Stollen is a yeast bread filled with nuts and dried fruits. A Christmas tradition in Germany, it’s perfect for serving on Christmas morning. This recipe is for a HUGE batch suitable for giving away as gifts. It can be made ahead and frozen. Instructions for making a half batch (5 loaves) in the notes below the recipe. Take note that this is a very old recipe and calls for “small to medium”-sized eggs, which is unusual because most recipes these days use large eggs.
Ingredients
9 cups warm milk
1 cup margarine (butter would be fine as well, but this is a very old recipe and the original recipe called for margarine)
12 small-to-medium-sized eggs (the original recipe called for a dozen small/medium eggs. You can use 10 large eggs)
2 cups granulated sugar
5 packages packages dry yeast (11-1/4 teaspoons)
1-1/2 tablespoon salt
25 cups all-purpose flour
rind of 1 lemon
juice of 2 lemons
1 lb candied red cherries
1 lb candied pineapple
1 lb candied green cherries
1 lb raisins
3 cups nuts (hickory, pecans, and/or walnuts)
5 cups powdered sugar, for garnish
Directions
- Heat milk till skin forms. Add margarine, sugar, salt, lemon juice and rind. Dissolve yeast in part of the cooled milk mixture. Stir to dissolve sugar, add beaten eggs when mixture has cooled. Stir in 10 cups of flour with wooden spoon. Add all the fruit and nuts, then knead in the rest of the flour. This will take some time as the dough should not stick to your hands. Knead until smooth and elastic. Cover with cloth and place in a warm place until double in size. Grease 10 loaf pans, shape into loaves, and let rise again till double its size. Preheat oven to 325F. Beat 1 egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush tops of loaves before baking. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes. Remove from oven. While cooling, sift about 1/2 cup powdered sugar over each loaf.
Notes
- For 5 loaves:
4.5 cups warm milk
1/2 cup margarine (butter would be fine as well, but this is a very old recipe and the original recipe called for margarine)
6 small-to-medium-sized eggs (or 5 large)
1 cup sugar
2-1/2 packages packages dry yeast
3/4 tablespoon salt
12-1/2 cups flour
rind of 1/2 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 lb candied red cherries
1/2 lb candied pineapple
1/2 lb candied green cherries
1/2 lb raisins
1-1/2 cups nuts (hickory, pecans, and/or walnuts)
2-1/2 cups powdered sugar, for garnish - * Daring Gourmet has a great recipe for a 1-loaf Stollen.
- Wikipedia has a great article on the history of Stollen.