How to Make Beautiful Stollen Without Kneading

Stollen is a classic German Christmas bread. Full of dried fruits, citrus, and a whole log of marzipan running through the middle. It is soft, sweet, and fragrant. When I think of Christmas bakes this type of recipe comes to mind. Christmas is the time for rich breads like this one.

Historically, people used to only be able to afford these kinds of ingredients a couple times a year. Often, regular bread recipes would be spiced up to create special bakes for the occasion. And this one is certainly special.

It is the second stollen recipe on my channel. I had made one a few years back. This time I wanted to simplify the recipe by making it without kneading. To convert the recipe a couple of changes had to be made. First, the dough is mixed without the addition of fruit and left to rise until the first fold. The soaked fruits are folded into the dough.

You can adjust the recipe to your taste. Use different fruits, spices, citrus zest, and even swap the alcohol for orange juice. Instead of using milk powder and water you can simply skip the powder and swap the water for milk.

Ingredients

For the rum soaker –

50g (1.75oz) dried cranberries

50g (1.75oz) dried prunes

50g (1.75oz) dried apricots

50g (1.75oz) golden raisins

50g (1.75oz) dates

50g (1.75oz) dark rum

2 oranges worth of zest

For the dough –

250g (8.8oz) white bread flour

8g (0.28oz) instant dry yeast or 9.6g (0.33oz) active dry yeast or 24g (0.84oz) fresh yeast

4g (0.14oz) salt

30g (1oz) honey

50g (1.75oz) butter

1 egg (50g; 1.75oz)

80g (2.8oz) warm water

6g (0.21oz) cardamom pods or 3g (0.1oz) pre-ground cardamom

1g (0.035oz) nutmeg

40g (1.4oz) sliced almonds

20g (0.7oz) milk powder (optional)

200g (7oz) marzipan

To top –

Melted butter

Icing sugar

The flour I use has a protein content of 13%. If your flour is weaker, then you may need to lower the hydration. 

If you are using active dry yeast, then you may need to let it sit in the water for 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients or else it could take a lot longer to raise the dough.

If you are curious about why the dough contains butter, egg, and sugar, click the links to learn more about the effects those ingredients have on bread dough.

Method

1. Toast the almonds at 160C (320F) fan on for 6 minutes.
2. Make the soaker. Combine the fruits, citrus zest, and rum. Mix well. Leave to soak overnight. Stir at least once to ensure maximum absorption.
3. Make the dough. In a large bowl combine the water, yeast, salt, nutmeg, cardamom, honey, egg, milk powder, and toasted almonds. Mix well. Add the flour and mix to a dough. *Desired dough temperature 27C (80F). If your dough is warmer, then it will ferment more rapidly. If it is cooler, then it will take longer. Adjust fermentation time accordingly.
4. Cover and ferment for 40 minutes.
5. Flatted the dough and spread the soaked fruits over it in an even layer. Fold up.
6. Ferment for 40 minutes.
7. Fold.
8. Ferment for 40 minutes.
9. Flatten the dough, add the marzipan, and fold it over to shape the loaf.
10. Final proof for 2 hours. During the final hour of fermentation pre-heat the oven to 160C (320F) fan on.
11. Bake the loaf for 50 minutes.
12. As soon as it comes out the oven brush it with melted butter and coat with a thick layer of icing sugar. Leave to cool down completely.
13. Apply more icing sugar before serving.

Keep in mind that the conditions in each kitchen are different, so fermentation times may vary for you. It is up to the baker to control the bread and react accordingly.

Your oven may be different too, so your baking time may vary.