you would rather leave the marzipan out, the stollen is still very good without it.
- No rum? Orange juice, apple juice or cold tea all work for soaking the fruit.
- Keeping. Wrapped well and kept somewhere cool, it usually keeps for about two weeks. It also freezes well for up to two months: freeze it before the icing sugar goes on.
Feeling ambitious? Try our sourdough panettone, or see the full line-up of Christmas sourdough recipes.
FAQ
Why is my sourdough stollen dense?
Stollen is meant to be a fairly close, cake-like bread, but if it is heavy the bulk ferment was usually too short or too cold. Rich doughs can take twice as long as a plain loaf in a cool room, so wait until the dough is clearly puffy and about half as big again.
Can I make stollen without alcohol?
Yes. Soak the fruit in orange juice, apple juice or cold tea instead of rum. It keeps the fruit plump in the same way.
How long does sourdough stollen keep?
Wrapped in baking paper and foil and kept somewhere cool, it usually keeps for about two weeks, and many people think it tastes best after three or four days.
Bake this with a live starter
Our San Francisco sourdough starter is a live culture: add 75 g flour and 75 g warm water and it is usually bubbly and ready to bake with in about two hours. A starter makes a good stocking filler too — see our sourdough starter gifts.
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