Make gluten free stollen for your holiday breakfast spread! This yeasted sweet bread is stuffed with dried cranberries and lemon zest for a festive touch.
You've probably set your Christmas menus already but if you're still looking for a little something for the morning of Christmas or the Eve I present my version of a German 'fruit bread' - aka a gluten free stollen - that's punchy with lemon zest, sliced almonds, and dried cranberries and capped with a layer of buttery powdered sugar.
It's a little different yet also a little traditional. This gluten free stollen may not slice up as prettily as some cakes but after all, it's not a cake. It's more of a breakfast dessert if there is such a thing, or a wee afternoon snack with tea. I used lemon zest and dried cranberries in my version in a nod to the season, though more traditional recipes call for candied fruit peel. Orange or grapefruit zest would probably also be nice too.
I meant to post this gluten free stollen recipe earlier this week but time skittered away from me, spent in cooking a big holiday lunch for my husband's office crew (after a bit of obsessing I settled on a simple yet somewhat varied menu that included bowls of thyme-marinated cheese (from Alice Waters' "The Art of Simple Cooking"), white bean hummus, bread and olives, lemon-roasted chicken, tomato and feta galettes, pan-fried cauliflower, and a grated carrot salad. Dessert was a lemon 'ice cream' pie from Nigel Slater's "The Kitchen Diaries" with a gingersnap crust, plus an assortment of Christmas cookies.) in increments during nap time. We stretched out our big government-loaned table and squeezed 13 around it, just barely.
Next up we're having friends over for Christmas Eve dinner (spinach lasagna, more of that cauliflower, a salad, and spicy gingerbread for dessert). For Christmas I'm planning to keep it very simple with a mushroom soup, roast turkey, scalloped potatoes, and green beans, and will finish with pumpkin pie. Waffles for breakfast. Leek quiche for lunch. That sort of thing.
But I might also carve out a few hours to make this gluten free stollen for nibbling on because it's so good and so perfect for a cozy holiday mid-morning cup of coffee. It's the perfect wintry treat.
Gluten Free Stollen
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup whole milk
- 1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 ¼ cups oat flour
- ½ cup + 1 tablespoon sweet white rice flour
- 1 teaspoon flax seeds
OR SUBSITUTE BREAD FLOUR
- 1 ½ cups bread flour , divided, plus more if needed
- 1 tablespoon bourbon or whiskey optional
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened and divided
- 1 lemon , ested
- ⅓ cup sliced almonds , 3 ounces
For the Glaze
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
- ½ cup confectioner’s sugar
Instructions
Make Stollen
- Heat milk in small saucepan over low heat until just warm. Pour into bowl of stand mixer and whisk in yeast and 1 tablespoon bread flour. Set aside for 30 minutes. In another saucepan, gently heat bourbon and cranberries until warm; set aside.
- Add the gluten free flours or bread flour, sugar, and egg yolk to the yeast mixture. Mix with dough hook at low speed just until mixture begins to come together, about 1 minute. With mixer running, add salt and then slowly add butter to incorporate. If the dough seems too wet, add up to a few tablespoons more flour. Continue to mix until a soft, smooth dough forms, about 8 minutes. Mix in cranberries, lemon zest, and almonds until just incorporated.
- Form dough into a ball, place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rest in a warm place until dough has risen by about 50 percent, 1 to 2 hours.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place dough onto lightly floured work surface and press into an 8- by 10-inch oval. Carefully transfer the stollen to the parchment-lined baking sheet, loosely cover, and let rest in a warm place for about 45 minutes.
- Heat oven to 350°F, then bake stollen until golden brown and just cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes. Try not to overbake or your stollen will be dry.
Make Glaze
- Brush stollen immediately with half of the melted butter. Sprinkle with a coating of confectioner’s sugar. Brush with remaining melted butter and sift the remaining confectioners’ sugar over the top. Let cool. Serve warmish or room temperature
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