Classic German Stollen Recipe: Traditional Holiday Fruit Bread

This is the best stollen recipe. A professional pastry chef walks you through making a traditional stollen loaf that stays moist and full of flavor. You can bake this recipe with or without a marzipan center.

What is Stollen?

Stollen is an enriched, yeasted bread traditionally enjoyed at Christmastime in Germany. The dough is scented with lemon and orange zest and studded with nuts, raisins and candied citrus peel. After baking, loaves are brushed with melted butter and coated in sugar to help preserve moisture and add a festive finish. It’s also known as Christstollen or Weihnachtsstollen.

Stollen is my favorite holiday bread. As a child I’d hunt for it in stores; now as a pastry chef I’ll share tips to keep your loaves moist and flavorful. The dough is buttery and soft, brightened with citrus zest and loaded with almonds, pecans, walnuts, raisins and candied orange peel. Brushing the baked loaves with melted butter and coating them with sugar seals in moisture and flavor. This recipe can include a marzipan center or be made without it.

Ingredients

• Dry Active Yeast: Hydrate before use — dependable and controllable.
• Whole Milk: Adds flavor and fat for a tender, moist crumb.
• All-Purpose Flour: Offers the right gluten strength for a soft, structured loaf.
• Butter: Unsalted butter gives rich flavor while letting you control salt.
• Sugar: For taste, crust color and to feed the yeast.
• Lemon & Orange Zest: Use only the colored peel for bright, concentrated flavor.
• Kosher Salt: Adds flavor and affects dough hydration; measured by weight.
• Candied Orange Peel: Store-bought works, but homemade peel is even better when you have time.
• Raisins: Dark or golden raisins both work; mix if desired.
• Almonds, Pecans & Walnuts: Use fresh, untoasted nuts for traditional flavor; store in the freezer for longer freshness.
• Marzipan (optional): Adds sweetness and almond flavor; use almond paste if preferred but ensure it holds its shape when rolled.

Variations

• Nuts & Fruits: Swap in currants, dried cherries, or other dried fruit and nuts to suit your taste. Spices like cinnamon or nutmeg can add warmth.
• Mini Stollen: Make bite-sized stollen for gifts or parties by dividing dough into 35 g pieces and baking in mini muffin tins.
• Marzipan: Optional but delicious — a marzipan center adds sweetness and moisture.

Should stollen be eaten warm?

Enjoy stollen warm with butter and jam or at room temperature. Both are lovely.

Why use a sponge?

A sponge mixes part of the flour with yeast and liquids and is left to ferment. This jump-starts yeast activity and gluten formation, reducing kneading time and improving dough texture.

How to Make Stollen

Make the sponge

Step 1: Combine sponge ingredients in a small bowl, sprinkle with some of the final dough flour, cover and ferment 10–15 minutes. The sponge is ready when the top flour cracks.

Make the dough

Step 2: Up to a day ahead, combine sugar and citrus zests to draw out oils and deepen flavor.

Step 3: In a stand mixer with the paddle, combine sponge, butter, sugar, flour and zests. Mix on low for about 2 minutes until hydrated; add a tablespoon of milk if dry bits remain.

Step 4: Switch to the dough hook, add salt and mix on medium-low about 4 minutes. Look for a smooth, extensible dough (windowpane test).

Step 5: Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover and proof 10 minutes.

Step 6: Knead in raisins, candied peel and nuts. It’s fine if not fully incorporated; bulk proof 20 minutes in an oiled bowl.

Step 7: Flip dough, perform a gentle fold by pulling edges toward the center, tuck loose mix-ins inside and proof in a warm spot 20 minutes.

Step 8: Divide the dough into two equal pieces (about 530 g each).

Step 9: Preheat oven to 350°F.

Step 10: Pre-shape each piece into a smooth round, tighten by pulling the dough toward you while rotating. Rest 10 minutes.

Step 11: Roll each round into a rectangle about 1 inch thick and 10–12 inches long. Use a dowel or spoon handle to press two shallow channels lengthwise to divide the dough into thirds.

Step 12: If using marzipan, divide it and roll into two ropes slightly shorter than the dough. Place a marzipan rope in the channel nearest you.

Step 13: Lift the top edge into the marzipan channel and fold the dough to form three ridges, with the center ridge slightly higher. Transfer to a parchment-lined sheet.

Step 14: Proof 20–30 minutes until light and airy. Chill 10 minutes before baking if you want firmer shaping.

Step 15: Brush with egg wash and bake 30–40 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer reads 185°F and a tester comes out clean.

Step 16: Cool on the sheet pan 10 minutes. Remove any overly dark raisins, brush with melted butter and coat in granulated or a mix of granulated and powdered sugar.

Recipe FAQs

Can you bake yeasted bread from frozen?

You can bake yeasted bread from frozen. Yeast remains partly active in the freezer, though activity slows. I don’t recommend freezing unbaked, shaped stollen for longer than a week.

Why add salt later?

Salt is hygroscopic and can draw moisture away during initial mixing. Delaying salt lets the flour hydrate fully and helps form a smooth dough, especially in an enriched formula with significant butter.

How do you serve stollen?

Serve plain or lightly warmed with butter and jam. Marzipan-filled stollen is delicious on its own. Leftover stollen also makes excellent French toast or bread pudding.

Before You Go!

Try more chef-developed bread recipes for the holidays and beyond.