Family Stollen Recipe with a Gluten-Free Twist

Stollen has been a Christmas tradition in my family for ages. Our traditional family recipe has been modified somewhat from the German original, but the taste is very similar. The only major difference is in its shape as it wasn't until I learned German that I realized the name Stollen also refers to its shape in the form of a loaf, while ours is shaped into a ring. Since I've been doing lots of gluten-free baking this season, I thought I'd try out our seasonal favorite using Bella's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Mix. I substituted the milk in the recipe for almond milk but still used butter and eggs, so it is not vegan. The recipe makes either one large stollen or 2 smaller ones. I made mine into 2. The only thing I noticed when making stollen with gluten-free flour is that it is denser and did not rise much at all compared to regular flour. But in terms of taste and texture it was fantastic (thanks to Bella's Gluten Free!).

Christmas Stollen
Ingredients:
1 c. milk (or almond milk)
1 c. melted butter
1/2 c. water

Picture from when I made it with real flour in Germany in 2004.
This was made using the original family recipe with real
milk and flour. I made one big loaf instead of two.

5 1/4 c. flour (or Bella's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Mix)
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 packages of active dry yeast
2 eggs beaten
1/2 tsp. grated lemon rind
1/2 tsp. grated orange rind
1/2 c. seedless raisins
1/2 c. chopped candied fruit (fruitcake mix)
1/2 c. chopped pecans (a traditional German stollen would use almonds)
3 Tbs. soft butter

Another view of the massive stollen I made in Germany in 2004.

3 Tbs. ground cinnamon
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. powdered sugar
2-3 Tbs. water or milk (or almond milk)
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
candied cherry halves (optional)

Combine milk, melted butter and 1/2 c. water in saucepan; place over low heat until lukewarm. Combine flour, 1/4 c. sugar, salt and yeast; stir in lukewarm milk mixture and eggs (at the same time - add eggs to lukewarm milk mixture); mix well. Add lemon and orange rind, raisins, candied fruit and nuts. Mix well. (Knead by hand for best results).  Cover dough and refrigerate overnight. Place chilled dough on floured surface, roll into a rectangle (either 1 large one or 2 small ones if dividing in half).  Spread with 3 Tbs. of soft butter. Mix together the cinnamon and 1/2 c. of sugar. Sprinkle over the buttered surface. Roll the dough into a role and shape into a ring. Let rise in a warm place uncovered for 1 hr. Bake at 350 F (175 C) for 25-30 minutes. Combine powdered sugar, water or milk and vanilla. Drizzle over the hot ring. Decorate with candied cherry halves (optional).

An old and very used copy of the family
recipe in my grandmother's handwriting.

Dough made with Bella GF All-Purpose Baking Mix.

Dough rolled out and spread with butter, waiting for cinnamon
and sugar to be sprinkled over it.

Shaped into a ring.

Fresh out of the oven. Did not rise or brown much, but was still
delicious.