Homemade Dutch Easter Stollen: A Zesty Orange & Cinnamon Delight for Your Brunch
Imagine a delightful start to your Easter morning: a warm, creamy stollen, infused with the bright zest of orange, the comforting spice of cinnamon, and plump, juicy raisins. This isn’t just any bun; it’s a celebration of flavors, a truly delicious and inviting treat perfect for every Easter brunch or breakfast. Its hint of cinnamon adds an extra layer of warmth and complexity, making each bite an unforgettable experience.
Do you know what often comes to mind when I think of an Easter brunch? A classic Dutch Easter bun, traditionally served with a rich almond paste that you spread onto each slice. It’s a cherished custom for many, evoking memories of festive gatherings and sweet indulgence. However, I often face a small challenge right here in my own home.
The truth is, I’m the only one in this household who truly appreciates the distinctive taste of almond paste. And, to be completely honest, finding a traditional Dutch Easter bun that I can enjoy safely, given my peanut allergy, is often a difficult task. To then eat an entire traditional bun by myself feels like a bit too much. So, this year, I decided to take matters into my own hands and create a custom version – a simplified, yet equally delicious, take on the classic Dutch Easter bun, specifically designed without the almond paste. This recipe ensures everyone can enjoy a slice of Easter joy, free from common allergens and tailored to personal preferences, without compromising on flavor or tradition.
Baking homemade stollen for Easter is more than just making bread; it’s about creating memories and sharing warmth with loved ones. This recipe is designed to be accessible and enjoyable for bakers of all levels, leading to a perfectly fluffy, fragrant, and utterly irresistible loaf. Let’s dive into some essential tips to ensure your stollen turns out magnificent!
Tips for Baking the Perfect Easter Stollen
- Activating Your Yeast: The Golden Rule of Bread Baking. When you combine yeast, milk, and sugar, you’re essentially waking up tiny organisms that will make your bread rise beautifully. After just five minutes, you should see small bubbles forming on the surface of your mixture. This bubbling indicates that your yeast is alive and active, ready to work its magic. If you don’t observe any bubbles, it’s a clear sign that your yeast is no longer viable, and you’ll need to start with a fresh batch. Don’t skip this crucial step, as it guarantees a successful rise for your stollen.
- Sugar Isn’t Just for Sweetness: It’s Yeast Fuel! The sugar added to your yeast mixture plays a vital role beyond just adding sweetness. It acts as “food” for the yeast. These tiny organisms consume the sugar and convert it into carbon dioxide, which creates those airy pockets and light texture we all love in bread. Discarding or reducing the sugar in the yeast activation step can prevent your bread from rising properly, so it’s essential for achieving that characteristic fluffy consistency.
- Moist and Plump Raisins Make All the Difference. For the best texture and flavor in your stollen, it’s essential to prevent your raisins and currants from drying out during baking. Soaking them in hot water for about 10 minutes ensures they become wonderfully moist and plump. This step rehydrates them, making them softer and more flavorful, preventing them from becoming tough or chewy in the finished bread. After soaking, make sure to thoroughly dry them between a kitchen towel before incorporating them into the dough. Excess moisture can interfere with the dough’s consistency, so a good pat-down is key.
- Flavor Variations: Spice Things Up! While cinnamon offers a classic and delightful flavor, don’t hesitate to experiment with other spices. You can easily exchange the cinnamon for gingerbread spices, which introduces a more complex and festive aroma, making it a delicious variation perfect for the Christmas season, too! Alternatively, a pinch of cardamom or a blend of nutmeg and cloves can also add a wonderful depth of flavor.
- Citrus Zest: A Bright Touch. The orange rind provides a beautiful, bright, and aromatic note to the stollen. However, if you’re looking for an even fresher and slightly tangier profile, the orange rind can be substituted with lemon rind. Lemon zest adds a vibrant, zesty punch that complements the sweetness of the raisins and the warmth of the spices wonderfully.
Storage Guidelines for Freshness and Flavor
Ensuring your homemade stollen stays fresh and delicious for as long as possible is key. Here are some comprehensive tips on how to store your delightful creation:
- Enjoying Freshly Baked. Normally, it’s best to enjoy these buns the same day they are baked. This is when their texture is at its peak – wonderfully soft and moist. Bread, especially yeast-based varieties, tends to get stale relatively quickly, losing its desirable texture and freshness.
- Extending Room Temperature Freshness. If you’re not planning to eat all of your stollen immediately, a special bread container can significantly help in keeping it fresh for up to 3 days. These containers are designed to maintain an optimal level of moisture, preventing the bread from drying out too quickly while also allowing it to breathe just enough to avoid becoming soggy. An airtight container or a tightly sealed plastic bag works well too.
- Why Avoid the Refrigerator. It might seem counter-intuitive, but you should absolutely avoid storing bread in the refrigerator. The cool, moist environment of a refrigerator actually accelerates the staling process. It causes the starches in the bread to recrystallize more rapidly, resulting in a firm, dry, and unappetizing texture. This change in structure isn’t really tasty, making your delicious stollen far less enjoyable.
- Freezing for Longer Preservation. Luckily, bread can be frozen quite well for extended preservation, typically up to two weeks, or even longer if properly wrapped. To freeze, ensure your stollen is completely cooled, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then again in aluminum foil, or place it in a freezer-safe bag. This double layer helps prevent freezer burn.
- Thawing and Reheating Frozen Stollen. When you’re ready to enjoy your frozen stollen, simply take it out of the freezer approximately 3 hours before you plan to eat it, allowing it to thaw at room temperature. If you prefer your bread warm and freshly baked (which is highly recommended for stollen!), you can bake it for about 3 minutes at 355 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) immediately after taking it out of the freezer. This brief reheating will refresh the crust and warm the interior, bringing back that wonderful fresh-baked aroma and taste.
Preparing this Easter stollen is a rewarding experience, from the moment the yeast activates to the final dusting of confectioners’ sugar. The aroma alone will fill your kitchen with the sweet promise of Easter, and the taste will delight everyone at your table.
More Delicious Baking Ideas
Looking for more delightful baked goods to fill your kitchen with wonderful aromas? Explore these other fantastic recipes from my collection:
- Oregano and Walnut Bread Buns
- Dutch Suikerbroodjes (Sugar Buns)
- Chocolate Hazelnuts Puff Pastries
- Homemade French Croissants
Did you make this delicious recipe for Easter Stollen? Don’t forget to tag #byandreajanssen on Instagram! I absolutely love seeing your culinary creations and frequently share the most beautiful photos from my wonderful community of home bakers. Your inspiration is truly a gift!
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📖 Recipe
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RECIPE CARD
Andréa
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Ingredients
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup currants
- ⅔ cup milk
- 1⅔ tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon yeast, instant
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg yolk, size M
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 oz. candied orange peel, cut into small pieces
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon butter, to grease the baking tray
- 1 egg, size s
- 1 tablespoon confectioners sugar
All my recipes are written both in Metric (gram / ml) and US Customary (cups / pounds). Here you can select which type of amount you would like to see.
Instructions
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Put the raisins and currants in a bowl. Pour hot water over them until covered. Let them soak for 10 minutes, allowing them to plump up and become juicy, then pat them completely dry with a clean kitchen towel to remove excess moisture.½ cup raisins, ½ cup currants
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Gently warm the milk until it is lukewarm (about 105-115°F or 40-46°C). Stir in the specified amount of sugar and yeast. Let this mixture sit undisturbed for 5 minutes. You’ll know the yeast is active and healthy when small, foamy bubbles appear on the surface.⅔ cup milk, 1⅔ tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon yeast, instant
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In a large mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour and salt. Create a well in the center and pour in the activated milk-and-yeast mixture. Using a stand mixer with a dough hook or your hands, knead the dough diligently for approximately 10 minutes until it becomes smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky. This develops the gluten, essential for a light and airy texture.2 cups all-purpose flour, ¾ teaspoon salt
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Lightly grease the bowl and place the dough in it, turning once to coat. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 60 minutes, or until it has visibly doubled in size. This first rise is crucial for flavor development and texture.
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Once risen, gently punch down the dough to release the air. Press it flat on a lightly floured surface. Now, evenly distribute the soaked and dried raisins and currants, the egg yolk, vibrant orange zest, finely cut candied orange peel, and warming ground cinnamon over the flattened dough. Knead the dough again for a few minutes until all these delicious additions are thoroughly and evenly mixed throughout.1 egg yolk, 1 teaspoon orange zest, 1 oz. candied orange peel, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
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Carefully divide the enriched dough into 4 equal pieces. Using a kitchen scale can help ensure even portions for uniform mini stollen.
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Take each piece of dough and gently shape it into a small, smooth ball. Place these balls on a lightly floured surface or a parchment-lined tray, then cover them with a clean kitchen towel. Allow them to rest for 20 minutes; this helps the gluten relax, making them easier to shape in the next step.
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After resting, gently reshape each dough ball into a distinct oval, mini loaf shape, characteristic of stollen. Ensure they are uniform in size for even baking.
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Generously grease a baking tray with butter, or line it with parchment paper. Carefully place the shaped mini stollen loaves on the prepared tray, leaving enough space between them for expansion. Cover them once more with a clean towel and let them rise in a warm place for another 60 minutes, or until they have nearly doubled in size. This final rise gives them their beautiful, airy structure.1 tablespoon butter
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While the stollen are on their final rise, preheat your oven. Set the temperature to 390 °F (200°C) or 350 °F (175°C), depending on your oven’s usual performance and how golden you like your crust. A slightly higher temperature at first can help with oven spring.
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In a small bowl, lightly beat the remaining egg (size S) to create an egg wash. Gently brush this egg wash over the tops and sides of each risen stollen loaf. This will give them a beautiful, glossy golden-brown crust as they bake.1 egg
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Carefully place the baking tray into the preheated oven. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until the stollen turn a beautiful golden brown color and are cooked through. The exact baking time may vary slightly depending on your oven, so keep an eye on them towards the end.
Serving
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Once the stollen are out of the oven and have cooled slightly, generously dust them with confectioners’ sugar just before serving. This adds a beautiful traditional finish and a touch of extra sweetness.1 tablespoon confectioners sugar
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These mini stollen are incredibly versatile. Enjoy them warm, sliced and spread with a little extra butter for a truly decadent experience, or savor them cold as a delightful grab-and-go snack. They’re delicious either way, perfect with your morning coffee or afternoon tea!
Notes
2. How do I keep the raisins and currants from drying out? The key to plump, juicy dried fruits is rehydration. Soak them in hot water for 10 minutes, allowing them to absorb moisture. This prevents them from becoming hard or burning during baking. After soaking, it’s crucial to pat them thoroughly dry with a kitchen towel before adding them to the dough, as excess water can affect the dough’s consistency.
3. Storage Guidelines for Optimal Freshness
These homemade stollen are truly at their best when enjoyed fresh, but they can be stored to maintain their deliciousness:
- Room Temperature: Store the stollen in an airtight container or a tightly sealed plastic bag at room temperature for up to 3 days. This will help maintain their soft texture and prevent them from going stale too quickly.
- Freezer: For longer preservation, stollen freezes beautifully for up to 2 weeks. Ensure they are completely cool, then wrap each loaf tightly in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil or a freezer-safe bag to prevent freezer burn.
- To Reheat from Frozen: Take the stollen from the freezer about 3 hours before you plan to eat, allowing them to thaw at room temperature. For a warm, ‘freshly baked’ experience, preheat your oven to 355 °F (180 °C) and bake the thawed (or even directly from frozen for a slightly longer time) stollen for just 3 minutes until warmed through.
Nutrition
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