A Stollen has been a staple for me at Christmas time for as long as I can remember now (which isn’t that far, to be fair, I’m getting old…) as it’s a recipe that my Mum makes every year. So I thought I should pick up the mantle this and share my own recipe for a lovely Christmas Stollen with you!
In case you aren’t familiar with Stollen, it’s a German bread that is full of lovely things like sultanas, mixed peel, almonds and sometimes cherries as well. But, it also has a log of marzipan running right through the middle of it! This makes it a bit divisive if you don’t enjoy marzipan, but it makes it super festive and if you’re a lover of marzipan then you should give it a go!
Stollen
Print RecipeIngredients
- 350g Strong White Bread Flour
- 75g Unsalted Butter, softened
- 50g Caster Sugar
- 1 x Egg (and 1 for egg wash)
- 175ml Warm Milk
- 10g Yeast
- 200g Marzipan
- 100g Sultanas
- 100g Mixed Peels
- 50g Flaked Almonds
- 100g Icing Sugar
- Juice of a lemon
Instructions
In a large bowl or stand mixer, add in the flour, sugar, yeast, softened butter, egg and about half the milk.
Start to combine together the mixture - on a slow speed if you're using a stand mixer - and gradually add the rest of the milk until it comes together into a smooth dough. You don't want it too wet or sticky.
Once the dough has come together, knead for around 5 - 10 minutes until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.
Place back into the bowl, cover with cling film, and leave to prove for about 2 hours or until double in size.
Once the dough has proved, remove from the bowl and flatten out, then add in the dried fruit and almonds and fold into the dough and work it until all the fruits are nicely distributed.
Flatten the dough out into a rectangular shape and roll the marzipan out into a long log just slightly shorter than the dough and place down the middle.
Fold the dough over the marzipan and tuck in the ends to create a nice long loaf shape.
Place onto a baking tray and lightly cover with a clean tea towel and leave to prove for another hour or until doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F/Gas Mark 5.
Place into the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Combine together the icing sugar and lemon juice and spread over the top of the loaf, and top off with some toasted almonds.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F/Gas Mark 5.
