Almond Filled Stollen
Almond Filled Stollen is a traditional German/Austrian bread rich with butter, almond paste and candied fruit. The bread is even better after a few days so it’s the perfect make ahead holiday treat.
Table of contents
About This Recipe
Whew, can you believe it took me almost 30 years to make this bread? Well, not the actual loaf you see in the photos, that only took a couple of hours. But the recipe for this bread was 30 years in the making.
As I’ve mentioned before, my first job out of pastry school was with a well-known and well-respected Austrian pastry chef. It was a year of very, very intense training and long hours, but I sure learned a lot.
I also collected some wonderful recipes that I use to this day. Including my Sacher Torte recipe which is a top recipe on Google.
Well, I didn’t just collect the recipes, I had to earn them. Whenever we made a recipe for the first time we were expected to write down the ingredients and all the steps in our personal recipe book. The chef actually reviewed our books from time to time and made notes on the recipes. It really was an on-the-job learning experience.
Anyway, I worked at this bakery for one holiday season. We made stollen weeks before Christmas and set it aside to “ripen”. I’d never tasted Almond Filled Stollen before and I was immediately obsessed. I thought it was one of the best things I’d ever eaten and I really, really wanted the recipe.
The only problem was, the chef made the dough before we came to work that morning. We never actually put together the ingredients or had the chance to record the recipe. Arg!
My friend Suzie was able to write down a list of ingredients for the Almond Stollen. You can see my cryptic 30-year-old note in the photo below.
This is all I had to work from to recreate the recipe. A random list of ingredients, scaled to produce dozens of loaves.
You can see why it took me 30 years to buckle-down and recreate the recipe.
I reviewed stollen recipes in my favorite books and on the web. After comparing them to “the random list” I had a pretty good working recipe and I had a few memories to work from.
The very first test-loaves were really good and just got better over the course of a week. With a few more tweaks I had my stollen recipe, finally!
I honestly can’t say how close it is to the original, but at this point I don’t think it really matters. What matters is, this is a good stollen recipe.
I think it was worth the wait and I hope you do to.
Oh, and by the way, if you’ve got an active sourdough starter I’ve developed a great recipe for Sourdough Stollen especially for you sourdough bakers.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Active Yeast – I don’t recommend using rapid rise yeast for this recipe. You want a slower rise for this bread to develop a full depth of flavor.
- Bread Flour – High protein bread flour makes a dough with enough gluten to hold in the dried fruits while it rises in the oven.
- Raisins/Orange Peel – You can use any mix of dried fruits. If you use larger fruits chop them into 1/2″ bits.
- Rum – The rum is optional. But remember that alcohol enhances other flavors. You can use apple juice or water in place of the liquor.
- Almond Paste – Use almond paste and not marzipan for the filling. Marzipan has a lot of added sugar and will not give the same result as almond paste.
Process Photos
See the recipe card for detailed measurements and instructions.
- The dough will be quite sticky just after it’s mixed.
- After kneading 5 minutes the dough should cling to the hook and clear the sides of the bowl.
- Knead the fruit into the dough either on the mixer or by hand. Use plenty of flour if the fruit makes the dough very sticky.
- Set the dough aside to rise for 1-1 1/2 hours. After the first rise the dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or you can proceed with shaping and baking the loaves.
- Divide the dough in half. Roll each piece to a 9″x7″ oval. Spread half the almond paste filling over the dough, leaving a 1″ border.
- Fold the dough over the filling, leaving a 1″ border in the front. Use your fingers to seal the seam of the dough.
- Set the loaves aside to rise for 1 hour.
- Bake the loaves until the internal temp reaches 190F. Cool 10 minutes then generously brush the entire surface of each loaf with melted butter.
- Generously sprinkle the entire surface of each loaf with superfine sugar. Tightly wrap the loaves in 2 layers of plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 2-3 days before serving. At this point the loaves can be frozen for up to a month.
- To serve, brush or scrape away the granulated sugar.
- Sprinkle each loaf generously with powdered sugar.
- The texture of the bread will change over a week or so at room temperature.
Work Ahead
Almond Stollen is even better a few days after baking so it is the perfect make ahead recipe. The dough can be held in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before shaping and baking.
Storage
Almond Stollen can be stored, well-wrapped, at room temperature for up to a week. The baked loaves can be frozen for up to a month. Freeze the loaf with the butter/superfine sugar coating. Remove the coating and sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.
More Austrian/German Recipes
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Almond Filled Stollen
Ingredients
Dough
- 6 oz raisins (1 cup)
- 4 oz candied orange peel (½ cup)
- 2 oz rum (¼ cup)
- 4 oz whole milk (½ cup, scalded then cooled to 110 °F.)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons dry yeast
- 12 ½ oz bread flour (2 ½ cups, see note)
- 2 oz granulated sugar (¼ cup)
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 6 oz unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
Filling
- 6 oz almond paste
- 2 oz unsalted butter (room temperature)
Topping
- 4 oz unsalted butter (melted)
- 8 oz superfine sugar (1 cup (see note))
- 4 oz confectioner’s sugar (1 cup)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine 6 oz raisins and 4 oz candied orange peel with 2 oz rum. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes until most of the rum is absorbed. Transfer the fruit to a small bowl and set aside to cool.
- Combine 4 oz whole milk, 2 ¼ teaspoons dry yeast and 1 cup (5 oz) of the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a mixing bowl. Mix the ingredients to form a thick batter. Cover the bowl and set aside for 30 minutes.
- With the mixer running on low, add 2 oz granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon table salt. Add 6 oz unsalted butter a tablespoon at a time. Mix to incorporate completely. Add 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract¼ teaspoon almond extract and 1/2 cup of flour.
- Switch to the dough hook and with the mixer running on low add the remaining flour. Knead for 5 minutes. The dough should gather on the hook and clear the sides of the bowl. If working by hand, add as much of the flour as you can mix by hand then turn the dough out onto a floured surface to finish kneading in the flour.
- Knead the raisin mixture into the dough. Use plenty of flour for kneading if the dough becomes sticky after the raisins are added.
- Place the dough into an oiled bowl, turning once to coat the dough. Cover the bowl and set aside to rise for 1½ hours. (see note)
- While the dough rises, cream together 6 oz almond paste and 2 oz unsalted butter until it forms a smooth paste. Set aside at room temperature. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide in half without kneading. Gently press one piece of dough into an 9" x 7" oval. Spread half the almond paste over the oval, leaving a 1" border around the edges. Fold the dough over the filling from the long side, leaving a 1" border along the front edge. You should end up with a 9" x 4" oval with a 1" border on the front edge.
- Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Set the loaves on the parchment lined pan. Cover and set aside to rise for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 325 °F.
- Bake the loaves until golden brown and the center registers 190°F, about 45 minutes.
- Remove the loaves from the oven and cool 10 minutes. Generously brush the loaves on all sides 4 oz unsalted butter (melted), then completely coat the loaves with 8 oz superfine sugar. Set aside to cool completely.
- Wrap the loaves tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap and store at room temperature to develop the flavor. The stollen can be eaten right away but I find it's best after 2-3 days and up to a week. When ready to serve, unwrap the loaf, scrape away the superfine sugar coating then generously sprinkle on all sides with confectioners sugar. For longer term storage place the wrapped loaves in the freezer.
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I love this stollen, especially the filling..yum!
Thanks, Sneha!
I am very impressed that you were able to adapt that recipe to work for you today. The stollen looks absolutely perfect.
Thanks, Wendy. I’ve been meaning to work on the recipe for years so today’s #BreadBakers event was the perfect excuse.
What a great story and memory! Your stollen turned out beautifully!
Thanks, Karen. It was really fun to try and recreate the old recipe.
This is such a beautiful recipe. I can smell Christmas 🙂 It was interesting to read the entire post and this definitely is a good Stollen recipe.
Thanks, Namita. It does scream “Christmas”.
OMG! I have no words to say! This is one amazingly delicious recipe. I must try it out thankfully I dont have to work the proportions!! But the stollen will not last in our hot and humid climes for more than 3 days.Thanks for joining me on my quest !
You could probably hold the bread for a day or so if you have a cool room in the house. Otherwise it can be frozen. Thanks for coming up with a great theme.