Stollen Bread German Christmas Bread

This traditional German stollen bread is the perfect treat for the holidays! It’s a delicious sweet bread filled with cranberries, raisins, candied citrus, and a luscious almond filling. I love German food and trying to recreate it at home! A few more recipes you’ll have to try out: pork schnitzel, German oven pancakes, and this German potato salad! (It’s one of my favorite sides!)

German Christmas Fruit Loaf (Christstollen)

This holiday season, swap out your traditional fruit cake for this tasty German version! Translated, “stollen” means fruit loaf. These are eaten all year round, but in December they’re called Christstollen. Stollen bread is soft with the perfect chew. Similar to a fruit cake, it’s also loaded with cranberries, raisins, and candied citrus for delicious fruity flavor! What really makes stollen good, though, is its tasty almond filling. I use almond paste in this recipe, but it’s also commonly made with marzipan! Stollen is the perfect combination of flavors and textures. It’s sweet, nutty, and fruity! You’ve got to give this delicious German pastry a try for Christmas. It may just become a new family tradition!

What You’ll Need to Make Stollen

I’ve broken this list of ingredients up into a few different parts so it’s easier to organize. If you can’t find almond paste at your local grocery store, check out my tips section below on how to make it at home.

Fruit and Nut Mixture

Dried Fruits: In my stollen bread I used dried cranberries and golden raisins for the perfect combination of tart and sweet.Candied Citrus: I used both candied orange and lemon peel. If you can’t find these in-store, use my recipe here to make them from scratch!Slivered Almonds: Adds a little extra nuttiness to the stollen.Dark Rum: Added for extra flavor.

Bread

Milk: I always like to use whole milk for bread because the fat content makes it soft and tender. Be sure to use milk that’s warm to help activate the yeast!Yeast: I used active dry yeast.Sugar: Just regular granulated sugar works great to sweeten up the dough.Bread Flour: Bread flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour, so it produces more gluten and gives your stollen more chew.Large Egg: Binds all of the ingredients together!Softened Butter: I used unsalted butter because we add salt separately.Vanilla: Vanilla and sweet breads go hand-in-hand! Add some in for an extra pop of flavor.Lemon Zest: I add lemon zest for a touch of zesty flavor.Salt: Keeps your stollen from tasting bland.Spices: No Christmas bread is complete without spice! I used cardamom, nutmeg, and cinnamon for the perfect holiday flavor.

Almond Filling

Almond Paste: For the filling of the stollen. You can also use marzipan instead. If you can’t find either at the store, you can make it from scratch using my instructions below.

Garnish

Melted Butter: Nothing compares to a little melted butter brushed on top of homemade bread!Powdered Sugar: Stollen is traditionally made with powdered sugar dusted on top, but you can omit this if you want your bread to be less sweet.

How to Make Stollen Bread

I know all the instructions may be intimidating, but making stollen is actually pretty simple! It just takes a little time and patience to get your dough right.

Preparing the Fruit and Nut Mixture

Making the Dough

Adding Filling and Baking

Use Orange Juice in Place of Rum: The alcohol in the rum you soak the fruit and nuts in will bake out, but if you are not comfortable using rum you can use orange juice as a substitute.Swapping Out Almond Paste for Marzipan: You can use marzipan instead of almond paste, I just prefer the almond paste personally.How to Make Candied Citrus: If you need to make your own candied orange and lemon peel like I did follow these steps: chop up ½ cup lemon peel and ½ cup orange peel and put into a large saucepan with 1 ½ cup sugar and ½ cup water, bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the temperature to low and allow the mixture to simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature before using in your bread recipe.

At Room Temperature: Store stollen in an airtight container. It will stay fresh for up to 1 week!In the Freezer: Store stollen in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.

The Perfect Christmas Star Bread

Eggnog Quick Bread with an Eggnog Glaze

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Cranberry Orange Quick Bread

All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.