Best Sourdough Stollen [German Christmas Bread Recipe]

If you're looking for a sourdough recipe steeped in Christmas tradition then you are going to love this sourdough stollen recipe! Sourdough stollen is a traditional German Christmas sweet bread, filled with dried fruits, nuts and marzipan.

It's known for it's snow white powdered sugar coating which actually protects the Christmas sourdough stollen and makes it last a long time, even outside of the fridge. This sourdough version features the iconic tang of sourdough starter and lengthy fermentation.

If you love sourdough Christmas recipes, then you might like to check out this collection of sourdough Christmas recipes for gifting or this collection of sourdough Christmas recipes or perhaps you'll enjoy these sourdough pfeffernusse cookies or this sourdough Christmas Tree pull apart loaf or Christmas Tree sourdough cinnamon rolls.

Why You'll Love This Recipe?

Tastes So Much Better Than Store Bought - if you're like me and you LOVE Christmas because you get to eat Stollen from Aldi, then hold on to your tastebuds becasue this homemade sourdough stollen recipe is going to make you wonder why you loved the storebought version! Seriously, it's so good. You'll never want to eat stollen from the store again once you've tried homemade sourdough stollen.

​Control the Add Ins - making your own sourdough stollen means that you can control what fruits, peel and nuts you add. Many people don't like citrus peel (and if you're one of them) you can leave it out completely. Or if you love nuts, you could add almonds or pecans to this recipe. It's totally up to you!

Family Tradition - this is one of those traditional recipes that makes a perfect family tradition at Christmas. Christmas stollen has become a tradition in our family home, alongside my beloved Panettone. The only problem is that my kids eat all the marzipan before I'm ready to roll it inside the Christmas stollen (I may also be guilty of this!) ... note to self, always buy extra marzipan!

What is a Stollen?

Stollen, a beloved German Christmas sweet bread, is a rich and sweet yeast bread laden with dried fruits, citrus peel, nuts and spices, all enveloped in a blanket of powdered sugar. It often has a marzipan log baked inside the middle of the dough, providing a sweet surprise. 

Its origin traces back to the city of Dresden in the 15th century when bakers sought permission from the Pope to use butter during Advent, resulting in the creation of this delectable treat. Often referred to as Christstollen to emphasize its connection to the Christmas season, this festive bread has become a symbol of holiday indulgence, embodying centuries of tradition and the warmth of German Yuletide celebrations.

Why Use A Stiff Starter When Making Sourdough Stollen?

This recipe for sourdough stollen uses a stiff, sweet levain which is made the night before. The smell of this sweet levain is out of this world delicious. If your home is very cold, I suggest putting this slow rising levain somewhere warm as it will take too long to peak otherwise.

A sweet, stiff levain is much less acidic than your regular sourdough starter which is fed at 100% hydration. This will give your sourdough stollen a much more mellow flavor, with added sweetness from the sugar in the levain.

If you use your regular sourdough starter, you will find that it will make this dough much more wet and difficult to handle, so I strongly urge you to take the time and create the sweet, stiff leavain.

If you already have a Lievito Madre (stiff sourdough starter) then you can use 260g of it to make this sourdough stollen recipe.

Let's Talk About Fermentation of Enriched Doughs

This sourdough stollen is made using an enriched dough, that is the dough contains a lot of fat from the buttermilk, milk, eggs and butter. Enriched doughs typically take a lot longer to ferment during bulk rise than lean doughs (doughs without added fats). Now throw in some dried fruit that has been soaked in rum and the fermentation time increases further.

Don't let this put you off, but I wanted to add a note in here that bulk fermentation time will be long. It's safe to leave the dough out overnight. I've never had an issue leaving enriched doughs out to bulk ferment (for example this sourdough brioche recipe).

In creating and testing this recipe, I used a bread proofer set at 26C to 28C to ferment my dough for bulk fermentation. It took between 12 and 14 hours each time to ferment the dough and allow it to rise 50%. This is a lot longer than I would typically wait for my regular sourdough bread recipe to rise. I would definitely recommend leaving your dough ball in a warm place, rather than anywhere on the cold side. If you do have a cooler home you will need to allow a very long time for fermentation to occur.

You will also notice that I have not added the cinnamon or nutmeg to the dough, I've sprinkled it onto the dough after bulk fermentation. This is because cinnamon can inhibit the rise of the dough during bulk fermentation due to it's anti microbial properties.

Equipment For Making Sourdough Stollen?

There really isn't any fancy equipment necessary for making this sourdough stollen. I have purposely kept the recipe simple and achievable for everyone, much like this sourdough on a budget recipe, which uses things you already have in your kitchen. 

So while this looks like a lot of equipment, you should already have most of it in your kitchen:

• Digital Kitchen Scale
• Large Mixing Bowl
• Whisk and spatula
• Silicon or plastic dough scraper
• Metal dough scraper
• Baking tray or cookie sheet
• Pastry Brush
• Large container for dusting the stollen in powdered sugar after baking
• Aluminum Foil

How To Make The Best Sourdough Stollen (Traditional German Christmas Bread)

The recipe for this sourdough stollen bread might seem really long, but the hands on time is fairly minimal. It does take a little bit of planning due to the sweet stiff leavin preparation and the long bulk fermentation, but it's really worth it for some sweet sourdough Christmas magic!

You'll notice the marzipan is missing from the photo below ... because it mysteriously got eaten and I had to buy more!!

Preparing the Levain

This levain should be prepared the night before. Add the flour, water, sugar and sourdough starter to a jar and mix thoroughly. Set aside to peak. The sweet stiff levain will be so thick that it won't move, even when you tip the jar over.

Preparing the Dried Fruit

Add all of the dried fruit to a mixing bowl and add the spiced rum. Stir well to coat all of the fruit. Cover with plastic and set aside overnight. I haven't added a huge amount of rum so you won't need to drain the fruit before adding to the dough (over soaked fruit can cause wet, slack dough that's hard to handle).

If you don't want to use rum, you can soak the fruit in the same amount of apple juice or orange juice.

Preparing the Sourdough Stollen Dough

Add the sugar, buttermilk, milk and egg to a large mixing bowl and whisk well to combine and dissolve the sugar (it's a good idea to have the use lukewarm milk and buttermilk or at least at room temperature so as not to hamper fermentation further).

Now add the stiff sweet levain to the liquid and use your whisk to break up the levain as best you can, allowing it to soften in the other liquid.

On top of that add the bread flour and salt and bring together into a stiff dough. Cover with plastic and set aside for around one hour.

Tip the sourdough stollen dough out onto the counter top and add a little of the butter. Knead this in, before adding more, until all the butter has been kneaded into the dough. This can be difficult if you're not used to working with enriched doughs. You can use a stand mixer to perform this step if you prefer.

It is very similar to kneading butter into sourdough brioche dough.

Once the butter is fully incorporated in the dough, allow the dough to rest for around 10 minutes (you can leave it on the counter, just pop the bowl over the top so it doesn't dry out).

Now, gently knead in all the boozy dried fruit. The fruit should have absorbed all the rum, so there won't be any excess liquid to worry about. Don't worry if the dough tears a little, leave it to rest for 10 minutes, then knead again.

When you're happy that all the fruit has been incorporated into the dough, pop the dough back into the bowl and cover. Allow to bulk ferment at room temperature until the dough has risen around 50%.

Don't worry about the dough containing butter milk, egg, milk and butter. It's perfectly safe to leave it out at room temperature.

Once the dough has risen to around 50%, it's time to shape the dough and add the marzipan and cinnamon and nutmeg. I've used my bread proofer to help with the bulk fermentation process.

Shaping Sourdough Stollen

Tip the dough out of the bowl onto the counter so the sticky side is ontop. If you're making one large stollen, then leave the dough as is, but if you would prefer two smaller stollens, divide the dough into two equally weighted pieces (I prefer two smaller ones but it's totally up to you).

Gently pull each piece of dough out into a rough rectangle. Mold the marzipan into two long cylinders, the same length as your dough and lay off centre on the long side of each piece dough. Gently use the side of your hand to push the marzipan into the dough.

Spinkle the dough with cinnamon and nutmeg if desired.

Roll each rectangle of dough into a long roll (similar to when you make sourdough cinnamon rolls). Start on the side where you've laid the marzipan and roll, tucking the bottom seam under, along with the ends. You want to completely conceal the marzipan so that it doesn't leak out in the oven.

Transfer each stollen to a baking tray lined with baking paper and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Allow the stollen to proof at room temperature until the dough has risen around 50% again.

Let's Bake Sourdough Stollen!

When you're ready to bake the stollen, preheat the oven to 175C (350F).

When the oven is at temperature, bake the sourdough stollen for around 45 minutes (or until it is golden brown).

Remove the baked sourdough stollen from the oven and allow to cool for a bit before brushing it all over with melted butter (a pastry brush is perfect for this).

Once it's cooled for around an hour, brush it again with butter and then place into a container full of powdered sugar. Lightly roll the stollen around in the powdered sugar until it's completely and evenly covered on all surfaces. If you don't have a container big enough, just use a seive or tea strainer to dust the sourdough stollen evenly in powdered sugar.

Now, wrap your stollens in a piece of aluminum foil and allow them to mature in a cool place for at least 24 hours before you try them (it's worth the wait I promise).

Frequently Asked Questions About Making Sourdough Stollen Bread

Do I have to add marzipan to sourdough stollen?

No you don't have to add the marzipan log if you don't want to. It does add a lovely sweet flavor to the middle of the dough, as well as adds moisture but it still tastes good without it. If you love it (like me) you can add a thicker log of marzipan. You can also roll the marzipan out so that it covers the whole rectangle of dough and create marzipan swirls if you prefer (like the filling of a sourdough cinnamon roll).

Can I add nuts to my sourdough stollen?

Absolutely! You can add up to 100g of any chopped nuts you love. Almonds and pecans work really well but you can add whatever nuts you like to eat. You do not roast them first.

Does sourdough stollen need to be stored in the fridge?

No, stollen doesn't need to be stored in the fridge. It can be wrapped in aluminum foil and stored at room temperature for quite a while. If you live in a warm climate, it will not last as long.

How To Store + Freeze

Sourdough stollen will actually last quite a while at room temperature, as long as you store it correctly. Once baked, sugared and wrapped in aluminum foil, you can store sourdough Stollen at room temperature for around 2 weeks.

If you want to store it longer than this, I would advise placing it in the freezer. I wrap my stollen in aluminum foil and then place into a zip loc bag or plastic fruit and vege bag tied in a knot. This keeps the sourdough stollen from being burned by the freezer.

You can also find some good tips for freezing sourdough bread here.

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