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Stollen Inspired Holiday Bread

The thing I love most about any holiday is the extra time my husband, kids and I get to spend together.  I love the ease of rolling out of bed in the morning and not rushing to do anything (except make coffee!), and leisurely taking our time munching on delicious foods and sipping beverages throughout the day… until evening hits and the last item on our agenda is to sneak in a few good flicks that coordinate with the season.

To prepare for my husband’s long weekend home from his day job, I spent all day yesterday baking and candymaking. We are well stocked for the upcoming few days… although I think we are already in need of more fudge. :\ One of the treats we had planned for breakfast this morning was this holiday bread. Fashionably jeweled with nuts and fruit, and lightly dusted with powdered sugar… I think it is quite obvious that I got this idea from looking at all of the beautifully studded stollen loaves permeating the internet this holiday season.

Although I have never actually had a taste of authentic stollen, my guess is that this recipe would be denser and more “nutty” than real deal. Like a “health nut” version of stollen :).

Wonderful sliced thin, toasted, spread with some jam, and enjoyed with a mimosa… and maybe some fudge.

Happiest Holidays everyone! ♥

Stollen Inspired Holiday Bread

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries, soaked overnight in 1/4 cup dark rum + 1/4 tsp scraped vanilla bean
  • 1 cup very warm non-dairy milk
  • 2 packets dry active yeast (.25 oz each)
  • 3 tsp granulated vegan sugar
  • 1 cup sorghum flour
  • 1/2 cup brown rice flour
  • 1/4 cup potato starch
  • 1/4 cup teff flour
  • 2 tsp xanthan gum
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cardamom
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp agave (or sugar)
  • 2 tbsp flaxseed meal mixed with 4 tbsp water
  • 1 cup dried apricots, chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped roasted pistachios
  • organic confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Directions:

First, before doing anything… prepare to make this one day in advance so that you have time for those cranberries to soak in the vanilla rum. It’s worth the wait.

The next day, once your cranberries are nice and plump, proceed with the following steps:

In medium sized bowl, proof together yeast with the warm non-dairy milk and sugar until frothy. Once frothy add in the olive oil, agave, prepared flaxseed meal, and soaked cranberries (including the remaining rum).

In separate, larger mixing bowl, sift together sorghum flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, teff flour, xanthan gum, salt, cardamom, and cinnamon.  Form a well in the center of the flours and then pour in yeast mixture, stirring well to make a thick batter. Fold in chopped apricots and pistachios.

Grease a standard sized loaf pan and spread the batter into the pan, smoothing the top with a touch of water on your fingers if needed.

Cover lightly and allow to rise in warm area for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 °F and bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until top is dark golden brown (about the color of a flaxseed).

Let cool slightly, and then dust with (or douse in) confectioner’s sugar.

Slice thinly and serve toasted, or as is. But seriously, this stuff is so good when it’s toasted. :)

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6 Responses to Stollen Inspired Holiday Bread

  1. Leinana says:

    I lived in Germany for 2 years, and one of my favorite things was the Christmas stollen. Your version looks beautiful & delicious!

  2. Kayleigh says:

    My coworkers were just going crazy over some stollen they got at a local bakery, and it got me wanting to veganize a recipe, so now I don’t have to! Do you think this recipe would work with some non GF flours that I have in my cupboard?

    • allyson says:

      Hi Kayleigh!

      I would think that this recipe would work okay if you replaced the gf flours and xanthan with regular flour… but I’m not sure what the result would be since this recipe is kinda different in method and ingredients. To achieve a more authentic-like stollen, you’re best bet would probably be to just veganize a version of the original bread.. such as this one here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/saras-secrets/stollen-recipe/index.html

      You could just replace the honey with agave… non-dairy milk for the cow’s milk, and a tablespoon of flaxseed + 2 tbsp water where the egg goes. Although I haven’t personally tried this recipe (just using as an example) … those general guidelines work well in veganizing breads of all kinds in many different recipes. Hope this helps a bit. :)

      Happy New Year!

      allyson

  3. Laurel says:

    It looks beautiful, especially with all the snow on top, just like a traditional gluten filled stollen. The thing that matters is that you and your family enjoyed it, also the fact that I got some more eye candy didn’t hurt. Thanks for bringing me so much joy this year.

  4. Looks great! Like a holiday fruit cake`