My husband asked for a Christstollen or butter stollen. Unfortunately, I am always a bit skeptical about yeast; the part with the long 'rising' time doesn't work so well for me. But I found a nice recipe here; I had some candied orange peel, candied lemon peel, and raisins left over from baking, so I dared to try this pastry.
It is very time-consuming because the dough has to rest and 'rise' constantly. In terms of ingredients, I didn't find it that complicated; I had almost everything at home. I didn't have spices like allspice and cardamom, but I had a 'baked apple' spice blend that contained them, and I must say, it tastes great too.
If you want to try my recipe too, here are the details:
Christstollen – Bake butter stollen yourself – Recipe
Ingredients for one stollen:
- 200 g soft butter
- 500 g flour
- 1 cube of yeast or 1 packet of dry yeast
- 125 g sugar
- 1/8 l warm milk
- 3 tbsp rum or water
- 50 g candied lemon peel
- 50 g candied orange peel
- 50 g raisins
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 pinch of cardamom
- 1 pinch of allspice
- 1 pinch of mace
- 50 g melted butter for brushing
- 30 g powdered sugar for dusting
- once 30 minutes, then 1 hour, then another 2 hours
- 50-60 minutes
Instructions:
If you want it very fine, cut the candied lemon and orange peel into small pieces with a large knife. Then put them in a bowl with the raisins, drizzle with the rum (or water), and let them soak until the dough has finished rising.
Pour the flour into a large bowl, press a well into the middle, and add the yeast and 1 tbsp of the sugar. Heat the milk until lukewarm and pour it into the well. Mix the yeast, sugar, and milk in the middle with a little flour from the edge until the yeast has dissolved. Cover this so-called pre-dough and let it rise in a warm place.
Then add the remaining sugar, the rest of the warm milk, and the spices.
Extra tip: I didn't have all these spices at home and used a 'baked apple' spice blend instead; it also tastes very good. You can certainly vary the spices here; just try it out or use what you like.
Add the butter in small pieces and process everything into a smooth dough using a dough hook from a hand mixer or food processor. The dough must be kneaded until it easily pulls away from the edge of the bowl and forms bubbles.
Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and let it rise again in a warm place for about 1 hour.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or grease it).
Now knead the dough well by hand, add the soaked fruits, and mix everything well with your hands.
Now shape the dough into a stollen; I simply shaped it like a loaf of bread and didn't need any aids. If you want that typical stollen shape, place the dough on a floured work surface and press it slightly flat with a rolling pin. Then fold one side over the middle and place it on the baking sheet.
Let the stollen rise again covered for about 2 hours.
To ensure the stollen keeps its shape, you can use a stollen mold if you have one, or wrap it in aluminum foil. To do this, fold a long piece of aluminum foil lengthwise several times until a long, firm strip is created that fits around the stollen. Wrap this strip tightly around the stollen, press the ends together firmly, and secure them with paper clips.
Caution:with a stollen mold, the baking time increases by approx. 10 minutes. Remove the mold for the last 15 minutes so that the surface gets a nice crust.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F) top and bottom heat. Bake the dough in the oven for approx. 50-60 minutes. The stollen should be nicely browned and have a crust.
Melt the butter and brush it onto the stollen immediately after taking it out of the oven. Repeat this process several times while it cools. When the stollen has completely cooled, rub it thickly with powdered sugar.
How do you store a stollen?
The recipe said that you have to store the stollen in a cool place for at least 14 days or even 3 weeks to let it mature. Aha, and how? After some research on the internet, I found that it is best to wrap the stollen in aluminum foil and then pack it in a freezer bag or a tin box. This way, the stollen does not dry out. The long storage is explained by the fact that the spices and dried fruits need to 'mature' and can only then unfold their flavor.
Please store the stollen in a cool place, at approx. 15°C (59°F), and in the dark.
Attention: The long storage does not apply to poppy seed and quark stollen; these should be eaten fresh.
My next question was also answered right below:
Why doesn't stollen get moldy?
If the stollen is packed airtight, it cannot get moldy or dry out.
Why do you cut stollen in the middle?
That's simple: firstly, because the stollen tastes best in the middle, and secondly, you can push the two ends back together, and the stollen stays fresh longer.
If you have any candied orange peel, raisins, or candied lemon peel left over, the 'Hausfreunde' cookies are a great option; you can find the recipe here:
Read also: Recipe for Hausfreunde – Christmas cookies
Photo by Sabine, meinhaushalt.at
